One of the key milestones on the road to the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest took place in Lisbon this morning, as the Mayors of Kyiv and Lisbon symbolically exchanged the iconic Host City Insignia at a special press event which also served as the random draw for which countries will vote and perform in the Semi Finals
While the running order of the two shows will be determined by producers in the weeks immediately preceding this year’s Song Contest, the random draw sees the 37 semi-finalists placed into the top and bottom halves of the two Semi Finals (which aids scheduling rehearsals and arrival times for the delegations). The Big Five and hosts Portugal also learned which Semi Final they will be able to vote in.
19 countries will compete in Semi Final One on Tuesday 8th May, while the remaining 18 will compete in Semi Final Two on Thursday 10th May.
Semi Final One – Top Half
- Albania
- Azerbaijan
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Czech Republic
- Estonia
- Iceland
- Israel
- Lithuania
Semi Final One – Bottom Half
- Armenia
- Austria
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Finland
- Greece
- Ireland
- Macedonia
- Switzerland
Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom will vote in this Semi Final.
Semi Final Two – Top Half
- Australia
- Denmark
- Moldova
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Romania
- Russia
- San Marino
- Serbia
Semi Final Two – Bottom Half
- Georgia
- Hungary
- Latvia
- Malta
- Montenegro
- Poland
- Slovenia
- Sweden
- Ukraine
France, Germany and Italy will vote in this Semi Final.
Keep an eye on ESC Insight for full analysis of the draw over the next few days.
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