Albania: 16 perform at first night of Festivali i Këngës #62

The very first night of Albania's song contest – and national selection for Eurovision – Festivali i Këngës #62 kicked off tonight in the Palace of Congress of Tirana.

In this first evening, 16 of the 31 songs were performed. The show was anchored by three hosts: Adriana Matoshim, Kledi Kadiu, and Krisa Çaushi. Xhuliano Dule also joined between performances for a little bit of stand-up comedy.

Results will only be announced by Friday during the last episode. The jury will decide the winner of the festival whereas the public will decide on who should go to Eurovision.

The songs will all be performed in the first two nights and, by the end of the third, the finalists (decided by 11 jury members) will be announced.

This year's Festivali i Këngës theme is "Word and Music," which brings special attention to the lyrics of the compositions. This should be the focus of the jury and the reason why two of the 11 judging members are specialized in speech.

Festivali i Këngës 62

Albania will be using their song festival, Festivali i Këngës, as their national selection for Eurovision 2024. 31 entries are up for competition and the Albanian Eurovision representative will be decided by public voting, whereas the jury will decide the winner of the song festival itself.

There will be four live shows, all held in December:

• Night 1: 19 December 2023
• Night 2: 20 December 2023
• Night 3: 21 December 2023 (Nostalgia Night)
• Night 4: 22 December 2023

Albania in Eurovision

Since their debut in 2004, Albania has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest every year. Their best result is a 5th place finish in 2012, when Rona Nishliu sang "Suus."

Out of the 19 times Albania has participated, they have qualified for the Grand Final 11 times.