Eurovision 2018: Who's in which Semi-final?

SEMI-FINAL 1
8 May 2018

FIRST HALF

Albania

Azerbaijan

Belarus

Belgium

Bulgaria

Czechia

Estonia

Iceland

Israel

Lithuania

SECOND HALF

Armenia

Austria

Croatia

Cyprus

Finland

Greece

Ireland

North Macedonia

Switzerland

VOTE IN SEMI-FINAL 1:

Spain

United KingdomUK

Portugal

SEMI-FINAL 2
10 May 2018

FIRST HALF

Australia

Denmark

Moldova

Netherlands

Norway

Romania

Russia

San Marino

Serbia

SECOND HALF

Georgia

Hungary

Latvia

Malta

Montenegro

Poland

Slovenia

Sweden

Ukraine

VOTE IN SEMI-FINAL 2:

Germany

France

Italy

The allocation draw took place on 29 January 2018 at the City Hall of Lisbon. Hosts were Sílvia Alberto and Filomena Cautela (two of the hosts for Eurovision 2018).

Facts about the allocation draw

• 43 countries participate in Eurovision Song Contest 2018
• 6 of the countries are pre-qualified for the Grand Final (Big-5 and Portugal)
• The first Semi-final will have 19 participants and the second will have 18
• The 37 countries were distributed into 6 allocation draw pots based on the voting pattern between them to avoid neighbor voting
• After a country was drawn, a second draw determined whether that country will participate in the first or second part of the semi-final
• The six countries pre-qualified for the Grand Final (Big-5 and Portugal) were also drawn to decide in which semi-final these countries will vote
• Italy has been pre-assigned to broadcast and vote in Semi-final 2
• The final running order will be decided later by the Portuguese producer and broadcaster, RTP, and approved by EBU

Allocation Draw Pots

To ensure a fair voting and competition, the 37 countries were distributed into 6 Draw Pots, based on the voting pattern to avoid too much neighbour voting.

1. Albania, Croatia, FYR Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia, Switzerland
2. Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Sweden
3. Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Russia, Ukraine
4. Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Moldova, Romania
5. Australia, Austria, Czech Republic, Israel, Malta, San Marino
6. Belgium, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland

How was the draw made?

The draw was divided into two parts:

1: Which pre-qualified countries vote in which Semi-final?

• The first part determined which of the six pre-qualified countries (Big 5: France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK, and host: Portugal) will broadcast and vote in which of the two Semi-finals.
• Italy has been pre-assigned to broadcast and vote in Semi-final 2

2: Who's in which Semi-final?

• The second part determined in which of the two Semi-finals (and in which half) each country will participate in
• The first six countries for Semi-final 1 were drawn: From each of the six allocation draw pots, a country was drawn, and after each country, a second draw determined if the country will perform in the first half or in the second half of Semi-final 1
• The first six countries for Semi-final 2 were then drawn (same recipe as the six for Semi-final 1)
• This continued until each of the 37 countries had been allocated to one of the two Semi-finals

Host Insignia Exchange

Before the allocation draw the Host Insignia Exchange took place. Here Mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, handed over the Host City Insignia to Fernando Medina, Mayor of Lisbon.