EUROVISION SONG CONTEST 2018 IN LISBON ON MAY 8, 10, 12
PORTUGAL – During a press conference this afternoon RTP and the European Broadcasting Union revealed Lisbon as the official host city of the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest which will take place on May 8 (First Semi Final), May 10 (Second Semi Final) and May 12 (Grand Final). It has also been announced that the national selection Festival da Canção, will be hosted in the first capital of the country, up in the north in the city of Guimarães.
Jon Ola Sand, the EBU’s Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest, said “We are very pleased to announce that RTP will be hosting the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest in Lisbon. Both the City and the venue have presented exemplary proposals, and we look forward to working together to make Portugal’s first ever Eurovision the most exciting one yet. We would like to congratulate RTP on their professional and detailed assessments of all the bids.”
Gonçalo Reis, the CEO of RTP, said “Hosting the Eurovision 2018 is a great opportunity for Portugal, Lisbon, the entertainment industry, and RTP. We look forward to organizing an event that will show our creative capabilities.”
Eurovision winners Conchita Wurst and Céline Dion meet in Berlin
GERMANY – Two Eurovision winners with an impact to the contest met in Berlin: Céline Dion (Switzerland 1988) and Conchita Wurst (Austria 2014) met yesterday in Berlin at the Mercedes Arena as Céline was giving a huge sold out concert in Germany.
Conchita stated: “Greeted me with the words ‘I love what You do’ Then she danced with me. I could not be more happy. The woman who tought me singing, knew me. I am still in heaven.”
Local press leak the date and venue for Eurovision 2018
PORTUGAL – Regional press just leaked information claiming the date and host city / venue of the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest. According to them Eurovision 2018 will take place on May 1, 3 and 5th at MEO Arena in Lisbon (as we all knew anyway). More information here.
According to the publication: Several cities entered the race, but the choice fell on the capital. The Eurovision Song Contest in 2018 will take place in Lisbon at Meo Arena, located in Parque das Nações. The information will be confirmed officially on Tuesday evening at a press conference at RTP, which will be attended by representatives of the European Broadcasting Union, which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, which oversees the organization of the event.
Another novelty, already confirmed by the Observer from sources close to the organization of the event, concerns dates. The festival will take place between the last days of April and the first days of May, which corresponds to two semifinals and one final.
Espinho, Matosinhos, Santa Maria da Feira, Guimarães, Lisbon and Portimão were until now the cities mentioned as possible hosts of Eurovision in 2018. The choice of Meo Arena is not a surprise. It is the space most talked about for a few months and the European Broadcasting Union’s favorite, as in May it revealed to Observer Nuno Artur Silva, member of the RTP board of directors.
RTP program director 1, Daniel Deusdado, does not want to advance any details before Tuesday’s press conference, but the Observer knows that the public station has already asked to reserve the MEO Arena. The agreement is almost closed. The costs of the operation have not yet been disclosed, but the average of the last five editions of the festival is around 28 million euros.
In recent days, the organization of the festival made a technical visit to Meo Arena and considered that the space meets the necessary technical conditions. It is planned to use equipment with a total weight of 800 tons, which gave the Parque das Nações room an advantage, presumably being the only one in Portugal that supports such a heavy assembly.
Meo Arena, former Pavilhão Atlântico, owned by the Atlantic Atlântico consortium since 2013, holds up to 20,000 people standing and in the case of Eurovision the number depends on the location and the format of the stage, which is still open.
Ready for the big announcement? EBU / RTP deliver it tomorrow
PORTUGAL – In less than 24 hours we will hear the official announcement of Lisbon as the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest host city and dates as EBU and RTP prepare for a press conference in Lisbon at 18:30 CET.
Officially there are cities in the run for hosting the 2018 event: Lisbon, Gondomar, Santa Maria da Feira and Braga but it seems that first ever Eurovision Song Contest has been locked to Lisbon and. most ,likely to the already prepared for the event venue MEO arena.
Although Lisbon and MEO arena proclaimed as host city and venue almost immediately after Portugal’s triumph in Kyiv by RTP officials the broadcaster decided to slow down and get more offers and proposal to make a transparent and more democratic selection.
“We have a lot of commercial interest, but we’re still in the phase of creating the concept,” RTP’s President Gonçalo Reis said in an interview with Jornal de Negócios. “We already have a financial model defined, but Eurovision requires the involvement of the host city, tourism boards and an effort to create partnerships with both public and private sponsors.”
Lisbon is the first candidate city with the capital sign on it and clearly the winner of the internal selection. They can serve with great transportation and airport system plus good accommodation and venue.
Gondomar offered Multiusos de Gondomar to host the event, an arena of a 8,000 auditors capacity but lacking transportation and accommodation infrastructure. Porto’s airport serve the city’s needs, from a distance of 25km.
Santa Maria da Feira offers Europarque de Santa Maria da Feira as venue for the event which has a capacity of 11,000 auditors. International artists have performed there already but there are not enough beds to accommodate the international guests and also served by Porto’s international airpot which is 50km away.
Braga, considered the new hot spot in the country with numerous tourists last year is the third city in population in the country. Many possible venues offered for the event including the Exposition Park which will be ready on Match able to host 15,000 auditors but it seems unlikely the EBU to enter an under construction venue stress procedure after what happened in Kyiv. But the city has no international airport nearby and not good transportation city although it has great accommodation offers.
Måns Zelmerlöw today releases a brand new single in support of Sarah Sjöström
SCANDIPOP.CO.UK REPORTS / SWEDEN – Måns Zelmerlöw today releases a brand new single. A special release, it’s in support of Sarah Sjöström who is currently competing for Sweden in the FINA World Championships in Budapest. The song is called ‘We Can Be The Rulers’, and is written by Måns, along with Moh Denebi and Paddy Dalton. And as it’s behind said team, it’s very much in the same sound and style that we all enjoyed on MZW’s most recent album ‘Chameleon’. It’s an electro ballad with the sort of uplifting lyric and tone that befits a sporting anthem. Though it slots in perfectly amongst his repertoire, and stands out on its own as a strong single.
Harel Skaat slams Shaked over gov’t opposition to same-sex couples adopting children
ISRAEL – Israeli singer Harel Skaat has a message for LGBT youth in Israel: don’t enlist in the IDF. The popular singer wrote an emotional Facebook post Sunday night after hearing that the government will petition the Supreme Court to oppose easing the restrictions on adoption by same-sex couples. Skaat spoke earlier that evening to a gay youth group in Beersheba, and thanked them for listening to his words.
“The day will come in a few years that you will have to enlist in the army and do your part,” began Skaat. “As an Israeli who loves his country and is proud to be a Jew and talks about that around the world, who served proudly in the army and whose boyfriend is an IDF major who serves almost a month out of the year, I call on you not to enlist in the army!”
Skaat, who represented Israel in the Eurovision in 2010, has had many hit singles in Israel, including “Now,” “Kama Od Efshar” and “Boom.” He also served as a judge this past year on the “Next Star for Eurovision” TV competition show.
Skaat had other recommendations for gay youth living in Israel. “And you know what, don’t pay taxes either on the money you will soon be earning,” he added. “Basically any requirement the country asks of you – ignore. Because that’s what they do to you and the equal rights that are due to you.”
Gay marriage is not legal in Israel. The country will register, but not recognize, same-sex unions performed outside the country – the same as it does for any civil unions. Same-sex couples are not banned from adopting children in Israel, but they are only considered if a heterosexual couple cannot be found for a child. Gay couples in Israel can also not use legal surrogates in the country, and for that reason, many turn to women living abroad to carry their offspring.
Skaat slammed Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, whose Justice Ministry authored the government submission to the Supreme Court on adoption. “To Mrs. Ayelet Shaked and all the other cowardly politicians like you,” he wrote. “You aren’t worthy of us. I can only hope that the millions of people who marched in Tel Aviv in the recent pride parade in order to allow you to boast to the world about your flawed acceptance of us, will become an electoral force that will finally kick you out [of office]. There is a new generation that won’t tolerate your hypocrisy much longer.”
Around 200,000 people took part in Tel Aviv’s Pride Parade last month.
Speaking to Ynet on Monday morning, Skaat made clear he didn’t regret or retract anything he said. “The government’s decision hurt me a lot,” he said. “This isn’t a provocation, it’s my life and the lives of hundreds of thousands here in Israel…. I perform with love and pride in front of soldiers and NGOs that support the IDF. I give what I can and I’ll continue to do so.”
SOURCE: JERSULAME POST