I’m crawling out of my bed to type this. So, Eurovision did it again: I’m ill!

Anyway, where were we? We were at that point when the Eurovision experience in the host city makes you lose your sense of time, your knowledge of what day it is (oh, it’s the Saturday!), and what is actually happening around you.

So as I really don’t remember what happened when in the last few days, let me mention just some of the highlights:

1. I met Jessika!
San Marino was the only song I cared about in semi-final 2, and sadly it didn’t qualify. I spent all my 20 votes on “Who We Are”, so you can imagine how I felt after the envelopes. At Euroclub though, I had the pleasure to meet Jessika, and you can probably imagine how she felt! I showed her all my votes, and received a hug from her in return. If I managed to console one of my favourite Eurovision artists of the year over a disappointing result, then my Lisbon visit was already worth it for just that.

They are who they are

2. The first dress rehearsal of the final
It was a very chilly experience in the hall yesterday, surely not helped my cold. Having watched all the songs in the final running order, I get the feeling they actively placed similar songs close to each other (Spain / Lithuania, Hungary / Netherlands, Australia / Finland), but then again there wasn’t a lot of room to play within, considering the allocation draw. As it was so damn cold in the arena, I approved of Hungary and Cyprus a lot, so my prediction might have been influenced by the warmth of the pyros. I didn’t see the interval act yet, as I literally escaped into warmer territory as soon as Italy was over, so that will be new for me as well.

3. Dinner in Bairro Alto
Yesterday I also happily got to do a little socializing with friends, so we went to Bairro Alto and had typical Portuguese food and wine. This part of the city was full of Eurovision fans – at one point we could hardly move any more as the narrow streets were completely packed. I think this was the night when Lisbon realized what Eurovision is. It’s not just a TV show. Whoever says so has not a single clue.

And now? The final awaits us.

I am going to watch it in the Eurovision Village, as long as my cold doesn’t completely knock me out. I literally have no idea if it’s really going to be Cyprus, or if Hungary is the surprise winner, or if it will be Israel after all, but that’s the good thing about this year: it still is quite an open contest. The Eurovision Song Contest is never won before the Eurovision Song Contest happens.

Yeah, yeah, winner?

I pretty much think that’s it for me with this blog from Lisbon. I would have loved to do a lot more, but my cold and the lack of electricity for fan-accredited people killed my plan. But that’s life. What’s next? I literally have no idea. I will drag myself to the public viewing of the show somehow, and take things as they come. And even if “Fuego” wins, a song from my personal bottom five, I will appreciate a new country joining the ranks of the ESC winners and hope we all get to party together on a beach in Cyprus next year. Lisbon hasn’t really brought the fans together, considering the separation with the Fan Café and Euroclub (and some fans had to stay out of both), but it has been a wonderful place to spend these weeks in, and I will surely come back for a non-Eurovision visit!

So in case I don’t get to write again tomorrow: Thank you for following my blogs and photo galleries from Eurovision in Lisbon! I hope I get to do this again, and I hope I can do more next time. We will know more – destination included – in less than ten hours from now. Enjoy the show!

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Rarely has the Eurovision Song Contest been held in such a picturesque and personality-filled city as Lisbon. Felix has been out and about in recent days and is happy to share some of his photographic impressions with you here as the grand final approaches!

View over Lisbon with Eurovision Village

Marquês de Pombal, close to our hotel

Altice Arena

Eurovision Village and Euroclub

Miradouro São Pedro de Alcântara – one of Lisbon’s many breathtaking viewpoints…

…and another

Portas do Sol

Ponte 25 de Abril as seen from the Blue Carpet

Alfama

And finally: Torre de Belém, the main landmark of Lisbon

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Felix was tweeting live from the arena during this afternoon’s first grand final dress rehearsal of the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest. This review rounds up all of his tweets from the show – and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter if you don’t already, of course!

Hello from Lisbon! Felix here in Altice Arena, tweeting live from the first dress rehearsal of the Grand Final #eurovision #allaboard

— escgo! (@escgo) May 11, 2018

The rehearsal kicks off 20 minutes late. We see the same opening video once again #allabord #eurovison

— escgo! (@escgo) May 11, 2018

After the opening video, it's Ana Moura performing. Fado time! Followed by Mariza #eurovision #AllAboard

— escgo! (@escgo) May 11, 2018

Now it's time for the flag parade and all the countries' representatives get introduced #Eurovision #allaboard

— escgo! (@escgo) May 11, 2018

Ireland's Ryan took place in the greenroom… laying. Partied too much? 😜 but they are already all heading backstage again. Hope he gets his proper rest soon! #eurovision #allaboard

— escgo! (@escgo) May 11, 2018

Ukraine rehearsing first, what a great opener to the show! There weren't many alternatives of course. #eurovision #allaboard

— escgo! (@escgo) May 11, 2018

Spain, Slovenia, Lithuania: The latter profits the most from the running order so far, but 4 is early and too close to Spain to make it properly stand out. Still hoping for a surprise. #eurovision #allaboard

— escgo! (@escgo) May 11, 2018

Austria after Lithuania doesn't work very well. Ballad overkill at this point… and Estonia is next, profiting the most from the order at this point! #eurovision #AllAboard

— escgo! (@escgo) May 11, 2018

Elina nailed it once again, and Norway after Estonia works surprisingly well! Host country Portugal is next, getting us back to ballad territory, but shines in this order. #Eurovision #AllAboard

— escgo! (@escgo) May 11, 2018

After Portugal, we're getting a break with some greenroom action, surely not in favour fir the United Kingdom, but the song itself works very well at this point! #eurovision #AllAboard

— escgo! (@escgo) May 11, 2018

After UK it's Serbia, Germany and Albania. OK I'm biased, but I think it's a brilliant slot for.. Albania! Vocal performance doesn't count a lot now, but still, Eugent is brilliant. #Eurovision #AllAboard

— escgo! (@escgo) May 11, 2018

It's damn cold here in Altice Arena, but France shines and warms us up a bit. Mikolas next, is Aerobics also banned here for the viewers? I'm cold! #Eurovision #AllAboard

— escgo! (@escgo) May 11, 2018

I just got a little warmer, now Rasmussen freezes my arrow. Sorry, I had to. #Eurovision #AllAboard

— escgo! (@escgo) May 11, 2018

Seriously though, Denmark and Australia both work very well in this part of the order. Now we're back in the greenroom. #eurovision #AllAboard

— escgo! (@escgo) May 11, 2018

Short commemoration of the late Lys Assia, before we head to Monsters… bit tasteless? #eurovision #allaboard

— escgo! (@escgo) May 11, 2018

Lots of props being moved between Finland and Bulgaria. The latter works extremely well at this point! Back in the competition I'd say, if it wasn't for Moldova overshadowing it again. #Eurovision #AllAboard

— escgo! (@escgo) May 11, 2018

Sweden after Moldova, applause among press and fans in the hall was rather tame for Ingrosso. Hungary then… did Sweden happen? Hungary! 🔥 #Eurovision #AllAboard

— escgo! (@escgo) May 11, 2018

Sound problems during Israeli rehearsal! We didn't hear her in Intro parts and first verse. Seems fixed now. #Eurovision #AllAboard

— escgo! (@escgo) May 11, 2018

Israel seems a bit lost after Hungary, and isn't very effective at this point. Then after the Netherlands it's time for Ireland, which could now really surprise on Saturday Night! Imagine… #Eurovision #AllAboard

— escgo! (@escgo) May 11, 2018

Give us some Fuego before I'm freezing to an icicle here in Altice Arena. Cyprus has THE perfect draw of the whole night. I'm not a fan, but… it's most likely the winner. #Eurovision #Allaboard

— escgo! (@escgo) May 11, 2018

Italy seems a bit lost after Cyprus, but will still reach their audience. #Eurovision #Allaboard

— escgo! (@escgo) May 11, 2018

I escaped from the arena right after the last song, as it was incredibly cold, and I'm already slightly affected from the climatic chaos here in Lisbon.

— escgo! (@escgo) May 11, 2018

After having seen all the songs in the final order, I think Cyprus has it in the bag. Or will it be a surprise from Hungary? I don't know, but it's part of the fun this year. Expect a tight competition! #Eurovision #AllAboard

— escgo! (@escgo) May 11, 2018

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We attended the Blue Carpet event in Lisbon on Sunday, and we’re happy to share our photos of the automatic finalists with you now. Enjoy!

Madame Monsieur from France

Michael from Germany

Ermal and Fabrizio from Italy

Isaura and Cláudia from Portugal

Amaia and Alfred from Spain

SuRie from the United Kingdom

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In this gallery we are happy to share some of our impressions from inside and outside the Altice Arena in beautiful black and white!

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The first results are in: It hit me. I have the infamous Eurovision cold, as a result of exhaustion and many windy situations. So I’ve taken things even easier in the last days than I already was.

On Monday, I was walking around the Alfama once again and went up to Castelo São Jorge, where I was rewarded with a breathtaking view over Lisbon. Here you can see the Eurovision Village at the bottom left of the picture:

View over Lisbon with Eurovision Village

Later I was at the jury semi-final in the arena, and you know the outcome already, no need to report from that event. Just one thing: If you plan to go to the arena and haven’t been before, do leave yourself enough time, because traffic, including the metro, can get very… stuck.

Euroclub on Monday was a disappointing event, badly visited and I hardly saw any familiar faces. It’s becoming a bit of a theme of this fragmented fan experience across multiple locations.

On Tuesday, I went discovering some more of the city, including the Eurovision Village (which was once again not much worth visiting – and beware of those hotdogs costing €5 or more!), as well as the Lisbon’s landmark #1, Torre de Belém.

Of course, in the evening, we had the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2018. I got 7/10 right in my prediction, my usual result. My top 3 thoughts after the show were:

1. Will Azerbaijan finally stop buying Swedish songwriters now?
2. Will Russia show the complete final including the Irish performance?
3. Why do my favourites always draw the first half in the final?

While for 3 there won’t be an answer, I am curious about what happens concerning 1 and 2.

After the semi-final we went to Euroclub, which was much better visited and had more familiar faces showing up, too. However, by that point, I had already developed a cold. Boo!

As a consequence, yesterday, on Wednesday, I woke up with a sore throat and felt really crappy, so I spent the day relaxing as much as I can and didn’t attend the jury show for semi-final 2. Best to save myself for the night that really counts! Instead, I went for an early night in my hotel, so that I have the chance to enjoy the remaining days. It’s going fast now – Lisbon 2018 will soon be history.

Are we heading to Nikosia, Tallinn or Bratislava? We’ll find out very soon…

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