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…