Eurovision 2018 final running order: Who is performing tonight?
EUROVISION 2018 is finally here and all the finalists are preparing to take to the stage in Lisbon tonight. But what is the running order for the Eurovision Song Contest and when will the UK be performing? Here’s everything you need to know.
Tonights the night - the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 Grand Final is here and all eyes are fixed on Lisbon for the biggest night in music of the year.
Currently, Cyprus are the favourites to win with Eleni Foureira’s upbeat anthem Fuego.
The UK’s SuRie’s chances are not looking however with bookmakers Betfair placing her and her tune Storm at odds of 200/1.
That could change tonight though but other favourites for the top prize include Israel’s Netta and Ireland’s Ryan O’Shaughnessy.
Here’s the running order for the Eurovision 2018 Grand Final.
What is the Eurovision 2018 Grand Final running order?
The running order for the 26 countries performing in the Eurovision 2018 Grand Final is:
- Ukraine
- Spain
- Slovenia
- Lithuania
- Austria
- Estonia
- Norway
- Portugal
- United Kingdom
- Serbia
- Germany
- Albania
- France
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Australi
- Finland
- Bulgaria
- Moldova
- Sweden
- Hungary
- Israel
- The Netherlands
- Ireland
- Cyprus
- Italy
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The running order for the competition is hugely significant with the acts’ placements often influencing how voters will react and score.
It was proposed by Christer Björkman, Contest Producer from the production team of Host Broadcaster RTP.
Each act drew in which half of the Grand Final they would perform.
As the host country, Portugal drew its exact starting position during the Heads of Delegation meeting in March.
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The producers look at the genre of music, whether a song is performed by a solo singer or group, the use of props, music tempo and various other aspects of each act.
Eurovision expert Adrian Kavanagh told the Journal.ie: “What happens is you usually pay attention to the first song and then maybe drift away. The worst position to get is number two, that is the worst. If you can get number two you can forget about it.”
He added: “If you get a slot later in the running order you’re going to stand out more.
“The best position to get in the final is third from last. Mainly because the final is so long by the time you’re at song 26. But at some stage around song 23 or 24 people make their minds up.”
The Eurovision Song Contest 2018 airs on BBC One tonight at 9pm