Your National Final Guide For The Next Week: 10th - 16th February
- Thomas Ryan
- Feb 10, 2018
- 4 min read
Welcome back to your second national final guide of the season! What a week's it been since my last update - Christabelle, Zibbz and SuRie have all been confirmed for the contest in Lisbon, there's been drama in the Sanremo Music Festival over in Italy and we've finally been able to hear Saara Aalto's first song for UMK. But what does the next week have in store for us? Here's a look at everything that's happening in the world of Eurovision this week!
Saturday 10th February
Ukraine - Vidbir (Semi-Final 1)
Time: 18:00 - 20:55 (main show), 21:35 - 22:35 (results) (both times CET)
Vidbir, the national selection for Ukraine returns tonight with the first semi-final. Three out of the nine competing songs will qualify for the final, chosen by a 50/50 televoting/jury split. Unlike all the other national finals this evening, the show will return for the results 40 minutes after the main show finishes.
Denmark - Dansk Melodi Grand Prix
Time: 20:00 - 22:00 (CET)
Watch live: DR
DMGP will consist of two rounds this evening. The first round will see all 10 acts compete, with the top three going through the second round (the 'super-final'), with the highest scoring act in the super-final then being announced as Denmark's representative in Lisbon. Voting in both rounds will be a 50/50 televoting/jury split.
Sweden: Melodifestivalen (Semi-Final 2)
Time: 20:00 - 21:30 (CET)
Watch live: SVT
The second semi-final of Melodifestivalen will take place in Gothenburg this evening, and will see another seven acts sing for a place in the final. 2 acts from tonight will automatically qualify for the final, with another two going forward to the Andra Chansen round. The qualifiers will be decided by televoting only.
Lithuania: Eurovizijos (Heat 5)
Time: 20:00 - 22:15 (CET)
Watch live: LRT
Eurovizijos is back for another heat again this evening where another 12 songs will perform, hoping for one of the six tickets to progress to the semi-finals. The qualifiers will be decided by a 50/50 televoting/jury split, much alike most of the national finals this evening. The jury have already awarded their points, and currently in first place with the jury's 12 points in Kotryna Juodzeviciute with "That Girl".
Latvia: Supernova (Semi-Final 2)
Time: 20:25 - 22:55 (CET)
Supernova is back for its second out of third semi-final this week, and another seven acts will perform this evening, however only two will qualify. Who will it be? Tonight's qualifiers will be decided by a combination of televoting, jury votes and Spotify streaming figures so it's all to play for.
Hungary: A Dal (Semi-Final 1)
Time: 20:30 - 22:45 (CET)
Watch live: Duna
Over the past three weeks, Hungary has held its three heats for A Dal, but now it's time for the first semi-final! Nine out of the eighteen remaining acts will perform this evening, hoping to gain one of the four spots in the final. Three of this evening's qualifiers will be decided by a 80% jury/20% televoting split, and a further one qualifier will be decided by 100% televoting.
Estonia: Eesti Laul (Semi-Final 1)
Time: 20:35 - 22:35 (CET)
Watch live: ETV
Estonia kicks off their national selection, Eesti Laul, this evening with their first semi-final. Ten acts will perform this evening, with five of them progressing to the final. Former Eurovision participant, Stig Rasta (Estonia 2015), will be performing in position number 7 this evening with his song "Home", will he go on and represent Estonia again this year? All qualifiers will be decided by a 50/50 televoting/jury split.
Italy: Sanremo Music Festival (Final)
Time: 20:35 - 01:00 (CET)
Watch live: RAI Play
After a full week of shows, Italy's Sanremo Music Festival will come to an end this evening, with their marathon-length final lasting just under four and a half hours, making it the longest national final of the 2018 season to date. The winner this evening will be decided by 50% televoting/30% press jury/20% expert jury split. Remember: the winner will not necessarily go to Lisbon, but they do have first refusal of the Eurovision ticket.
Iceland: Söngvakeppnin (Semi-Final 1)
Time: 20:45 - 22:20 (CET)
Watch live: RUV
The last country to start their national final tonight is Iceland, with the first semi-final of Söngvakeppnin. All of tonight's songs will be sung in Icelandic, but if they qualify, they will be permitted to perform in English in the final. Three out of the six songs performing tonight will qualify for the final, but which three will it be?
Sunday 11th February
Romania: Selectia Națională (Semi-Final 4)
Time: 19:00 - 21:30 (CET)
The only national selection tomorrow is the fourth semi-final of Romania's Selectia Națională, where another 12 acts will battle for one of the three spaces in the final, which will take place in two weeks time. The three qualifiers will be decided solely by a five-member jury, just like the previous three semi-finals.
Tuesday 13th February
Israel: HaKokhav HaBa L'Eurovizion (Final)
Time: Starts 20:00 (CET)
It's finally time for Israel to select their artist on Tuesday! But, who will be selected? 25-year old, Netta Barzilai, gained her place to automatically qualify for the final a few nights ago, and there are still three artists left to be chosen for the final. The winner will be selected by a 50/50 televoting/jury split but the winner's song for Eurovision won't be released on the night, instead it will be released in due course.
Friday 16th February
San Marino: 1in360 (Show 2)
Time: 20:00 - 21:30 (CET)
Watch live: YouTube
Friday will see the eleven 1in360 artists perform again, this time with their second songs. After Friday's show, the jury, which is made up of Zoe Straub (Austria 2016), Alessandro Capicchioni, Neon Hitch and Ladislav Kossar, will decide the song each artist will perform in the final two weeks later, which will be held in Bratislava, Slovakia.
Belarus: EuroFest 2018
Time: TBC
Watch live: Belarus24
Belarus will decide their song for Lisbon on Friday night, via their EuroFest national final. Despite causing much controversy in the lead-up to the contest, ALEKSEEV is still a strong fan favourite to win EuroFest, and it is also the current leader in the betting odds with very strong odds of 1/33, followed by Adagio, Alen Hit, Gunesh and Napoli, all with equal innings.
So, this week we will find out three more songs for Lisbon and another artist on top of that from Israel! Eurovision season has properly began! Enjoy your week everyone!
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