Russia is expected to return after withdrawing from the 2017 edition, following the ban of their representative Yulia Samoylova from entering Ukraine. As of 26 May 2017, seventeen countries have confirmed their intention to participate in the contest.
Location
The contest is scheduled to take place in Portugal, following the country's victory at the 2017 edition with the song "Amar pelos dois", performed by Salvador Sobral. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU)'s Executive Supervisor for the Eurovision Song Contest, Jon Ola Sand, issued the hosting invitation to Portuguese public broadcaster Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP) during the winner's press conference, and it is expected that a bidding phase in order to select the host city and venue will be carried out similarly to the previous contests. The dates for the contest are yet to be determined, although it is expected to be held in May 2018.
Bidding phase
A Portuguese Eurovision website reported on the day of the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 Grand Final that RTP would accept the challenge of organising the 2018 edition in case of victory. The following day, this intention was further validated by the broadcaster's director-general, Nuno Artur Silva, who mentioned the MEO Arena in Lisbon as a likely venue to host the contest. On 15 May 2017, RTP appeared to have confirmed Lisbon as the host city, but clarified the following day that no final decision had yet been made regarding both the host city and the venue.
A bidding process is expected to be launched within a few weeks after the 2017 contest. Besides Lisbon, other cities have signaled their interest in hosting the 2018 contest: Guimarães, Gondomar, Faro and Santa Maria da Feira. The mayor of Porto, Rui Moreira, declared he would not be interested in "spending millions of euros" to host the contest.
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