The Semi-Final Allocation Draw, which decides which Eurovision semi final a country will participate in will take place in Lisbon’s stunning City Hall on 29th January at 13:00 CET.

The ceremony, which will be presented by Eurovision 2018 hostesses Sílvia Alberto and Filomena Cautela, will also see the Mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, hand over the Host City Insignia to Fernando Medina, Mayor of Lisbon.

The draw itself will be divided into 2 parts. The first part will be used to determine which semi-final each of the Big 5 and host Portugal will vote it. Next, the remaining 37 competitors will find out which semi final they will sing in. These countries have already been split into 6 pots based on their previous voting tendencies in the contest. This is supposed to help reduce the impact of bloc voting at the final – though if we have another landslide winner like in 2017, seems like it won’t be an issue!

POT I

Albania, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Serbia, Switzerland

POT II

Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Sweden

POT III

Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Russia, Ukraine

POT IV

Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Moldova, Romania

POT V

Australia, Austria, Czechia, Israel, Malta, San Marino

POT VI

Belgium, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, The Netherlands, Poland