Lithuania, get ready! LRT, the Lithuanian national broadcaster, has opened submissions for the country’s upcoming Eurovision national selection, Eurovizija 2018.

Confirming their participation in the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest back in the summer period, LRT has today released the rules and regulations for the country’s national selection, confirming that submissions for the competition are now open.

No major changes to Eurovizija rules

As with previous years, performers bidding to represent Lithuania at the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest must be a citizen of the country, whilst song compositions can be comprised of Lithuanian, foreign or combined authors.

Participants have until the 1 December to submit their applications to the national broadcaster, whilst organisers of the competition will have up to the 5 December to select their entries for the event. No more than 20 songs will be chosen to compete in Eurovizija 2018.

Acts wanting to compete in the forthcoming Lithuanian national selection can via the rules and regulations via LRT’s official website.

Voting system for 2018

No changes are to be made to the Lithuanian national selection voting method; from the very first Eurovizija show, the qualifiers will be determined via a 50/50 combined public and jury vote.

Points are given in Eurovision style, with 12 points to the 1st place, 10 points to the 2nd place, 8 points to the 3rd place, etc. Each week, the artist with the least amount of votes will leave the competition.

Following the winner announcement, a special support concert will take place which will feature the top 5 of the national selection.

Further news regarding the Lithuanian national selection, including upcoming dates for each of the shows, are expected to be released in the coming weeks.

Lithuania at Eurovision 2017

This year saw the electronic band, Fusedmarc, representing Lithuania following their victory in the country’s national selection: Eurovizija.

Competing in the second semi-final with their entry Rain of revolution, the group received a total of 42 points and finished in 17th position, failing to qualify to the Grand Final.