Estonia has received a record-breaking number of entries for their forthcoming Eurovision national selection, with 258 entries being submitted for Eesti Laul 2018!

Having initially received a smaller number of 50 entries following the opening of the submissions process, the past 2 days have seen a huge rise in the number of entries being received by the Estonian national broadcaster ERR, rising to the highest total ever of 258 submissions.

Eesti Laul producer, Mart Normet, spoke of the rise in submissions for 2018:

Every year, more and more songs are brought to Eesti Laul, which is a very good indicator of trust, and I thank all the musicians who brought us their songs today.

Normet also mentioned that due to the popularity of the country’s national selection for 2018, he would like to see the Saku Suurhall being expanded, with the finale almost sold out.

Longer judging procedure for 2018

As was revealed earlier today, changes will be seen as to how the pre-jury will assess each of the submitted entries for Eesti Laul 2018.

Increasing the number of jury members from 11 to 15, including a mix of Estonian and international members, each judge will be able to assess each submission via a personal link, allowing every member to grade each song from home.

A total of 15 entries will be shortlisted during a blindfolded listening session, whilst the remaining 5 entries will be determined by the Eesti Laul editor.

Entries that have been selected to compete in Eesti Laul 2018 will be confirmed on the 10 November, whilst the songs will be available to listen to for the first time on the 19-20 December.

Eesti Laul 2018 dates

For their 10 year anniversary, Eesti Laul 2018 will see a total of 2 semi-finals and 1 final in order to determine Estonia’s representative for the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest.

• 10/02: Semi-final 1
• 17/02: Semi-final 2
• 03/03: Grand final

Who will follow in Koit Toome and Laura’s footsteps in becoming the next Estonian representative for Eurovision 2018?