The official countdown to the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest has officially kicked off after today’s Host City Insignia Handover Ceremony. The event was held at Lisbon’s magnificent City Hall and hosted by two of the four charming Eurovision 2018 hostesses, namely Filomena Cautela and Silvia Alberto.

Brace yourselves as Lisbon is ready! Both RTP, the Portuguese national broadcaster and the City of Lisbon are working from strength to strength in order to showcase a dazzling show come May.

The Portuguese capital is working round the clock in order to welcome the Eurovision bandwagon in May when thousands of Eurovision fans, 40 plus delegations and circa 2,000 journalists land in the 2018 Eurovision host city.

Passing on the baton

Mr. Fernando Medina (Mayor of Lisbon) officially received the Eurovision baton from Mr. Vitalie Klitschko (Mayor of Kyiv) during the special ceremony which was held at Lisbon’s City Hall.

The mayors of both the outgoing and incoming host cities gave a short speech during the ceremony and expressed their delight and pride for hosting Europe’s favorite television show.

Check out the photo gallery from today’s event (Photo credit: Miguel A. Lopes/EPA/LUSA)

Welcome to Lisbon!

During his speech, the Mayor of Lisbon welcome all the assembled guests to Lisbon and highlighted the enormous pleasure for Lisbon to receive the Eurovision Song Contest, which Portugal won for the very first time last year with Salvador Sobral’s Amar pelos dois.

It’s a great moment for Lisbon, for the history of the contest and for the Portuguese people. Lisbon is one of the most vibrant and fascinating cities in the world.

The mayor, who spoke in English, like the other participants in the ceremony, took the opportunity to invite the assembled guests to a great adventure in Lisbon in the coming months:

You can hear a lot about Lisbon, I want to tell you the most special thing about the city is that its people love to receive and welcome all those who come from abroad.

The Host City Handover Ceremony was followed by the Semi-final Allocation Draw. Officials from RTP, Turismo de Portugal, Camara Municipal de Lisboa, Turismo de Portugal and the EBU attended the event.

The Reference Group members were also present: Mr. Jon Ola Sand (EBU), Nicola Cagliore (RAI), Edoardo Grassi (France 2), Jan Lagermand Lundme (DR). Members from the 2018 ESC Core Team also graced the occasion: Christer Björkman (SVT), Ola Mezig (Show Producer), etc.

The 2018 Eurovision Song Contest is scheduled to be held on 8, 10 and 12 May at the Altice Arena in Lisbon, Portugal.