Portugal is to use a design ‘reminiscent of the ocean’ as the official logo for the 63rd Eurovision Song Contest, being hosted in Lisbon next year.
The blurb explains that ‘Portugal has always connected Europe with the rest of the world across the ocean, and for 500 years Lisbon has been the centre of many the most important sea routes in the world.’
The slogan, also closely linked to the maritime theme, is ‘All Aboard!’
Gonçalo Madaíl, creative manager of the RTP agency, said, "For centuries, Portugal explored the world by sea. Today, Lisbon is increasingly the city of all colours, a great port of cultures and sounds that welcome you all on board."
Madaíl says “the logo represents a shell as a symbol of the richness of life in the oceans. This, along with 12 other designs, highlights the wonders of a floating world, creatively alluding to concepts such as tolerance, diversity and respect for other cultures.”
Jon Ola Sand, Executive Supervisor of the contest, said the organisation is very satisfied with the theme and logos for the 2018 competition, linked as it is, to the history of Lisbon and underlining the core values of Eurovision. "We are all connected across all the oceans," concluded Sand.
This will be the first time that Portugal has hosted the festival after 53 years of taking part.
A surprise win in the 2017 contest by Portuguese singer, Salvador Sobral, meant that Portugal suddenly had to budget for the cost of hosting the event.
There will be 42 countries involved next year, five of them - Spain, Germany, United Kingdom, France and Italy - get straight in to the final on May 12 in Lisbon.
The other countries will have to battle it out in two semi-finals, which will take place on May 8th and 10th.
The contest is the longest-running annual international TV song competition, held, primarily, among the member countries of the European Broadcasting Union since 1956. The competition was based upon the Sanremo Music Festival held in Italy since 1951.
Winning the Eurovision Song Contest provides a short-term boost to the winning artists' career, but rarely results in long-term success. Notable exceptions are ABBA (winner in 1974 for Sweden), Bucks Fizz (winner in 1981 for the UK) and Céline Dion (winner in 1988 for Switzerland), all of whom launched successful worldwide careers after their wins.
Ireland holds the record for the highest number of wins, having won the contest seven times - including four times in five years in 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1996.
Under the current voting system, the highest scoring winner ever is Portugal’s Salvador Sobral (pictured below) who won the 2017 contest in Kiev, Ukraine, with 758 points.
