Albania’s National Broadcaster (RTSH) to select its 2018 Eurovision Song Contest representative through Festivali i Këngës. The 56th edition of the festival will take place on the 23rd of December.
The festival has been a method for selecting Albania’s Eurovision representative ever since its 42nd edition back in 2003.
Festivali i Këngës 2017
The already known format of the festival will not suffer drastic changes in its 56th edition. The two semi finals will take place on the 21st and 22nd of December, while the grand final will take place on the 23rd of December.
This year the festival will be hosted by Adi Krasta. The famous Albanian presenter is not a new face when it comes to hosting Festivali i Këngës, he has presented the show in 1997, 1999, 2002, 2003 and 2006.
Submissions for Festivali i Këngës will open on the 2nd and will close on the 10th of November. Interested artists should place their bid via a CD with the lyrics of the song and a photograph. Additionally, the song has to be in Albanian and no longer than 4 minutes.
Albania & Eurovision
Albania’s Eurovision debut is a rather remarkable one. They managed to finish inside the top 10 at the 2004 final of the contest with Anjeza’s “Image of You“. Which was the best scoring Albanian entry in the contest until 2012. Rona’s performance of “Suus” left Europe speechless and earned Albania It’s first (and only) top 5 finish.
However, Albania has a rather turbulent Eurovision past. The beautiful Balkan country has qualified for the final 7 times out of 14 attempts.
In addition to that, Lindita’s powerful “World” failed to bring Albania back in the finals of the contest this year. Despite having one of the strongest vocals in the competition. Lindita finished 14th in the first semi final with 76 points.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9e3usZ779pw
⇒What our team had to say about Lindita’s “World” in The Xtra Files here⇐
Do you have an Albanian artist you would like to see at Festivali i Këngës? What’s your favorite Albanian entry at the Eurovision Song Contest so far?
Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below and on all social media platforms at @ESCXTRA.
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