<Li> Eurovision Song Contest </Li> <P> The Eurovision Song Contest 2018 was the 63rd edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest . It took place for the first time in Portugal following the country's first victory at the 2017 contest in Kiev, Ukraine with the song "Amar pelos dois", performed by Salvador Sobral . The contest was held at the Altice Arena in Lisbon, and consisted of two semi-finals on 8 and 10 May, and the final on 12 May 2018 . The three live shows were hosted by Filomena Cautela, Sílvia Alberto, Daniela Ruah and Catarina Furtado . </P> <P> Forty - three countries participated in the contest, equalling the record of the 2008 and 2011 editions . Russia returned after their absence from the previous edition, and for the first time since 2011, no country withdrew from the contest . </P> <P> The winner was Israel with the song "Toy", performed by Netta . This was Israel's fourth victory in the contest, following their wins in 1978, 1979, and 1998, and their first top five placing in more than a decade . This edition also saw Cyprus and the Czech Republic achieve the best placing in their Eurovision history, coming in second and sixth place, respectively . Portugal finished in the last place, making this the third time that the host country ranked in the bottom five since 2015 . For the first time since the introduction of the semi-finals in 2004, Azerbaijan, Romania, and Russia failed to qualify for the final . No countries in the Caucasus region participated in the final for the first time since 2005 . The EBU reported that the contest had a worldwide audience of around 186 million viewers, surpassing the 2017 edition by over 4 million . </P>

How many entrants are there in the eurovision song contest