Georgia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018

Georgia will participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018. Iriao was internally selected by the Georgian broadcaster Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) on 31 December 2017 to perform the song that represented the nation at the 2018 contest in Lisbon, Portugal.

Eurovision Song Contest 2018
Country Georgia
National selection
Selection processInternal Selection
Selection date(s)Artist: 31 December 2017
Song: 13 March 2018
Selected entrantEthno-Jazz Band Iriao
Selected song"For You"
Selected songwriter(s)Davit Malazonia
Irina Sanikidze
Finals performance
Semi-final resultFailed to qualify (18th, 24 points)
Georgia in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2017 • 2018 • 2019►

Background
Main article: Georgia in the Eurovision Song Contest

Prior to the 2018 Contest, Georgia had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest ten times since their first entry in 2007.[1] The nation's highest placing in the contest, to this point, has been ninth place, which was achieved on two occasions: in 2010 with the song "Shine" performed by Sofia Nizharadze and in 2011 with the song "One More Day" performed by Eldrine. The nation briefly withdrew from the contest in 2009 after the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) rejected the Georgian entry, "We Don't Wanna Put In", for perceived political references to Vladimir Putin who was the Russian Prime Minister at the time.[2][3] The withdrawal and fallout was tied to tense relations between Georgia and then host country Russia, which stemmed from the 2008 Russo-Georgian War.[4] Following the introduction of semi-finals, Georgia has, to this point, failed to qualify to the final on three occasions. In 2017, Georgia failed to qualify to the final with the song "Keep the Faith" performed by Tamara Gachechiladze.

The Georgian national broadcaster, Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB), broadcasts the event within Georgia and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. GPB confirmed their intentions to participate at the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest on 2 October 2017.[5] Georgia has selected their entry for the Eurovision Song Contest both through national finals and internal selections in the past. In 2013 and 2014, GPB opted to internally select the Georgian entry, in 2015, the Georgian entry was selected via a national final, and in 2016, the artist was internally selected while the song was chosen in a national final. For their 2017 participation, the entry was selected through a national final. In 2018 the artist was internally selected.

Before Eurovision

Internal selection

On 31 December 2017, GPB announced Iriao as the Georgian entrant at the Eurovision Song Contest 2018.[6] They represented Georgia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal.[7]

At Eurovision

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big 5" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 29 January 2018, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Georgia was placed into the second semi-final, to be held on 10 May 2018, and was scheduled to perform in the second half of the show.[8]

Once all the competing songs for the 2018 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Georgia was set to perform in position 10, following the entry from Australia and preceding the entry from Poland.[9]

Voting

Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding two sets of points from 1-8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting. Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member as well as the nation's televoting results were released shortly after the grand final.

Points awarded to Georgia
Points awarded to Georgia (Semi-final 2)
Televote
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
Jury
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

Points awarded by Georgia

Split voting results

The following five members comprised the Georgian jury:[10]

  • David Evgenidze – Chairperson – composer, musician
  • Zurab Ramishvili – jazz musician
  • Eliso Shengelia – musical producer
  • Salome Bakuradze – singer
  • Kakhaber Grigalashvili – singer
Split voting results from Georgia (Semi-final 2)
Draw Country Jury Televote
D. Evgenidze Z. Ramishvili E. Shengelia S. Bakuradze K. Grigalashvili Average Rank Points Rank Points
01 Norway54511126565
02 Romania15513435638
03 Serbia9171114101211
04 San Marino12161515161615
05 Denmark10151013151483
06 Russia13141216141556
07 Moldova611148583112
08 Netherlands22234210101
09 Australia161316671113
10 Georgia
11 Poland1410912171314
12 Malta888567416
13 Hungary7971089274
14 Latvia333223847
15 Sweden1111111292
16 Montenegro17121717131717
17 Slovenia117691110112
18 Ukraine4647947210
Split voting results from Georgia (final)
Draw Country Jury Televote
Z. Ramishvili E. Shengelia S. Bakuradze K. Grigalashvili M. Ebralidze Average Rank Points Rank Points
01 Ukraine25251515102038
02 Spain1918148181524
03 Slovenia1722172391725
04 Lithuania71075229247
05 Austria4334138101
06 Estonia1256221056
07 Norway15141216171612
08 Portugal22201922232426
09 United Kingdom14132020131919
10 Serbia26192121142221
11 Germany2141434713
12 Albania9981147423
13 France1881612211474
14 Czech Republic20122613252111
15 Denmark10211121610192
16 Australia21152219202322
17 Finland11172326121817
18 Bulgaria6621055616
19 Moldova24262424262683
20 Sweden3511611215
21 Hungary1311183241114
22 Israel87671583112
23 Netherlands5499116518
24 Ireland1223131881320
25 Cyprus232425251925210
26 Italy1616101771265

References
  1. "Georgia Country Profile". EBU. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  2. Bakker, Sietse (10 March 2009). "Georgian song lyrics do not comply with Rules". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  3. Jonze, Tim (11 March 2009). "Eurovision 2009: Georgia pulls out of contest over 'Putin song'". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  4. "Putin jibe picked for Eurovision". BBC News. 19 February 2009. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  5. "Georgia: GPB confirms participation in Eurovision 2018". esctoday.com. Esctoday. 2 October 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  6. "Borneo Jazz - Iriao". Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  7. "Music band Iriao will present Georgia at 2018 ESC - 1TV". 1TV. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  8. Jordan, Paul (29 January 2018). "Which countries will perform in which Semi-Final at Eurovision 2018?". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  9. "Running order for Eurovision 2018 Semi-Finals revealed". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. 3 April 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  10. Groot, Evert (30 April 2018). "Exclusive: They are the expert jurors for Eurovision 2018". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
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