Those purchasing tickets for the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest will have the opportunity to see the highest number of participants in seven years. The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (F.Y.R. Macedonia) will participate in Lisbon bringing the total number of participants to 43. The first wave of tickets for the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest go on sale on Thursday 30th November at 11:00 CET.

The EBU and Macedonian Radio Television (MRT) are pleased to announce that MRT will now participate in the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest. This follows the lifting of sanctions imposed for non-payment of debt. MRT will be participating in the Eurovision Song Contest for the 18th time. The number of participants in the 2018 competition equals the record set in Belgrade in 2008 and Düsseldorf in 2011.

Participating countries in the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest © EBU

Jon Ola Sand, the EBU’s Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest, said "The EBU and MRT have worked quickly to find a resolution on this matter together, which ensures that MRT are able to join us in the Eurovision Song Contest once again, and we are pleased to announce that this has now been possible. This means we will have a record-equalling number of countries participating in Lisbon, and we are very confident that those are successful in purchasing tickets will enjoy their Eurovision experience next year."

Just the ticket for a record Eurovision

Tickets for the Grand Final are available for purchase in the first wave of sales which is set to begin on 30th November. Tickets will be priced at various levels between €35 and €299, from 11:00 CET from official ticketing website BlueTicket.pt.

Tickets for the remaining shows, including the Semi-Finals, will be on sale in further waves in January 2018 after the Semi-Final Allocation Draw. The ticketing page on Eurovision.tv will be updated with further information about future ticket releases.

Carla Bugalho, Deputy Executive Producer of Eurovision 2018 said: "RTP is very pleased to announce the beginning of the ticket sale for the first Eurovision Song Contest hosted in Portugal. We will have 3 outstanding and distinctive shows and everyone that doesn’t get their tickets now, will have other opportunities very soon."

1700 tickets across the six evening shows in Event Week have been allocated to OGAE fan clubs, to form packages for their members. Details for how to purchase these will be announced to OGAE’s members separately.

The 63rd Eurovision Song Contest will be hosted in Lisbon in May 2018. The Semi-Finals will take place on 8 and 10 May, with the Grand Final on 12 May.