*Updated 26th Dec to reflect Festivali I Kenges Semi Final Results
Albania have had a tumultuous Eurovision history failing to qualify from the semi finals on 5 occasions. Their best result to date came from Rona Nishliu when she finished in fifth place in 2012 with song ‘Suus’. Albania also did quite well in their debut year in 2004 when Anjeza Shahini’s song ‘The Image of You’ came in seventh and their most recent attempt in 2015 saw Elhaida Dani come 17th.
Albania will be the first country to reveal their song for the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest on the 27th December. 30 acts will compete over two semi finals held on Christmas Day and Boxing Day with the best 18 songs from each qualifying for the final of the 54th edition of Festivali i Këngës in the country’s capital Tirana. This was later altered to allow 22 acts to qualify for the final.
Spanish songstress Ruth Lorenzo took on fellow Eurovision 2014 alumni and good friend Conchita Wurst’s winning hit ‘Rise Like a Phoenix’. Lorenzo performed the song dressed like the world’s favourite bearded lady on the Spanish version of Your Face Sounds Familiar. Check out her performance below