GreatVision Song Contest 8

GreatVision Song Contest 8, often referred to as GVSC 8, will be the eighth edition of the GreatVision Song Contest. The contest will be hosted in Finland, after Evelina won the seventh edition with "Vuoristorataa". YLE chose the Hartwall Arena in Helsinki to serve as the host venue for the edition, Emma Sandström and Saara Aalto were selected as the presenters.
Winner after a big and exciting show was Sunmi from North Korea with her the song "Heroine", she reached 343 Points. At the 2nd Place was the France represent by June The Girl with her song "Same", she reached 335 Points and on 3rd Place was Bulgaria represent by TITA with her song "Antilopa", she reached 332 Points, while the United States, Sweden and Poland completed the top six of the edition.
== Location ==
: For further information see Finland
Finland is a sovereign state in Northern Europe. The country has land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east. To the south is the Gulf of Finland with Estonia on the opposite side. Finland is a Nordic country and, together with Scandinavia, is situated in the geographical region of Fennoscandia.
Finland's population is 5.5 million (2016), and the majority of the population is concentrated in the southern region. 88.7% of the population is Finnish and speaks Finnish, a Uralic language unrelated to the Scandinavian languages; next come the Finland-Swedes (5.3%). Finland is the eighth-largest country in Europe and the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. It is a parliamentary republic with a central government based in the capital city of Helsinki, local governments in 311 municipalities, and one autonomous region, the Åland Islands. Over 1.4 million people live in the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area, which produces one third of the country's GDP.
Finland was inhabited when the last ice age ended, approximately 9000 BCE. The first settlers left behind artifacts that present characteristics shared with those found in Estonia, Russia, and Norway. The earliest people were hunter-gatherers, using stone tools. The first pottery appeared in 5200 BCE, when the Comb Ceramic culture was introduced. The arrival of the Corded Ware culture in southern coastal Finland between 3000 and 2500 BCE may have coincided with the start of agriculture. The Bronze Age and Iron Age were characterised by extensive contacts with other cultures in the Fennoscandian and Baltic regions and the sedentary farming inhabitation increased towards the end of Iron Age. At the time Finland had three main cultural areas, Southwest Finland, Tavastia and Karelia, as reflected in contemporary jewellery.
Finland was a relative latecomer to industrialisation, remaining a largely agrarian country until the 1950s. After World War II, the Soviet Union demanded war reparations from Finland not only in money but also in material, such as ships and machinery. This forced Finland to industrialise. It rapidly developed an advanced economy while building an extensive welfare state based on the Nordic model, resulting in widespread prosperity and one of the highest per capita incomes in the world. However, Finnish GDP growth was negative in 2012–2014 (−0.698% to −1.426%), with a preceding nadir of −8% in 2009. Finland is a top performer in numerous metrics of national performance, including education, economic competitiveness, civil liberties, quality of life, and human development. In 2015, Finland was ranked first in the World Human Capital and the Press Freedom Index and as the most stable country in the world during 2011–2016 in the Fragile States Index, and second in the Global Gender Gap Report. A large majority of Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, and freedom of religion is guaranteed under the Finnish Constitution
=== Host City ===
: For further information see Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city of Finland. Helsinki is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland. Helsinki has a population of 642,045,[3] an urban population of 1,231,595, and a metropolitan population of over 1,4 million, making it the most populous municipality and urban area in Finland. Helsinki is located 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of Tallinn, Estonia, 400 km (250 mi) east of Stockholm, Sweden, and 390 km (240 mi) west of Saint Petersburg, Russia. Helsinki has close historical connections with these three cities.
The Helsinki metropolitan area includes the urban core of Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, Kauniainen, and surrounding commuter towns. It is the world's northernmost metro area of over one million people, and the city is the northernmost capital of an EU member state. Helsinki is the third largest city in the Nordic countries, after Stockholm and Oslo. Helsinki is Finland's major political, educational, financial, cultural, and research center. The neighboring city of Vantaa is the location of Helsinki Airport, with frequent service to various destinations in Europe and Asia.
Helsinki was the World Design Capital for 2012, the venue for the 1952 Summer Olympics, and the host of the 52nd Eurovision Song Contest.
Helsinki has some of the highest standards of living of a city in the world. In 2011, Monocle ranked Helsinki the world's most liveable city in its Liveable Cities Index. In the Economist Intelligence Unit's 2016 Liveability Survey, Helsinki scored ninth place among 140 cities.
=== Venue ===
: For further information see Hartwall Arena
Hartwall Arena is a large multi-functional indoor arena located in Helsinki, Finland. Opened in 1997, the arena gets its name from its largest sponsor, the beverage company Hartwall, also based in Helsinki.
The idea of building the arena came from Harry "Hjallis" Harkimo in 1994. It was built to be ready for the Ice Hockey World Championships in 1997 and was delivered by the constructor on 11 April 1997. The building is elliptical, 153 metres long and 123 metres wide. 37 meters under ground there is a practice arena which is used by many hockey teams.
The arena is situated next to Pasila railway station, which is the second busiest railway station in Finland, 3.5 km north of Helsinki Central.
Total capacity in ice hockey games is 13,349 (all seats). The arena is convertible for various events. For sport events, the capacity is about 10,000, about 14,000 for basketball, for concerts about 13,000, and as an amphitheatre, 3,000-5,000. It is connected to a multi-storey carpark, which has a total capacity of 1,421 vehicles.
=== Bidding phase ===
One day after their announcement of hosting the contest, YLE announced that there will be a Bidding phase in this edition. But the GBU has set some Rules for the Venue. Those were the following:
* The Green Room should be located in the arena or as near it as possible, with a capacity of 300.
* An additional room at least 6,000 square metres (65,000 sq ft) in area, to house 2 catering stands, a viewing room, make-up rooms, wardrobe, and booths for approximately 50 commentators.
* Separate offices to house the press centre, open between end of August 2016 and mid/end September 2016, at least (43,000 sq ft) in area, with a capacity of at least 1,500 journalists.
Key
 Host venue
City 	Venue 	Capacity
Helsinki	Hartwall Arena	15,000
== Format ==
The GBU has decided that in the upcoming edition there will be most likely 2 Semi-finals. In each semi-final 10 countries will qualify for the Grand Final to make a line-up of 26 competing countries (20 Semi-Final qualifers + Big 6), furthermore there will be Pre-Qualification Round, where ten countries battle for the last three places for the semi-finals.
=== Voting ===
The GBU has announced that the voting system would be each country awarding two sets of points from 1-8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting. The new voting system is also used to determine the qualifiers from each semi-final, but as before the qualifiers are announced in a random order
===Semi Final allocation draw ===
The draw to determine the allocation of the participating countries into their respective semi-finals has took place at Helsinki City Hall on the 29th January 2018. The first part of the draw determined in which semi-final the Big Six would have to vote. The second part of the draw decided in which half of the respective semi-finals each country would perform, with the exact running order determined by the producers of the show at a later date. Twenty-one countries will participate in each semi-finals, respectively. From each semi-final, ten countries will join the "Big 6" in the final, where a total of twenty-six countries will participate.
The thirty-nine semi-finalists were allocated into six pots, based on their geographical place and cultural similarities. Drawing from different pots helps in reducing the chance of so-called neighbour voting and increasing suspense in the semi-finals. Each time a country was drawn from the pot, its semi-final and half of the semi-final was determined.
The six pots were the following:
Pot 1	Pot 2	Pot 3
* Åland Islands
* Denmark
* Faroe Islands
* Iceland
* Ireland
* Sweden
* United Kingdom	
* Albania
* Bulgaria
* Croatia
* Greece
* Hungary
* Romania
* Turkey	
* Austria
* Belgium
* Estonia
* France
* Germany
* Liechtenstein
* Poland
Pot 4	Pot 5	Pot 6
* Andorra
* Malta
* Monaco
* Portugal
* Israel
* Vatican City	
* Armenia
* Canada 
* Fiji
* Russia
* Ukraine
* United States	
* Kiribati
* Malaysia
* North Korea
* Singapore
* South Korea
* Vietnam
=== Running order ===
The Running order of both Semi-finals was official announced by YLE on 8th February 2018, shortly before the semi-finals start. The Running order for Grand Final will be official announced, one day before the Grand Final will start.
== Participating countries ==
Originally Fifty-five countries have confirmed their participation in the eighth edition. This includes Hungary and Monaco which returned after being absent since the fourth edition, as well Austria and the Faroe Islands returned after there three-edition absence. Also Belgium and Croatia returned to the contest after their two-edition absence. Furthermore Estonia, Ireland, Liechtenstein and Malaysia returned to the contest after their one-edition absence. Israel will make his debut appearance in this edition.
Seven countries, however, announced their withdrawal from the contest. Lithuania, Luxembourg, Moldova, Morocco, San Marino and Slovakia all announced their withdrawal citing their Head of Delegation change as the reason, while Gibraltar's Head of Delegation had no longer interest to participate in the contest. Furthermore Macau and New Zealand were both forced to withdraw as failed to present their entries within the deadline.
The confirmation period for the eighth edition will open on the 7th January 2018. The contest will start most likely in Late February 2018. 
=== Returning artists ===
Vera Blue was choosen to represent the Australia; she previously represented Fiji in the sixth edition. Croatia will be represented by Nina Kraljić for the second time. As well Kristian was choosen to represent the Czech Republic for the second time; he previously represented the country in the second edition. Also Denmark will be represented by Medina for the second time; she previously represented the country in the sixth edition. Greece will be represented by a former winner of the GreatVision Song Contest, VASSY was internally selected to represent the country for the second time. Furthermore Anja Nissen was choosen to represent the Kiribati; she previously represented Denmark in the second edition. Diogo Piçarra was internally selected to represent Portugal for the second time. Furthermore Mari Kraymbreri was selected to represent Russia for the second time; she previously represented the country in the sixth edition. As well Amaranthe from Sweden took part for a second time, after they represented Finland in the first edition.
== Results ==
=== Pre-qualification round ===
Eight countries participated in the second pre-qualification round. Australia, Japan and Palau qualifed to the semi-finals, while China, Hong Kong, Italy, Latvia and The Netherlands were eliminated.
Draw	Country 	Artist 	Song 	Place	Points
01 	China 	VAVA feat. Ty. & 王倩倩 	"My New Swag" 	2 	110
02 	Japan 	Hiroomi Tosaka feat. Afrojack	"Diamond Sunset" 	1 	116
03 	Netherlands	Davina Michelle 	"Pillow" 	8 	77
04 	Italy 	Laura Pausini 	"Non è detto" 	5 	88
05 	Australia 	Illy feat. Vera Blue 	"Papercuts" 	3 	102
06 	Latvia 	Katrine Lukins 	"Running Red Lights"	6 	86
07 	Hong Kong 	Rollin Wang 	"大不了AA" 	7 	81
08 	Palau 	Pentagon 	"Gorilla" 	4 	92
=== Semi Final 1 ===
Twenty-one countries will participate in the first semi-final. Finland, Serbia and Spain will also vote in this semi-final. The highlighted countries in organge qualified for the final.
Draw	Country 	Artist 	Song 	Place	Points
01 	Andorra 	Pablo Alborán 	"Saturno" 	17 	80
02 	Kiribati 	Anja Nissen feat. will.i.am, Cody Wise	"I'm So Excited" 	10 	114
03 	Vatican City 	Ada Reina 	"Chocolate Y Miel"	7 	161
04 	Liechtenstein	HUNGER 	"Amused" 	18 	53
05 	Fiji 	Kylie Minogue 	"Dancing" 	13 	106
06 	Estonia 	Maian 	"Say It First" 	11 	112
07 	Poland 	Agata Dziarmagowska 	"Incomplete" 	4 	218
08 	France 	June The Girl 	"Same" 	2 	250
09 	Malaysia 	Stacy 	"Cakap Ke Tangan" 	20 	39
10 	Iceland 	Linda Hartmanns 	"Ástfangin" 	12 	112
11 	Armenia 	Tamar Kaprelian 	"Poison (Ari Ari)"	8 	145
12 	North Korea 	Sunmi 	"Heroine" 	3 	230
13 	Malta 	Dav Jr 	"I've Got You" 	21 	36
14 	Bulgaria 	TITA 	"Antilopa" 	1 	270
15 	Japan 	Hiroomi Tosaka feat. Afrojack 	"Diamond Sunset" 	9 	140
16 	Denmark 	Medina 	"Elsk Mig" 	15 	84
17 	Turkey 	Atiye 	"We Got That La" 	14 	94
18 	Albania 	Elhaida Dani 	"E Ngrire" 	6 	207
19 	Hungary 	Tolvai Reni feat. Kállay Saunders 	"SAY" 	16 	82
20 	United States	Jessica 	"Wonderland" 	5 	211
21 	Ireland 	Shane Filan 	"Everything To Me"	19 	40
=== Semi Final 2 ===
Twenty-one countries will participate in the second semi-final. Belarus, Czech Republic and Norway will also vote in this semi-final. The highlighted countries in organge qualified for the final.
Draw	Country 	Artist 	Song 	Place	Points
01 	Portugal 	Diogo Piçarra 	"Sopro" 	8 	155
02 	Israel 	Ishtar 	"A Paris" 	5 	170
03 	Vietnam 	Thuy Tiên 	"Em Dã Yêu" 	17 	92
04 	Austria 	Clara Luzia 	"Cosmic Bruise" 	21 	36
05 	Croatia 	Nina Kraljić 	"Lay You Down" 	12 	116
06 	Monaco 	Noée 	"L'un près de l'autre"	19 	79
07 	United Kingdom	Shannon Williams 	"Hello" 	1 	263
08 	Singapore 	JJ Lin 	"Little Big Us" 	15 	94
09 	Greece 	Florian Picasso feat. VASSY	"Cracked Wall" 	4 	189
10 	Faroe Islands 	Diplo feat. Mø 	"Get It Right" 	10 	141
11 	Australia 	Illy feat. Vera Blue 	"Papercuts" 	2 	223
12 	Palau 	Pentagon 	"Gorilla" 	11 	116
13 	Sweden 	Amaranthe 	"Maximize" 	7 	163
14 	Germany 	Jannine Weigel 	"Ghostbuster" 	3 	193
15 	Belgium 	Barbara Opsomer 	"Aimez-vous" 	20 	56
16 	Canada 	Dear Rouge 	"Boys & Blondes" 	18 	85
17 	Russia 	Мари Краймбрери 	"Она тебе не идёт" 	9 	142
18 	Åland Islands 	Widow 	"Impression" 	13 	109
19 	Ukraine 	MELOVIN 	"Under The Ladder" 	16 	93
20 	South Korea 	Stray Kids 	"Hellevator" 	6 	166
21 	Romania 	Raluka 	"Never Give Up" 	14 	103
=== Final ===
The following countries either finished in the top 6 of the previous edition and therefore automatically qualify to the final of this edition or qualified from the semi-finals.
Draw	Country 	Artist 	Song 	Place	Points
01 	Faroe Islands 	Diplo feat. Mø 	"Get It Right" 	22 	156
02 	Armenia 	Tamar Kaprelian 	"Poison (Ari Ari)" 	12 	230
03 	Kiribati 	Anja Nissen feat. will.i.am, Cody Wise	"I'm So Excited" 	20 	163
04 	Portugal 	Diogo Piçarra 	"Sopro" 	13 	223
05 	Poland 	Agata Dziarmagowska 	"Incomplete" 	6 	283
06 	Vatican City 	Ada Reina 	"Chocolate Y Miel" 	10 	244
07 	United States 	Jessica 	"Wonderland" 	4 	306
08 	Greece 	Florian Picasso feat. VASSY 	"Cracked Wall" 	17 	201
09 	Belarus 	Angelika Pushnova 	"Fighting For Love" 	21 	161
10 	Serbia 	Katarina Grujić 	"Paranoican" 	23 	130
11 	Russia 	Мари Краймбрери 	"Она тебе не идёт" 	9 	247
12 	Sweden 	Amaranthe 	"Maximize" 	5 	286
13 	Albania 	Elhaida Dani 	"E Ngrire" 	11 	243
14 	Germany 	Jannine Weigel 	"Ghostbuster" 	7 	266
15 	Spain 	Eva Ruiz 	"No creo en tu amor"	19 	193
16 	Norway 	Stella Mwangi 	"Work" 	26 	58
17 	Czech Republic	Kristian 	"Vždyť víš" 	25 	65
18 	South Korea 	Stray Kids 	"Hellevator" 	8 	258
19 	Japan 	Hiroomi Tosaka feat. Afrojack 	"Diamond Sunset" 	16 	202
20 	Australia 	Illy feat. Vera Blue 	"Papercuts" 	14 	221
21 	Bulgaria 	TITA 	"Antilopa" 	3 	332
22 	United Kingdom	Shannon Williams 	"Hello" 	18 	194
23 	France 	June The Girl 	"Same" 	2 	335
24 	North Korea 	Sunmi 	"Heroine" 	1 	343
25 	Israel 	Ishtar 	"A Paris" 	15 	217
26 	Finland 	Solju 	"Hold Your Colours" 	24 	127
==== Non-qualifier results ====
Place	Country 	SF Place 	Points
27 	Palau 	11 	116
28 	Croatia 	12 	116
29 	Estonia 	11 	112
30 	Iceland 	12 	112
31 	Åland Islands	13 	109
32 	Fiji 	13 	106
33 	Romania 	14 	103
34 	Turkey 	14 	94
35 	Singapore 	15 	94
36 	Ukraine 	16 	93
37 	Vietnam 	17 	92
38 	Canada 	18 	85
39 	Denmark 	15 	84
40 	Hungary 	16 	82
41 	Andorra 	17 	80
42 	Monaco 	19 	79
43 	Belgium 	20 	56
44 	Liechtenstein	18 	53
45 	Ireland 	19 	40
46 	Malaysia 	20 	39
47 	Austria 	21 	36
48 	Malta 	21 	36
49 	China 	colspan="2" rowspan="5"	
50 	Italy 	 	
51 	Latvia 	 	
52 	Hong Kong 	 	
53 	Netherlands 	 	
== Voting grids ==
=== Semi-Final 1 ===
Semi-Final 1split jury/televote results	Semi-Final 1split jury/televote results	Semi-Final 1split jury/televote results	Semi-Final 1split jury/televote results	Semi-Final 1split jury/televote results
Place 	Jury 	Points 	Televoting 	Points
1 	France 	127 	Bulgaria 	144
2 	Bulgaria 	126 	France 	123
3 	North Korea 	121 	United States 	117
4 	Albania 	112 	North Korea 	109
5 	Poland 	111 	Poland 	107
6 	United States 	94 	Albania 	95
7 	Vatican City 	89 	Japan 	76
8 	Armenia 	75 	Vatican City 	72
9 	Japan 	64 	Armenia 	70
10 	Estonia 	63 	Kiribati 	57
11 	Kiribati 	57 	Fiji 	56
12 	Iceland 	56 	Iceland 	56
13 	Fiji 	50 	Turkey 	50
14 	Turkey 	44 	Estonia 	49
15 	Hungary 	43 	Denmark 	46
16 	Denmark 	38 	Andorra 	44
17 	Andorra 	36 	Hungary 	39
18 	Liechtenstein 	23 	Liechtenstein 	30
19 	Ireland 	22 	Malaysia 	19
20 	Malta 	21 	Ireland 	18
21 	Malaysia 	20 	Malta 	15
=== Semi-Final 2 ===
Semi-Final 2split jury/televote results	Semi-Final 2split jury/televote results	Semi-Final 2split jury/televote results	Semi-Final 2split jury/televote results	Semi-Final 2split jury/televote results
Place 	Jury 	Points 	Televoting 	Points
1 	United Kingdom 	121 	United Kingdom 	142
2 	Australia 	113 	Australia 	110
3 	Germany 	106 	Greece 	92
4 	Greece 	97 	Germany 	87
5 	Israel 	96 	South Korea 	87
6 	Portugal 	94 	Russia 	81
7 	Sweden 	83 	Faroe Islands 	80
8 	South Korea 	79 	Sweden 	80
9 	Croatia 	71 	Israel 	74
10 	Faroe Islands 	61 	Palau 	68
11 	Russia 	61 	Portugal 	61
12 	Ukraine 	54 	Åland Islands 	61
13 	Palau 	48 	Romania 	59
14 	Åland Islands 	48 	Singapore 	53
15 	Romania 	44 	Vietnam 	51
16 	Vietnam 	41 	Canada 	46
17 	Singapore 	41 	Croatia 	45
18 	Canada 	39 	Monaco 	41
19 	Monaco 	38 	Ukraine 	39
20 	Belgium 	36 	Belgium 	20
21 	Austria 	21 	Austria 	15
=== Final ===
Final split jury/televote results	Final split jury/televote results	Final split jury/televote results	Final split jury/televote results	Final split jury/televote results
Place 	Jury 	Points 	Televoting 	Points
1 	France 	170 	North Korea 	192
2 	Bulgaria 	166 	Bulgaria 	166
3 	United States 	152 	France 	165
4 	North Korea 	151 	United States 	154
5 	Sweden 	145 	Poland 	148
6 	Albania 	137 	Germany 	146
7 	Poland 	135 	Sweden 	141
8 	Portugal 	130 	South Korea 	137
9 	Vatican City 	127 	Russia 	121
10 	Russia 	126 	Vatican City 	117
11 	South Korea 	121 	Armenia 	115
12 	Germany 	110 	Israel 	108
13 	Australia 	119 	Albania 	106
14 	Armenia 	115 	Spain 	103
15 	Greece 	110 	Australia 	102
16 	Israel 	109 	Japan 	101
17 	United Kingdom 	106 	Portugal 	93
18 	Japan 	101 	Greece 	91
19 	Kiribati 	90 	United Kingdom 	88
20 	Spain 	90 	Faroe Islands 	86
21 	Belarus 	82 	Belarus 	79
22 	Faroe Islands 	70 	Kiribati 	73
23 	Serbia 	64 	Finland 	72
24 	Finland 	55 	Serbia 	66
25 	Czech Republic 	39 	Norway 	46
26 	Norway 	12 	Czech Republic 	26
== Other countries ==
: Further information: List of able countries in GreatVision Song Contest
Countries that are active members of the GreatVision Broadcasting Union (GBU) are also eligible to participate in the GreatVision Song Contest. As in every edition, an invitation to all the members have been sent in order to confirm whether they will participate or not. The following list of countries declined stating their reasons as shown below.
* Gibraltar: GBC announced that they would withdraw. However, no reason was announced of the countries withdrawal. The Hod quit his position. A return with new HoD is possible.
* Lithuania: LRT announced that they would withdraw. However, no reason was announced of the countries withdrawal. The Hod quit his position and will change his country to Faroe Islands. A return with new HoD is possible.
* Luxembourg: RTL announced that they would withdraw. However, no reason was announced of the countries withdrawal. The Hod quit his position and will change his country to Iceland. A return with new HoD is possible.
* Moldova: TRM announced that they would withdraw. However, no reason was announced of the countries withdrawal. The Hod quit his position and will change his country to Hungary. A return with new HoD is possible.
* Morocco: SNRT announced that they would withdraw. However, no reason was announced of the countries withdrawal. The Hod quit his position and will change his country to Vatican City. A return with new HoD is possible.
* San Marino: SMRTV on the 16th January 2018 the HoD announced the withdrawl of the country, the reason behind it is that they want to find the time to find an entry which is great enough to follow the footsteps of Francesca Michielin. The Hod quit his position and will change his country to Liechtenstein. A return with new HoD is possible.
* Slovakia: RTVS announced that they would withdraw. However, no reason was announced of the countries withdrawal. The bad results and the non-qualifications in the past editions could be given as a reason. The Hod quit his position and will change his country to Monaco. A return with new HoD is possible.
After submission closed:
* Macau : TDM first confirm for the upcoming edition and was already allocated to the Pre-Qualification Round. However, after missing out the song-deadline, the country was forced to withdraw. 
* New Zealand : TVNZ first confirm for the upcoming edition and was already allocated to the Pre-Qualification Round. However, after missing out the song-deadline, the country was forced to withdraw. 
== Notes ==
# Originally fifty-five countries confirm for the edition.