GreatVision Song Contest 9

GreatVision Song Contest 9, often referred to as GVSC 9, will be the ninth edition of the GreatVision Song Contest. The contest will be hosted in North Korea, after Sunmi won the eight edition with "Heroine". KCTV chose the Rungrado 1st of May Stadium in Pyongyang to serve as the host venue for the edition.
Winner after a big and exciting show was Mimoza from the United States with her the song "Big Girls Cry", she reached 401 Points. At the 2nd Place was Gibraltar represent by Paloma Faith with her song "'Til I'm Done", she reached 384 Points and on 3rd Place was Sweden represent by Nova Miller with her song "Turn Up The Fire", she reached 297 Points, while South Korea , Switzerland and Kosovo completed the top six of the edition.
== Location ==
: For further information see North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, is a sovereign state in East Asia constituting the northern part of the Korean Peninsula. Officially, its territory consists of the whole Korean Peninsula and its adjacent islands. Pyongyang is the nation's capital and largest city. To the north and northwest, the country is bordered by China and by Russia along the Amnok (known as the Yalu in China) and Tumen rivers; it is bordered to the south by South Korea, with the heavily fortified Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two. Nevertheless, North Korea, like its southern counterpart, claims to be the legitimate government of the entire peninsula.
In 1910, Korea was annexed by Japan. After the Japanese surrender at the end of World War II in 1945, Korea was divided into two zones, with the north occupied by the Soviets and the south occupied by the Americans. Negotiations on reunification failed, and in 1948, separate governments were formed: the socialist Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the north, and the capitalist Republic of Korea in the south. An invasion initiated by North Korea led to the Korean War (1950–1953). The Korean Armistice Agreement brought about a ceasefire, but no peace treaty was signed.
North Korea officially describes itself as a self-reliant, socialist state and formally holds elections. Various media outlets have called it Stalinist, particularly noting the elaborate cult of personality around Kim Il-sung and his family. The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), led by a member of the ruling family, holds power in the state and leads the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland of which all political officers are required to be members. Juche, an ideology of national self-reliance, was introduced into the constitution in 1972. The means of production are owned by the state through state-run enterprises and collectivized farms. Most services such as healthcare, education, housing and food production are subsidized or state-funded. From 1994 to 1998, North Korea suffered a famine that resulted in the deaths of between 240,000 and 420,000 people, and the country continues to struggle with food production. A sizeable amount of the population is thought to suffer from malnutrition, parasite infestations and food and waterborne diseases. North Korea follows Songun, or "military-first" policy. It is the country with the highest number of military and paramilitary personnel, with a total of 9,495,000 active, reserve and paramilitary personnel. Its active duty army of 1.21 million is the fourth largest in the world, after China, the United States and India. It possesses nuclear weapons. North Korea is an atheist state with no official religion, and public religion is discouraged or persecuted. Both North Korea and South Korea became members of the United Nations in 1991.
International organizations have assessed that human rights violations in North Korea have no parallel in the contemporary world. North Korea operates re-education and prison camps, akin to the gulag prisons of the Soviet Union. The concentration camps are used to segregate those seen as enemies of the state and punish them for alleged political misdemeanours or alleged misdemeanours of relatives as part of the "3 generations of punishment" policy instigated by state founder Kim Il-sung. Prisoners are frequently subject to slave labour, malnutrition, torture, human experimentation, rape, and arbitrary executions.
=== Host City ===
: For further information see Pyongyang
Pyongyang is the capital and largest city of North Korea. Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about 109 kilometres (68 mi) upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 population census, it has a population of 3,255,288.[7] The city was split from the South Pyongan province in 1946. It is administered as a directly governed city (chikhalsi, 직할시) on the same level as provincial governments, as opposed to special cities of South Korea (teukbyeolsi, 특별시) such as Seoul.
=== Venue ===
: For further information see Rungrado 1st of May Stadium
The Rungrado 1st of May Stadium, also known as the May Day Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea, completed on 1 May 1989. Its first major event was the 13th World Festival of Youth and Students. It is the largest stadium in the world, with a total capacity of 114,000. The site occupies an area of 20.7 hectares (51 acres). It is not to be confused with the nearby 50,000 capacity Kim Il-sung Stadium.
=== Bidding phase ===
A few days after their announcement of hosting the contest, KCTV announced that there will be no 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
Pyongyang	Rungrado 1st of May Stadium	114,000
== 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).
=== 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. Televoting votes from all countries are pooled. After viewers have cast their votes, the results of each professional jury are presented. After the results of the professional juries are presented, the televoting points from all participating countries are combined, providing one score for each song. The results of countries finishing between 11th and 26th in the public vote are automatically added to the scoreboard, with only the results of the top ten countries being announced by the hosts. 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 will took place at Pyongyang City Hall on the 6th March 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 fourty-two 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. 
Pot 1	Pot 2	Pot 3
* Åland Islands
* Canada
* Estonia
* Finland
* Ireland
* Norway
* United Kingdom	
* Albania
* Croatia
* Greece
* Israel
* Kosovo
* Serbia
* Turkey	
* Belarus
* Belgium
* Czech Republic
* Germany
* Luxembourg
* Netherlands
* Switzerland
Pot 4	Pot 5	Pot 6
* Andorra
* Gibraltar
* Italy
* Monaco
* San Marino
* Spain
* Vatican City	
* China
* Hong Kong
* Japan
* Kazakhstan
* Latvia
* Lithuania
* Russia	
* Australia
* Kiribati
* Palau
* Singapore
* South Korea
* Taiwan
* Vietnam
=== Running order ===
The Running order of both Semi-finals will be official announced by KCTV in March 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 Fourty-eight countries have confirmed their participation in the ninth edition. This includes Kazakhstan and Switzerland which returned after being absent since the fifth edition, as well Taiwan returned after there three-edition absence. Also Gibraltar, Lithuania, Luxembourg and San Marino returned to the contest after their one-edition absence. Kosovo will make his debut appearance in this edition.
Sixteen countries, however, announced their withdrawal from the contest. Fiji, Liechtenstein and Malaysia all announced their withdrawal citing their Head of Delegation change as the reason, while Armenia's, Hungary's, Malta's and Portugal's Head of Delegation had no longer interest or time to participate in the contest. The HoD's of Austria and Romania was forced to withdraw as they failed to confirm within the deadline. Furthermore Denmark, Faroe Islands, Iceland and Ukraine were all forced to withdraw as they HoD got banned from the contest, due multiple reasons. Additionally Belarus, China and Italy were all forced to withdraw as failed to present their entries within the deadline.
The confirmation period for the ninth edition opened on the 20th February 2018. The contest will start most likely in Late March 2018.
=== Returning artists ===
Albania will be represent by Genta Ismajli for the second time; she previously represented the country in the first edition. Paloma Faith was internally selected to represent Gibraltar; she previously represented the United Kingdom in the sixth edition. Also Greece will be represent by Demy for the third time. The Script was internally selected to represent Ireland for the second time. Furthermore Agnese Stengrevics was internally selected to represent Latvia for the second time. As well Kygo was internally selected to represent Norway for the second time; he previously represented the country in the sixth edition; together with Bonnie Mckee; she previously represented the United States in the first edition. Singapore will be represent by Haneri for the second time. Malú was selected to represent Spain for the second time; she previously represented the country in the seventh edition. Vietnam will be represent by Min for the third time.
== Results ==
=== Semi Final 1 ===
Nineteen countries will participate in the first semi-final. Bulgaria, France and Sweden will also vote in this semi-final. The highlighted countries in organge qualified for the final.
Draw	Country 	Artist 	Song 	Place	Points
01 	Estonia 	Cityflash feat. Laura-Ly 	"Don't Leave Me" 	6 	169
02 	Spain 	Malú 	"Cenizas" 	9 	138
03 	Kazakhstan 	Mad Men 	"Бері жақында" 	15 	86
04 	Gibraltar 	Paloma Faith 	"'Til I'm Done" 	1 	227
05 	Taiwan 	A-Lin 	"Go" 	8 	148
06 	Serbia 	Jelena Gerbec 	"Buktinja" 	17 	68
07 	Lithuania 	IGLĖ 	"Kas Bus Toliau" 	10 	135
08 	United Kingdom	Years & Years 	"Sanctify" 	3 	215
09 	Israel 	Dana International 	"Loca" 	19 	35
10 	Vietnam 	Min 	"Up To You" 	4 	177
11 	Kosovo 	Rita Ora 	"Anywhere" 	2 	223
12 	Vatican City 	Joan Thiele 	"Fire" 	18 	55
13 	Åland Islands 	Loreen 	"Hate The Way I Love You 	14 	109
14 	Turkey 	İrem Derici 	"Dantel" 	13 	114
15 	Kiribati 	Eves Karydas 	"There For You" 	12 	121
16 	Czech Republic	Diana Kalashová 	"Bez pravidel" 	11 	124
17 	Belgium 	Regi 	"Should Have Been There" 	5 	176
18 	Japan 	3-nen E-gumi Utatan 	"Jiriki Hongan Revolution"	16 	69
19 	Norway 	Kygo & Oliver Nelson feat. Bonnie McKee	"Riding Shotgun" 	7 	163
=== Semi Final 2 ===
Twenty countries will participate in the second semi-final. North Korea, Poland and United States will also vote in this semi-final. The highlighted countries in organge qualified for the final.
Draw	Country 	Artist 	Song 	Place	Points
01 	Finland 	Cheek 	"Enkelit" 	14 	105
02 	Monaco 	AWA 	"Joli Garçon" 	16 	84
03 	Albania 	Genta Ismaijli feat. MUMA 	"Squat Baby" 	9 	144
04 	Singapore 	KUIZZ feat. Haneri 	"Silences" 	1 	224
05 	Germany 	Yvonne Catterfeld feat. Bengio	"Irgendwas" 	17 	78
06 	Latvia 	[Ex] da Bass feat. Agnesse 	"Love Is A Gift" 	15 	88
07 	San Marino 	GionnyScandal 	"Sei Così Bella" 	8 	151
08 	Canada 	Cassie Dasilva 	"Welcome To My Castle" 	7 	161
09 	Palau 	E-girls 	"All Day Long Lady" 	18 	68
10 	Ireland 	The Script 	"Rain" 	6 	178
11 	South Korea	CLC 	"Black Dress" 	2 	213
12 	Hong Kong 	Kay Tse 	"雞蛋與羔羊" 	12 	113
13 	Luxembourg 	Charlotte 	"Ta Peau" 	11 	114
14 	Australia 	Troye Sivan 	"My My My" 	5 	180
15 	Netherlands	Sharon Doorson 	"Opinions" 	20 	56
16 	Greece 	Demy 	"Orio Kanena" 	4 	186
17 	Croatia 	Zsa Zsa & Vanna 	"Tragom Tvojih Tragova" 	3 	210
18 	Russia 	Егор Крид & MOLLY 	"Если ты меня не любишь"	13 	106
19 	Andorra 	Electric Nana 	"The One I Want" 	19 	67
20 	Switzerland	Remady & Manu-L 	"L.I.F.E." 	10 	142
=== 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 	Switzerland 	Remady & Manu-L 	"L.I.F.E." 	5 	261
02 	Canada 	Cassie Dasilva 	"Welcome To My Castle" 	24 	106
03 	Gibraltar 	Paloma Faith 	"'Til I'm Done" 	2 	384
04 	Australia 	Troye Sivan 	"My My My" 	10 	242
05 	Greece 	Demy 	"Orio Kanena" 	7 	254
06 	Ireland 	The Script 	"Rain" 	20 	115
07 	France 	Tess 	"Dark But Beautiful" 	14 	189
08 	Poland 	Cleo 	"Łowcy Gwiazd" 	22 	106
09 	Spain 	Malú 	"Cenizas" 	11 	238
10 	United Kingdom	Years & Years 	"Sanctify" 	12 	216
11 	Sweden 	Nova Miller 	"Turn Up The Fire" 	3 	297
12 	Taiwan 	A-Lin 	"Go" 	9 	250
13 	Vietnam 	Min 	"Up To You" 	16 	164
14 	Albania 	Genta Ismaijli feat. MUMA 	"Squat Baby" 	26 	91
15 	Croatia 	Zsa Zsa & Vanna 	"Tragom Tvojih Tragova" 	13 	203
16 	Estonia 	Cityflash feat. Laura-Ly 	"Don't Leave Me" 	18 	145
17 	South Korea 	CLC 	"Black Dress" 	4 	275
18 	Kosovo 	Rita Ora 	"Anywhere" 	6 	255
19 	Lithuania 	IGLĖ 	"Kas Bus Toliau" 	19 	122
20 	North Korea 	NCT U 	"Baby Don't Stop" 	17 	151
21 	San Marino 	GionnyScandal 	"Sei Così Bella" 	23 	106
22 	Singapore 	KUIZZ feat. Haneri 	"Silences" 	8 	250
23 	United States 	Mimoza 	"Big Girls Cry" 	1 	401
24 	Bulgaria 	Poli Genova 	"Mr. President" 	15 	183
25 	Belgium 	Regi 	"Should Have Been There"	25 	105
26 	Norway 	Kygo & Oliver Nelson feat. Bonnie McKee	"Riding Shotgun" 	21 	111
==== Non-qualifier results ====
Place	Country 	SF Place	Points
27 	Czech Republic	11 	124
28 	Kiribati 	12 	121
29 	Luxembourg 	11 	114
30 	Turkey 	13 	114
31 	Hong Kong 	12 	113
32 	Åland Islands 	14 	109
33 	Russia 	13 	106
34 	Finland 	14 	105
35 	Latvia 	15 	88
36 	Kazakhstan 	15 	86
37 	Monaco 	16 	84
38 	Germany 	17 	78
39 	Japan 	16 	69
40 	Serbia 	17 	68
41 	Palau 	18 	68
42 	Andorra 	19 	67
43 	Netherlands 	20 	56
44 	Vatican City 	18 	55
45 	Israel 	19 	35
== 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 	Kosovo 	126 	Gibraltar 	116
2 	Gibraltar 	111 	United Kingdom 	105
3 	United Kingdom 	110 	Kosovo 	97
4 	Taiwan 	89 	Belgium 	94
5 	Estonia 	87 	Vietnam 	90
6 	Vietnam 	87 	Norway 	88
7 	Spain 	86 	Estonia 	82
8 	Belgium 	82 	Lithuania 	79
9 	Norway 	75 	Kiribati 	70
10 	Turkey 	59 	Czech Republic 	68
11 	Lithuania 	56 	Åland Islands 	62
12 	Czech Republic 	56 	Taiwan 	59
13 	Kiribati 	51 	Turkey 	55
14 	Åland Islands 	47 	Spain 	52
15 	Japan 	41 	Kazakhstan 	48
16 	Kazakhstan 	38 	Serbia 	44
17 	Vatican City 	31 	Japan 	28
18 	Serbia 	24 	Vatican City 	24
19 	Israel 	20 	Israel 	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 	Singapore 	123 	Croatia 	119
2 	South Korea 	123 	Ireland 	102
3 	Greece 	94 	Singapore 	101
4 	Australia 	91 	Greece 	92
5 	Croatia 	91 	South Korea 	90
6 	Ireland 	76 	Australia 	89
7 	San Marino 	74 	Canada 	88
8 	Canada 	73 	San Marino 	77
9 	Switzerland 	70 	Albania 	75
10 	Albania 	69 	Switzerland 	72
11 	Russia 	62 	Luxembourg 	62
12 	Hong Kong 	61 	Finland 	55
13 	Luxembourg 	52 	Hong Kong 	52
14 	Finland 	50 	Latvia 	46
15 	Germany 	43 	Russia 	44
16 	Latvia 	42 	Monaco 	43
17 	Monaco 	41 	Andorra 	42
18 	Palau 	39 	Germany 	35
19 	Netherlands 	35 	Palau 	29
20 	Andorra 	25 	Netherlands 	21
=== 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 	United States 	189 	United States 	212
2 	Gibraltar 	173 	Gibraltar 	211
3 	Sweden 	157 	Australia 	149
4 	South Korea 	153 	Greece 	140
5 	Switzerland 	138 	Sweden 	140
6 	Taiwan 	138 	Kosovo 	125
7 	Kosovo 	130 	Switzerland 	123
8 	Spain 	129 	Singapore 	123
9 	Singapore 	127 	South Korea 	122
10 	United Kingdom 	122 	Taiwan 	112
11 	Greece 	114 	Spain 	109
12 	France 	103 	Croatia 	106
13 	Bulgaria 	98 	United Kingdom 	94
14 	Croatia 	97 	France 	86
15 	Australia 	93 	Vietnam 	86
16 	North Korea 	83 	Bulgaria 	85
17 	Estonia 	82 	Norway 	74
18 	Vietnam 	78 	North Korea 	68
19 	Lithuania 	65 	Ireland 	66
20 	Canada 	56 	Estonia 	63
21 	Belgium 	52 	San Marino 	59
22 	Poland 	50 	Lithuania 	57
23 	Albania 	50 	Poland 	56
24 	Ireland 	49 	Belgium 	53
25 	San Marino 	47 	Canada 	50
26 	Norway 	37 	Albania 	41
== 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.
* Armenia: AMPTV on the 2nd March 2018 the HoD announced the first withdrawl of the country since their debut. A return in the tenth edition was not ruled out. 
* Austria: ORF did not reveal any statements about a participation so far. After the non-voting in the Final of last edition, it seems likely that Austria would not participate again. However, after missing out the confirmation deadline, the country was forced to withdraw. 
* Denmark: DR was one of the banned users and was forced to withdraw from the competition. A return with new HoD is possible.
* Faroe Islands: KVF was one of the banned users and was forced to withdraw from the competition. A return with new HoD is possible.
* Fiji: FBC on the 4th February 2018 the HoD announced the withdrawl of the country, due non-qualifications in the past editions. The Hod quit his position and changed his country for Vietnam. A return with new HoD is possible.
* Hungary: MTVA on the 2nd March 2018 the HoD announced the withdrawl of the country, due personla reasons. The Hod quit his position. A return with new HoD is possible. 
* Iceland: RÚV was one of the banned users and was forced to withdraw from the competition. A return with new HoD is possible.
* Liechtenstein: 1FLTV on the 26th February 2018 the HoD announced the withdrawl of the country, due non-qualifications in the past edition. The Hod quit his position and changed his country for Luxembourg. A return with new HoD is possible.
* Malaysia: MTP on the 1st March 2018 the HoD announced the withdrawl of the country, due non-qualifications in the past edition. The Hod quit his position and changed his country for Kosovo. A return with new HoD is possible.
* Malta: PBS on the 26th February 2018 the HoD announced the withdrawl of the country, due non-qualifications in the past editions. The Hod quit his position, becasue he had no more time to participate in the contest. A return in the future was not ruled out. 
* Portugal: RTP The HoD of Portugal leave the community without giving any reasons. Portugal is forced to withdraw from the competition. A return with new HoD is possible.
* Romania: TVR did not reveal any statements about a participation so far. However, after missing out the confirmation deadline, the country was forced to withdraw. 
* Ukraine: UA:PBC was one of the banned users and was forced to withdraw from the competition. A return with new HoD is possible.
After submission closed:
* Belarus: BTRC first confirm for the upcoming edition and was already allocated to the first Semi-final. However, after missing out the song-deadline, the country was forced to withdraw. 
* China: SMG first confirm for the upcoming edition and was already allocated to the second Semi-final. However, after missing out the song-deadline, the country was forced to withdraw. 
* Italy: RAI first confirm for the upcoming edition and was already allocated to the first Semi-final. However, after missing out the song-deadline, the country was forced to withdraw. 
== Notes ==
# Originally Fourty-eight countries confirm for the edition.