Canticum Certamine 12

Canticum Certamine 12, often referred to as CC 12, is the twelfth edition of Canticum Certamine. It took place in Spain, following Marina Herlop's victory in the eleventh edition with the song "abans abans" It was the first time that Spain hosted the contest.
Fifty-two countries confirmed their participation in the edition. Algeria and Romania returned after their absence from the previous editions, Meanwhile Finland, Liechtenstein and San Marino withdrew from the contest. Faroe Islands, North Macedonia and Tunisia made their debut appearance in the edition. The contest reached a number of 52 participants for the very first time, being the highest participant record as of this edition.
This edition, Liechtenstein and Vatican City both lost their CBU membership due to not having an official broadcasting channel, other than a radio station.
Kazakhstan was declared the winner of the edition with the song "Lenty" performed by NAZIMA, this was Kazakhstan's first victory in the history of Canticum Certamine, making them the fastest winning country, gaining a win in their second participation. The song gathered a total of 473 points, 58 points ahead the runner-up, Andorra, marking their best result. Morocco finished on third place, while France, Montenegro and Albania completed the top 6 of the edition. Iceland qualified for the final this edition for the first time since the second edition.
==Location==
Spain is a country with a rich history and diverse culture. From the beautiful beaches of the Mediterranean coast to the snow-capped peaks of the Pyrenees, Spain's geography is as varied as its people. The country is home to many different languages, including Galician and Catalan, which are spoken in the regions of Galicia and Catalonia, respectively. These languages are just a few examples of the many distinct cultures and traditions that can be found throughout Spain. The diversity of Spain is what makes it such a fascinating and beautiful country to explore.
===Bidding phase===
After Spain accepted the hosting of the 12th edition, the broadcaster TVE announced that six cities across the nation with their venues had applied: A Coruña, Las Palmas, Madrid, Málaga, Seville and Valencia.
According to the delegation's leader, each of the shortlisted host towns has what it takes to accommodate artists and fans from all across Europe. The prerequisites of adequate arena capacity, hotel accommodations, and city framework were all taken into account. A final visit to each city was performed in order to determine the 12th edition's host city.
On May 5th, Valencia was announced as the host city, alongside with Font de Sant Lluís as the host venue.
Key Host venue
City 	Venue 	Capacity
A Coruña 	Coliseum da Coruña	11,000
Las Palmas	Gran Canaria Arena	11,470
Madrid 	Fuenlabrada 	5,700
Madrid 	WiZink Center 	17,453
Málaga 	Martín Carpena 	11,000
Seville 	San Pablo 	10,200
Valencia 	Font de Sant Lluís	8,500
==Format==
===Semi-final allocation draw===
The draw to determine the allocation of the participating countries into their respective semi-finals took place on the 24th of March 2023. 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 countries will participate in both 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 forty-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. 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
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Pot 4	Pot 5	Pot 6
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==Participating countries==
===Pre-Qualification Round===
Draw	Country	Artist 	Song 	Place	Points
01 	 	Dolores Forever	"Funeral" 	2 	159
02 	 	An-Marlen 	"Sinust Lahti Ei Saa"	7 	71
03 	 	KATARZIA 	"HOŘÍ I VODA" 	5 	136
04 	 	Zola Jesus 	"Siphon" 	6 	117
05 	 	Sofia Karlberg 	"Do It Again" 	3 	147
06 	 	7777 の天使 	"Marble Wings" 	4 	138
07 	 	Mia Negovetić 	"Mijenjam se" 	1 	174
===Semi-final 1===
Twenty-one countries participated in the first semi-final. Greece, Norway and Sweden also voted in this semi-final. The highlighted countries qualified for the final.
Draw	Country	Artist 	Song 	Place	Points
01 	 	Polina Dashkova 	"Hustinka" 	20 	60
02 	 	Mado Salikh 	"Burn In Hell" 	10 	146
03 	 	Mayssa 	"TiTi" 	16 	81
04 	 	WAFIA 	"I'm Good" 	14 	106
05 	 	LEX 	"C'est La Vie" 	11 	138
06 	 	KALIKA, Joanna 	"Touche-Moi" 	12 	124
07 	 	Fee Lion 	"Blood Sisters" 	7 	162
08 	 	Zarya 	"Sila" 	21 	53
09 	 	Eugénie 	"4D" 	1 	250
10 	 	Kristina Bazan 	"Killer" 	6 	167
11 	 	Zaryah 	"ROOM 112" 	17 	76
12 	 	Elly 	"Harder" 	18 	65
13 	 	Irina Rimes 	"N-avem timp" 	8 	153
14 	 	Cryalot 	"Hell Is Here" 	5 	183
15 	 	Mia Negovetić 	"Mijenjam se" 	9 	146
16 	 	Pola Rise 	"Wytrzymam" 	13 	117
17 	 	Red Moon 	"Dreamer" 	15 	99
18 	 	Teodora 	"Most Na Adi" 	19 	64
19 	 	Lea Kampmann 	"Ghost" 	4 	190
20 	 	Gaia Cauchi 	"Why Should I?" 	3 	213
21 	 	Konqistador & Medusa TN	"Eden, Woman's War"	2 	249
===Semi-final 2===
Twenty-one countries participated in the second semi-final. Albania, Belgium and Spain also voted in this semi-final. The highlighted countries qualified for the final.
Draw	Country	Artist 	Song 	Place	Points
01 	 	Mina Vrbaški 	"Kama Sutra" 	2 	209
02 	 	NAZIMA 	"Lenty" 	3 	206
03 	 	Gaya Arzumanyan 	"Jengyal" 	6 	151
04 	 	Jenifer 	"Notre idylle" 	13 	130
05 	 	ajsa luna 	"Vészterv" 	17 	91
06 	 	Creams 	"SLEEP ON ME" 	20 	61
07 	 	Fulminacci 	"Canguro" 	12 	132
08 	 	Izïa 	"Mon cœur" 	4 	206
09 	 	Alice Merton 	"Vertigo" 	18 	77
10 	 	Antonia Gigovska 	"Magnet" 	7 	151
11 	 	ALMA 	"Perfect" 	14 	128
12 	 	lúpína 	"ástarbréf" 	9 	148
13 	 	Eves Karydas 	"There For You" 	21 	38
14 	 	KATŌ & ZeBrene 	"Es tā jūtos" 	11 	142
15 	 	APRIL 	"54321" 	19 	63
16 	 	Emily Kuper 	"Shtok" 	16 	101
17 	 	Dolores Forever 	"Funeral" 	10 	146
18 	 	Hey, Baby 	"Theatre!" 	8 	148
19 	 	Filly 	"Motorola" 	15 	111
20 	 	Sofia Karlberg 	"Do It Again" 	1 	214
21 	 	Sasha Lopez x AMI	"Butterfly Dance"	5 	189
===Final===
Draw	Country	Artist 	Song 	Place	Points
01 	 	Die Arkitekt, Lena Platonos	"Julian" 	10 	255
02 	 	Metteson 	"Put It To Sleep" 	25 	115
03 	 	lúpína 	"ástarbréf" 	17 	173
04 	 	Cryalot 	"Hell Is Here" 	13 	227
05 	 	Mado Salikh 	"Burn In Hell" 	26 	104
06 	 	Hey, Baby 	"Theatre!" 	14 	213
07 	 	Dolores Forever 	"Funeral" 	24 	122
08 	 	Sofia Karlberg 	"Do It Again" 	3 	396
09 	 	Fever Ray 	"What They Call Us"	18 	169
10 	 	Fee Lion 	"Blood Sisters" 	8 	266
11 	 	Lea Kampmann 	"Ghost" 	11 	242
12 	 	Konqistador & Medusa TN 	"Eden, Woman's War"	9 	259
13 	 	Mina Vrbaški 	"Kama Sutra" 	5 	324
14 	 	Claire Laffut 	"Hiroshima" 	19 	156
15 	 	Antonia Gigovska 	"Magnet" 	20 	145
16 	 	Kristina Bazan 	"Killer" 	23 	129
17 	 	ANSO ft. 6entiana 	"Me Ty" 	21 	145
18 	 	Mia Negovetić 	"Mijenjam se" 	12 	227
19 	 	Irina Rimes 	"N-avem timp" 	15 	197
20 	 	Izïa 	"Mon cœur" 	4 	372
21 	 	Eugénie 	"4D" 	2 	415
22 	 	Gaya Arzumanyan 	"Jengyal" 	16 	179
23 	 	Sasha Lopez x AMI 	"Butterfly Dance" 	7 	270
24 	 	Gaia Cauchi 	"Why Should I?" 	6 	277
25 	 	Soge Culebra 	"Maldad" 	22 	142
26 	 	NAZIMA 	"Lenty" 	1 	473
==Voting==
====Spokespersons====
# Kati Wolf
# Peter Nagy
# Susanne Georgi
# Vladana
# Azure Ryder
# Edna Sorgelsen
# Despina Olympiu
# Mae Muller
# Sakis Rouvas
# Glosoli
# Lucy Ayoub
# Ira Losco
# Samira Said
# Blanka
# Monika Liu
# Nicky Doll
# spill tab
 Andi Knoll
 Elitsa Todorova
 Maléna
 Aminata
 Jana Burčeska
 Sergiu Beznițchi
 Vicky Leandros
 Jonida Maliqi
 Zella Day
 Ilinica
 Tina Müller
 Peter Poles
 Iru
 Yves Tumor
 Joyce Jonathan
 SEA
 Luke Black
 Lynda Woodruff
 Go_A
 Asel Sagatova
 Brooke
 Amina Fakhet
 Jenny Skavlan
 Brandur Enni
 Adnan Ćatić
 Elina Born
 Chantal Janzen
 Luca Hänni
 Albina
 Lena
 Tural Asadov
 Naviband
 Einar Stefánsson
 Joji
 Carolina Casado
==Other countries == 
:Further information: List of countries in Canticum Certamine
===Active CBU members===
*: On May 7th, Yleisradio Oy announced their withdrawal as the broadcaster stated a disappointment with recent results, and a lack of interest in viewership.
*: On May 2nd, San Marino RTV confirmed that the country would not participate in the upcoming edition, citing financial constraints as the reason for their withdrawal.