GreatVision Song Contest 7

GreatVision Song Contest 7, often referred to as GVSC 7, will be the seventh edition of the GreatVision Song Contest. The contest will be hosted in Bulgaria, after Mihaela Marinova won the the sixth edition with "Listata Padat". BNT chose the Arena Armeec in Sofia to serve as the host venue for the edition, DARA, TITA, Zahari Baharov and Mihaela Marinova were selected as the presenters. Mihaela Marinova will host the Green Room.
Winner after a big and exciting show was Evelina from Finland with her the song "Vuoristorataa", she reached 341 Points. At the 2nd Place was the Norway represent by Sigrid with her song "Strangers", she reached 335 Points and on 3rd Place was Spain represent by Malú with her song "Invisible", she reached 329 Points, while the Serbia, Czech Republic and Belarus completed the top six of the edition.
== Location ==
: For further information see Bulgaria
Bulgaria, is a country in southeastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, and the Black Sea to the east. With a territory of 110,994 square kilometres (42,855 sq mi), Bulgaria is Europe's 16th-largest country.
Organised prehistoric cultures began developing on current Bulgarian lands during the Neolithic period. Its ancient history saw the presence of the Thracians, Greeks, Persians, Celts, Romans, Goths, Alans and Huns. The emergence of a unified Bulgarian state dates back to the establishment of the First Bulgarian Empire in 681 AD, which dominated most of the Balkans and functioned as a cultural hub for Slavs during the Middle Ages. With the downfall of the Second Bulgarian Empire in 1396, its territories came under Ottoman rule for nearly five centuries. The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78 led to the formation of the Third Bulgarian State. The following years saw several conflicts with its neighbours, which prompted Bulgaria to align with Germany in both world wars. In 1946 it became a one-party socialist state as part of the Soviet-led Eastern Bloc. In December 1989 the ruling Communist Party allowed multi-party elections, which subsequently led to Bulgaria's transition into a democracy and a market-based economy.
Bulgaria's population of 7.2 million people is predominantly urbanised and mainly concentrated in the administrative centres of its 28 provinces. Most commercial and cultural activities are centred on the capital and largest city, Sofia. The strongest sectors of the economy are heavy industry, power engineering, and agriculture, all of which rely on local natural resources.
The country's current political structure dates to the adoption of a democratic constitution in 1991. Bulgaria is a unitary parliamentary republic with a high degree of political, administrative, and economic centralisation. It is a member of the European Union, NATO, and the Council of Europe; a founding state of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE); and has taken a seat at the UN Security Council three times.
=== Host City ===
: For further information see Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. 1.3 million people live in the city and 1.7 million people live in its metropolitan area. The city is at the foot of Vitosha Mountain in the western part of the country. Being in the centre of the Balkan peninsula, it is midway between the Black Sea and the Adriatic Sea, and closest to the Aegean Sea.
Sofia has been an area of human habitation since at least 7000 BC. Being Bulgaria's primate city, Sofia is a hometown of many of the major local universities, cultural institutions and commercial companies. Sofia is one of the top 10 best places for start-up business in the world, especially in information technologies. Sofia was Europe's most affordable capital to visit in 2013.
=== Venue ===
: For further information see Arena Armeec
Arena Armeets is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Sofia, Bulgaria. It has a seating capacity of 12,373. For concerts it can grow to 17,000. It was originally called Arena Sofia before the Bulgarian insurance company Armeets purchased the naming rights until 2017. There are 887 parking lots, 614 of them placed in a central exterior parking, 231 placed in near streets and 42 designated for disabled people.
Designed as a universal hall for cultural events and sports, the arena could host up to 30 types of sports, including basketball, volleyball, handball, futsal, boxing, tennis, weightlifting, fencing and gymnastics competitions as well as concerts. The first major concert in the arena was held by Jean Michel Jarre, followed by artists Sade and Amorphis.
=== Bidding phase ===
One day after their announcement of hosting the contest, BNT 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
Sofia	Arena Armeec	12,373(can be expanded for concerts and other events)
== Format ==
The GBU has decided that in the upcoming edition there will be most likely 2 Semi-finals. In each semi-final 10 countries and one Wildcard will qualify for the Grand Final to make a line-up of 27 competing countries (20 Semi-Final qualifers + Wildcard + 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 tok place at Sofia City Hall on the 28th December 2017, hosted by DARA and Mihaela Marinova. 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-three or Twenty-two countries will participate in each semi-finals, respectively. From each semi-final, ten countries and a Wildcard will join the "Big 6" in the final, where a total of twenty-seven countries will participate.
The fourty-six semi-finalists were allocated into six pots, based on their geographical place. 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
* Albania
* Armenia
* Belarus
* Greece
* Romania
* Serbia
* Turkey
* Ukraine	
* Gibraltar
* Italy
* Malta
* Morocco
* Portugal
* San Marino
* Spain
* Vatican City	
* Czech Republic
* France
* Germany
* Luxembourg
* Netherlands
* Poland
* Slovakia
Pot 4	Pot 5	Pot 6
* Åland Islands
* Denmark
* Finland
* Iceland
* Latvia
* Lithuania
* Norway
* United Kingdom	
* Australia
* Fiji
* Kiribati
* Nauru
* New Zealand
* Palau
* Singapore
* Vietnam	
* China
* Hong Kong
* Japan
* Macau
* North Korea
* Russia
* South Korea
=== Running order ===
The Running order of both Semi-finals will be official announced by BNT on the 4th January 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-two countries have confirmed their participation in the sevenfth edition. This includes The Netherlands which returned after being absent since the third edition, as well Luxembourg and Palau returned after there two-edition absence. Also Gibraltar, Hong Kong, Spain and Vatican City returned to the contest after their one-edition absence. Furthermore Kiribati, Macau and Morocco will make their debut appearance in this edition. 
Eight countries, however, announced their withdrawal from the contest. Brazil, Estonia, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Malaysia, South Africa and Thailand all announced their withdrawal citing their Head of Delegation change as the reason, while Sri Lanka's Head of Delegation had no longer interest to participate in the contest. Furthermore Nauru announced on the 28th December 2017 their withdrawal, without any reasons. The GBU will decide next year about sanctions for the Broadcaster.
The confirmation period for the seventh edition opened on the 2nd December 2017. The contest will start most likely in January 2018. As the rules say, if the country will select internally their entry, they should announced the artist at least one week before they reveal the song.
=== Returning artists ===
Besa was internally selected to represent Albania for the second time; she previously represented the country in the thrid edition. Andorra will be represented by Ruth Lorenzo for the second time; she previously represented the country in the fourth edition. As well Kristian Kostov from Bulgaria took part for a second time, after he represented the country in the second edition. Also Jax Jones was selected to represent Gibraltar for the second time; he previously represented the United Kingdom in the first edition. Eleni Foureira was selected to represent Greece for the second time; she previously represented the country in the fourth edition. As well Italy will be represented by Francesca Michielin; she previously represented San Marino in the fourth edition, where she ended as Runner-up. Luxembourg will be represented by Laura Tesoro; she previously represented Belgium in the second edition. BTS was internally selected to represent North Korea for the second time; they previously represented the country in the fifth edition. San Marino will be represented by Lodovica Comello; she previously represented Vatican City in the first edition. The Sam Willows was internally selected to represent Singapore for the fourth time; they previously represented the country in the first-, third- and fifth edition. As well Marija was internally selected to represent Serbia for the second time; she previously represented the country in the third edition. The former winner of the first edition TAYANNA will return to the contest for the Ukraine.
== Results ==
=== Semi Final 1 ===
Twenty-two countries will participate in the first semi-final. Andorra, Moldova and United States will also vote in this semi-final. The highlighted countries in organge qualified for the final and the highlighted country in blue got a Wildcard.
 
Draw	Country 	Artist 	Song 	Place	Points
01 	Portugal 	Rui Andrade 	"Confia em mim" 	16 	111
02 	Australia 	PNAU 	"Chameleon" 	21 	60
03 	South Korea 	Taemin 	"Move" 	5 	160
04 	Lithuania 	Monika Linkytė 	"Leisk Man Pasiklyst" 	22 	52
05 	Armenia 	Sirusho 	"Huh-Hah" 	4 	161
06 	Czech Republic	Zella Day 	"Hypnotic" 	1 	246
07 	Singapore 	The Sam Willows 	"Keep Me Jealous" 	9 	141
08 	Vietnam 	Sơn Tùng M-TP 	"Chúng Ta Không Thuộc Về Nhau"	17 	100
09 	Netherlands 	Wulf 	"Mind Made Up" 	20 	71
10 	Gibraltar 	Jax Jones feat. Ina Wroldsen	"Breathe" 	15 	112
11 	Malta 	Red Electrick 	"Cold As Fever" 	14 	113
12 	Japan 	Dean Jujioka 	"Let It Snow!" 	18 	93
13 	Russia 	Elena Temnikova 	"Vdoh" 	10 	140
14 	Romania 	MIRA 	"Uit de tine" 	7 	150
15 	United Kingdom	Sinead Harnett 	"Unconditional" 	11 	137
16 	Norway 	Sigrid 	"Strangers" 	2 	225
17 	Slovakia 	Peter Bic Project 	"Thinking About You" 	19 	73
18 	Kiribati 	Sia 	"Rainbow" 	6 	154
19 	Belarus 	Rita Dakota 	"Кто" 	3 	199
20 	Greece 	Eleni Foureira 	"Vasilissa" 	13 	125
21 	Morocco 	Faouzia 	"My Heart's Grave" 	12 	135
22 	Åland Islands 	Noomi 	"Intoxicated" 	8 	142
=== Semi Final 2 ===
Twenty-three countries will participate in the second semi-final. Bulgaria, Canada and Sweden will also vote in this semi-final. The highlighted countries in organge qualified for the final and the highlighted country in blue got a Wildcard.
Draw	Country 	Artist 	Song 	Place	Points
01 	Turkey 	Erdem Kınay feat. İkizler 	"Öptüm" 	8 	150
02 	Albania 	Besa feat. Elinel 	"Mos m'le me ra" 	10 	130
03 	Italy 	Francesca Michielin 	"Io non abito al mare" 	2 	215
04 	Poland 	Edyta Górniak 	"Andromeda" 	5 	178
05 	New Zealand 	MAALA 	"Kind Of Love" 	17 	87
06 	Ukraine 	TAYANNA 	"Сила" 	9 	141
07 	China 	Yep Girls 	"One More Night" 	22 	51
08 	Germany 	Jenifer Brening 	"Remember" 	12 	99
09 	Fiji 	Betty Who 	"Human Touch" 	11 	106
10 	Hong Kong 	Jane Zhang 	"Work For It" 	23 	36
11 	Latvia 	Laura Rizzotto 	"Red Flags" 	16 	88
12 	Denmark 	Emmelie de Forest 	"Sanctuary" 	4 	181
13 	Vatican City	Giusy Ferreri feat. Federico Zampaglione	"L'amore mi perseguita" 	13 	97
14 	Macau 	Queena 	"過電" 	19 	63
15 	San Marino 	Lodovica Comello 	"50 Shades of Colours" 	15 	90
16 	Serbia 	Marija 	"Louder Than A Drum" 	3 	211
17 	Luxembourg 	Laura Tesoro 	"Beast" 	20 	63
18 	Finland 	Evelina 	"Vuoristorataa" 	1 	249
19 	Palau 	ONE OK ROCK 	"Bedroom Warfare" 	21 	54
20 	North Korea 	BTS 	"Spring Day" 	14 	91
21 	Iceland 	iLL BLU feat. Glowie 	"Tribalist(Get To Know)"	6 	167
22 	Spain 	Malú 	"Invisible" 	7 	163
23 	France 	Anggun 	"What We Remember" 	18 	84
=== 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 	Canada 	Anjulie 	"Criminal" 	10 	237
02 	Serbia 	Marija 	"Louder Than A Drum" 	4 	285
03 	Russia 	Elena Temnikova 	"Vdoh" 	12 	220
04 	Denmark 	Emmelie de Forest 	"Sanctuary" 	9 	242
05 	Turkey 	Erdem Kınay feat. İkizler 	"Öptüm" 	14 	199
06 	Spain 	Malú 	"Invisible" 	3 	329
07 	Moldova 	Sasha Lopez feat. Ale Blake & Angelika Vee	"Vida Linda" 	27 	94
08 	Iceland 	iLL BLU feat. Glowie 	"Tribalist(Get To Know)"	8 	248
09 	Sweden 	Janice 	"Love You Like I Should"	15 	198
10 	Czech Republic	Zella Day 	"Hypnotic" 	5 	275
11 	Finland 	Evelina 	"Vuoristorataa" 	1 	341
12 	Belarus 	Rita Dakota 	"Кто" 	6 	274
13 	Albania 	Besa feat. Elinel 	"Mos m'le me ra" 	17 	195
14 	Armenia 	Sirusho 	"Huh-Hah" 	19 	192
15 	South Korea 	Taemin 	"Move" 	20 	185
16 	Bulgaria 	Kristian Kostov 	"Глубина" 	7 	267
17 	Åland Islands 	Noomi 	"Intoxicated" 	26 	110
18 	Romania 	MIRA 	"Uit de tine" 	21 	184
19 	United States 	MILCK 	"Devil Devil" 	25 	160
20 	France 	Anggun 	"What We Remember" 	16 	197
21 	Kiribati 	Sia 	"Rainbow" 	24 	170
22 	Ukraine 	TAYANNA 	"Сила" 	18 	193
23 	Norway 	Sigrid 	"Strangers" 	2 	335
24 	Singapore 	The Sam Willows 	"Keep Me Jealous" 	23 	176
25 	Greece 	Eleni Foureira 	"Vasilissa" 	11 	222
26 	Poland 	Edyta Górniak 	"Andromeda" 	13 	205
27 	Andorra 	Ruth Lorenzo 	"Good Girls Don't Lie" 	22 	183
==== Non-qualifier results ====
Place	Country 	SF Place	Points
28 	United Kingdom	11 	137
29 	Morocco 	12 	135
30 	Malta 	14 	113
31 	Gibraltar 	15 	112
32 	Portugal 	16 	111
33 	Fiji 	11 	106
34 	Vietnam 	17 	100
35 	Germany 	12 	99
36 	Vatican City 	13 	97
37 	Japan 	18 	93
38 	North Korea 	14 	91
39 	San Marino 	15 	90
40 	Latvia 	16 	88
41 	New Zealand 	17 	87
42 	Slovakia 	19 	73
43 	Netherlands 	20 	71
44 	Luxembourg 	20 	63
45 	Australia 	21 	60
46 	Palau 	21 	54
47 	Lithuania 	22 	52
48 	China 	22 	51
49 	Hong Kong 	23 	36
50 	Italy 	DSQ 	DSQ
51 	Macau 	DSQ 	DSQ
== 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 	Norway 	119 	Czech Republic 	128
2 	Czech Republic 	118 	Norway 	106
3 	Belarus 	98 	Belarus 	101
4 	South Korea 	83 	Kiribati 	93
5 	Armenia 	83 	Romania 	81
6 	United Kingdom 	81 	Singapore 	79
7 	Morocco 	78 	Armenia 	78
8 	Åland Islands 	76 	Russia 	78
9 	Romania 	69 	South Korea 	77
10 	Greece 	63 	Åland Islands 	66
11 	Singapore 	62 	Greece 	62
12 	Gibraltar 	62 	Morocco 	57
13 	Russia 	62 	United Kingdom 	56
14 	Malta 	61 	Portugal 	53
15 	Kiribati 	61 	Malta 	52
16 	Portugal 	58 	Japan 	51
17 	Vietnam 	57 	Gibraltar 	50
18 	Japan 	42 	Vietnam 	43
19 	Slovakia 	37 	Netherlands 	38
20 	Netherlands 	33 	Australia 	37
21 	Lithuania 	24 	Slovakia 	36
22 	Australia 	23 	Lithuania 	28
=== 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 	Finland 	125 	Finland 	124
2 	Italy 	114 	Serbia 	106
3 	Serbia 	105 	Italy 	101
4 	Poland 	97 	Denmark 	97
5 	Denmark 	84 	Iceland 	89
6 	Spain 	79 	Spain 	84
7 	Iceland 	78 	Poland 	81
8 	Turkey 	73 	Ukraine 	69
9 	Ukraine 	72 	Turkey 	67
10 	Albania 	67 	Germany 	64
11 	Vatican City 	60 	Albania 	63
12 	Latvia 	56 	Fiji 	59
13 	New Zealand 	50 	San Marino 	51
14 	Fiji 	47 	North Korea 	49
15 	France 	43 	France 	41
16 	North Korea 	42 	New Zealand 	37
17 	San Marino 	39 	Vatican City 	37
18 	Germany 	35 	Palau 	33
19 	Macau 	34 	China 	32
20 	Luxembourg 	33 	Latvia 	32
21 	Palau 	21 	Luxembourg 	30
22 	China 	19 	Macau 	29
23 	Hong Kong 	19 	Hong Kong 	17
=== 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 	Spain 	175 	Finland 	190
2 	Norway 	172 	Norway 	163
3 	Serbia 	162 	Spain 	154
4 	Finland 	151 	Bulgaria 	145
5 	Denmark 	137 	Belarus 	143
6 	Czech Republic 	136 	Czech Republic 	139
7 	Canada 	133 	Iceland 	138
8 	Belarus 	131 	Serbia 	123
9 	Bulgaria 	122 	Russia 	109
10 	Greece 	122 	Romania 	107
11 	Sweden 	112 	Singapore 	107
12 	Albania 	112 	Denmark 	105
13 	Russia 	111 	Ukraine 	105
14 	Iceland 	110 	Canada 	104
15 	Poland 	103 	Armenia 	104
16 	Turkey 	102 	South Korea 	104
17 	France 	101 	Poland 	102
18 	Andorra 	92 	Greece 	100
19 	Armenia 	88 	Turkey 	97
20 	Ukraine 	88 	France 	96
21 	Kiribati 	86 	Andorra 	91
22 	United States 	84 	Sweden 	86
23 	South Korea 	81 	Kiribati 	84
24 	Romania 	77 	Albania 	83
25 	Singapore 	69 	United States 	76
26 	Åland Islands 	57 	Åland Islands 	53
27 	Moldova 	44 	Moldova 	50
== 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.
* Brazil: first confirm for the upcoming edition and annouced already their entry. But on the 20th December 2017 the HoD announced the withdrawl of the country. However, no reason was announced of the countries withdrawal. The Hod quit his position and will change his country to Ukraine. A return with new HoD is possible.
* Estonia: ERR 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 Spain. A return with new HoD is possible.
* Ireland: RTÉ 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 The Netherlands. A return with new HoD is possible.
* Liechtenstein: 1FLTV 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 Gibraltar. A return with new HoD is possible.
* Malaysia: MTP 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 China. A return with new HoD is possible.
* South Africa: SABC 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 Israel. A return with new HoD is possible.
* Sri Lanka: SLBC and the HoD announced the withdrawl of the country, because the broadcaster lost the interrest in a new participation. However, no reason was announced of the countries withdrawal. The HoD quit his position. A return with new HoD is possible.
* Thailand: NBT 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 Hong Kong. A return with new HoD is possible.
After submission closed:
* Nauru: NBS first confirm for the upcoming edition and was already allocated to the second half of the first semi-final. But on the 28th December 2017 the HoD announced the withdrawl of the country. However, no reason was announced of the countries withdrawal. 
== Notes ==
# Originally fifty-two countries confirm for the edition.