GreatVision Song Contest 18

GreatVision Song Contest 18, often referred to as GVSC 18, will be the eighteenth edition of the GreatVision Song Contest. It will be held in Germany, after Kim Petras won the seventeenth edition with "Icy". NDR chose the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin to serve as the host venue for the edition, while Helene Fischer, Kim Petras and Olivia Jones were selected as the presenters. 
Winner after a big and exciting show was SICKOTOY and Roxen from Romania with their the song "You Don't Love Me", they reached 344 Points and the best result since their debut. At the 2nd Place was the South Korea represent by Everglow their song "Dun Dun", they reached 329 Points, while on 3rd Place was the Netherlands represent by Eefje de Visser with her song "Lange Vinnen", she reached 320 Points. Furthermore Hungary, Albania and Kosovo completed the top six of the edition.
== Location ==
: For further information see Germany
Germany is a country in Central and Western Europe. It borders Denmark to the north, Poland and the Czech Republic to the east, Austria and Switzerland to the south, France to the southwest, and Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands to the west.
Germany includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,386 square kilometres (137,988 sq mi), and has a largely temperate seasonal climate. With 83 million inhabitants, it is the second most populous state of Europe after Russia, the most populous state lying entirely in Europe, as well as the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is a very decentralised country. Its capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while Frankfurt serves as its financial capital and has the country's busiest airport.
Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity. A region named Germania was documented before AD 100. Beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation. After the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire, the German Confederation was formed in 1815. The German revolutions of 1848–49 resulted in the Frankfurt Parliament establishing major democratic rights. In 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the revolution of 1918–19, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic. The Nazi seizure of power in 1933 led to the establishment of a dictatorship, World War II, and the Holocaust. After the end of World War II in Europe and a period of Allied occupation, two new German states were founded: West Germany and East Germany. Following the Revolutions of 1989 that ended communist rule in Central and Eastern Europe, the country was reunified on 3 October 1990.
=== Host City ===
: For further information see Berlin
Berlin is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3,748,148 (2018) inhabitants make it the most populous city proper of the European Union. The city is one of Germany's 16 federal states. It is surrounded by the state of Brandenburg, and contiguous with Potsdam, Brandenburg's capital. The two cities are at the center of the Berlin-Brandenburg capital region, which is, with about six million inhabitants and an area of more than 30,000 km², Germany's third-largest metropolitan region after the Rhine-Ruhr and Rhine-Main regions.
Berlin straddles the banks of the River Spree, which flows into the River Havel (a tributary of the River Elbe) in the western borough of Spandau. Among the city's main topographical features are the many lakes in the western and southeastern boroughs formed by the Spree, Havel, and Dahme rivers (the largest of which is Lake Müggelsee). Due to its location in the European Plain, Berlin is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. About one-third of the city's area is composed of forests, parks, gardens, rivers, canals and lakes. The city lies in the Central German dialect area, the Berlin dialect being a variant of the Lusatian-New Marchian dialects.
First documented in the 13th century and situated at the crossing of two important historic trade routes, Berlin became the capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg (1417–1701), the Kingdom of Prussia (1701–1918), the German Empire (1871–1918), the Weimar Republic (1919–1933), and the Third Reich (1933–1945). Berlin in the 1920s was the third largest municipality in the world. After World War II and its subsequent occupation by the victorious countries, the city was divided; West Berlin became a de facto West German exclave, surrounded by the Berlin Wall (1961–1989) and East German territory. East Berlin was declared capital of East Germany, while Bonn became the West German capital. Following German reunification in 1990, Berlin once again became the capital of all of Germany.
Berlin is a world city of culture, politics, media and science. Its economy is based on high-tech firms and the service sector, encompassing a diverse range of creative industries, research facilities, media corporations and convention venues. Berlin serves as a continental hub for air and rail traffic and has a highly complex public transportation network. The metropolis is a popular tourist destination. Significant industries also include IT, pharmaceuticals, biomedical engineering, clean tech, biotechnology, construction and electronics.
=== Venue ===
: For further information see Mercedes-Benz Arena
The Mercedes-Benz Arena is a multipurpose indoor arena in the Friedrichshain neighborhood of Berlin, Germany, which opened in 2008. With a capacity of 17,000 people, it is home to the Eisbären Berlin ice hockey club and the Alba Berlin basketball team, and is used for other ice hockey, basketball and handball matches as well as concerts. The arena hosted the 2008–09 Euroleague Final Four. The arena was one of the most prominent elements of the Mediaspree urban redevelopment project, quickly gaining emblematic status in the debates surrounding the project's impact.
The venue will host some group phase matches. It will also host the final phase matches at the FIBA EuroBasket 2021 with the country and Cologne alongside Czech Republic in Prague, Georgia in Tbilisi and Italy in Milan.
== 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. 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 took place Berlin City Hall in February 2020. 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 or twenty-two 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-three semi-finalists were allocated into six pots, based on their geographical place. Each time a country was be drawn from the pot, it´s half of the semi-final was determined.
The six pots were the following:
Pot 1	Pot 2	Pot 3
* Estonia
* Georgia
* Japan
* Lithuania
* North Korea
* Russia
* South Korea
* Uzbekistan	
* Åland Islands 
* Belgium
* Iceland
* Luxembourg
* Norway
* Sweden
* United Kingdom	
* Belarus
* Czech Republic
* Hungary
* Poland
* Romania
* Slovakia
* Ukraine
Pot 4	Pot 5	Pot 6
* Australia
* Brazil
* Canada
* Colombia
* Indonesia
* Malaysia
* United States	
* Albania
* Andorra
* France
* Italy
* Monaco
* Spain
* Switzerland	
* Cyprus
* Iran
* Israel
* Kosovo
* North Macedonia
* Serbia
* Turkey
=== Running order ===
The Running order of both Semi-finals will be official announced by NDR in February 2020, 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==
Fourty-nine countries have confirmed their provisional participation in the contest. This includes, Colombia which returned after their twelve-edition abscence, North Macedonia which returned after their six-edition abscence, Luxembourg which returned after their four-edition abscence, Estonia, Hungary which returned after their two-edition abscence, Israel which returned after its one-edition abscence. While Georgia and Iran will make his debut appearance in this edition. 
Twelve countries, however, announced their withdrawal from the contest, Croatia, Denmark and Tajikistan announced their withdrawal citing their Head of Delegation change as the reason. While the HoD's of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Liechtenstein had no longer interest or time to participate in the contest. While Faroe Islands, Portugal and Slovenia missed out the confirmation deadline. While Austria, Mexico, Thailand, and South Africa
===Returning artists===
The Åland Islands will be reperesent by Dotter; she previously represented Sweden in the contest. Dua Lipa return to the contest to represent Albania; she previously represented Kosovo in the contest twice. Also Belgium will be reperesent by Era Istrefi; she previously represented Albania and Kosovo in the contest. Finland will be reperesent by Evelina, having previously achieved a victory in the eighth edition with "Vuoristorataa". Also Indonesia will be reperesent by Agnez Mo for a second time. Elodie return to the contest to represent Italy for a second time. Aimer return to the contest to represent Japan. Furthermore Tiësto & Rita Ora return to the contest to represent Kosovo; Tiësto previously represented Sweden in the contest, while Rita Ora previously represented the country. AS well Lithuania will be reperesent by Moniqué for a second time. Angèle returns to take part for Luxembourg, after representing Belgium in the contest. North Korea ill be reperesent by KARD; they previously represented the country and the United States in the contest. Lina Mayer return to the contest to represent Slovakia again. Finally Ellie Goulding return to the contest to represent the United Kingdom for a third time.
== Results ==
=== Semi-final 1 ===
Twenty-two countries will participate in the first Semi-final. Germany, Greece and New Zealand will also vote in this semi-final. The highlighted countries in organge qualified for the final.
Draw	Country 	Artist 	Song 	Place	Points
01 	Monaco 	Pomme 	"Je sais pas danser"	15 	91
02 	Estonia 	xtra basic & Emily J 	"Hold Me Close" 	21 	53
03 	Israel 	Dotan 	"Numb" 	2 	209
04 	Andorra 	DJ Valdi x Aitor Galan x Jia Miles 	"Put It On Me" 	13 	132
05 	Spain 	Julia Medina 	"Dime" 	20 	57
06 	Italy 	Elodie 	"Andromeda" 	7 	167
07 	Poland 	Daria Zawiałow 	"Hej Hej!" 	10 	162
08 	Romania 	SICKOTOY feat. Roxen 	"You Don't Love Me" 	1 	216
09 	Åland Islands	Dotter 	"Evolution" 	8 	163
10 	Belgium 	Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike feat. Era Istrefi	"Selfish" 	17 	86
11 	Turkey 	Samra & Elif 	"Zu Ende" 	16 	90
12 	Georgia 	My Equinox Divine 	"Psycho" 	22 	50
13 	Iceland 	Glowie 	"Cruel" 	12 	139
14 	Cyprus 	Xryspa 	"Aladdin" 	9 	162
15 	Kosovo 	Tiësto, Jonas Blue & Rita Ora 	"Ritual" 	5 	174
16 	Russia 	Katya Adushkina 	"Beauty Bomb" 	14 	121
17 	Malaysia 	Stacy 	"Khayal" 	18 	70
18 	Serbia 	Zap Me Strobe feat. Boyana 	"Katamana" 	4 	177
19 	Sweden 	Smith & Thell 	"Hotel Walls" 	3 	187
20 	Uzbekistan 	Munisa Rizayeva 	"Bir nima de" 	11 	155
21 	Brazil 	Pabllo Vittar 	"Problema Seu" 	19 	69
22 	Canada 	The Weeknd 	"Blinding Lights" 	6 	170
=== Semi-final 2 ===
Twenty-one countries will participate in the second Semi-final. Bulgaria, Finland and Netherlands will also vote in this semi-final. The highlighted countries in organge qualified for the final.
Draw	Country 	Artist 	Song 	Place	Points
01 	Colombia 	Karol G 	"Pineapple" 	19 	53
02 	Indonesia 	Agnez Mo 	"Long As I Get Paid"	17 	86
03 	Slovakia 	Lina Mayer 	"Nothing" 	7 	173
04 	Japan 	Aimer 	”I Beg You” 	18 	70
05 	Australia 	Timomatic 	"Mash Up" 	15 	99
06 	Belarus 	breesku 	"Po Krayu" 	20 	48
07 	North Macedonia	Cyrillic 	"Sevda" 	14 	103
08 	United States 	JVNA 	"Chemicals" 	9 	163
09 	Switzerland 	Anna Rossinelli 	"Hold Your Head Up" 	6 	177
10 	North Korea 	KARD 	"Red Moon" 	10 	154
11 	Lithuania 	Moniqué 	"Make Me Human" 	3 	191
12 	Luxembourg 	Angèle 	”Oui ou Non” 	13 	113
13 	France 	Marina Kaye 	"The Whole 9" 	4 	187
14 	Iran 	NAVA 	"Ritual" 	16 	86
15 	Norway 	Akuvi 	"Som Du Er" 	12 	137
16 	Ukraine 	KAZKA 	"Ryzdvyana" 	21 	30
17 	Czech Republic 	Elis Mraz feat. Čis T	"Wanna Be Like" 	8 	170
18 	United Kingdom 	Ellie Goulding 	"On My Mind" 	11 	137
19 	South Korea 	EVERGLOW 	"Dun Dun" 	1 	219
20 	Hungary 	YAMINA 	"Neon" 	5 	183
21 	Albania 	Dua Lipa 	"Physical" 	2 	205
=== 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 	Slovakia 	Lina Mayer 	"Nothing" 	24 	136
02 	Åland Islands 	Dotter 	"Evolution" 	17 	189
03 	Cyprus 	Xryspa 	"Aladdin" 	25 	131
04 	Hungary 	YAMINA 	"Neon" 	4 	283
05 	Bulgaria 	Galena 	"Panika" 	26 	61
06 	Czech Republic	Elis Mraz feat. Čis T 	"Wanna Be Like" 	19 	188
07 	Germany 	Cosby feat. Malik Harris 	"Dust" 	9 	245
08 	Sweden 	Smith & Thell 	"Hotel Walls" 	7 	257
09 	Lithuania 	Moniqué 	"Make Me Human" 	13 	235
10 	North Korea 	KARD 	"Red Moon" 	20 	176
11 	Netherlands 	Eefje de Visser 	"Lange Vinnen" 	3 	320
12 	Poland 	Daria Zawiałow 	"Hej Hej!" 	11 	241
13 	Canada 	The Weeknd 	"Blinding Lights" 	16 	192
14 	Italy 	Elodie 	"Andromeda" 	10 	243
15 	Romania 	SICKOTOY feat. Roxen 	"You Don't Love Me" 	1 	344
16 	United States 	JVNA 	"Chemicals" 	18 	189
17 	Finland 	Evelina 	"Sireenit" 	21 	174
18 	Serbia 	Zap Me Strobe feat. Boyana 	"Katamana" 	22 	164
19 	Switzerland 	Anna Rossinelli 	"Hold Your Head Up" 	12 	241
20 	Kosovo 	Tiësto, Jonas Blue & Rita Ora	"Ritual" 	6 	267
21 	France 	Marina Kaye 	"The Whole 9" 	23 	138
22 	Greece 	Aero Chord, Nevve 	"Take Me Home" 	8 	246
23 	South Korea 	EVERGLOW 	"Dun Dun" 	2 	329
24 	New Zealand 	ASHY 	"All Eyes Are On Me"	14 	219
25 	Israel 	Dotan 	"Numb" 	15 	195
26 	Albania 	Dua Lipa 	"Physical" 	5 	283
==== Non-qualifier results ====
Place	Country 	SF Place	Points
27 	Uzbekistan 	11 	155
28 	Iceland 	12 	139
29 	United Kingdom 	11 	137
30 	Norway 	12 	137
31 	Andorra 	13 	132
32 	Russia 	14 	121
33 	Luxembourg 	13 	113
34 	North Macedonia	14 	103
35 	Australia 	15 	99
36 	Monaco 	15 	91
37 	Turkey 	16 	90
38 	Iran 	16 	86
39 	Belgium 	17 	86
40 	Indonesia 	17 	86
41 	Japan 	18 	70
42 	Malaysia 	18 	70
43 	Brazil 	19 	69
44 	Spain 	20 	57
45 	Colombia 	19 	53
46 	Estonia 	21 	53
47 	Georgia 	22 	50
48 	Belarus 	20 	48
49 	Ukraine 	21 	30
== Voting grids ==
=== Semi-Final 1 ===
Semi-Final 1 split jury/televote results	Semi-Final 1 split jury/televote results	Semi-Final 1 split jury/televote results	Semi-Final 1 split jury/televote results	Semi-Final 1 split jury/televote results
Place 	Jury 	Points 	Televoting 	Points
1 	Israel 	115 	Romania 	118
2 	Sweden 	100 	Israel 	94
3 	Romania 	98 	Kosovo 	93
4 	Serbia 	87 	Italy 	92
5 	Cyprus 	87 	Serbia 	90
6 	Åland Islands 	86 	Sweden 	87
7 	Canada 	85 	Canada 	85
8 	Kosovo 	81 	Uzbekistan 	83
9 	Poland 	80 	Poland 	82
10 	Italy 	75 	Andorra 	79
11 	Uzbekistan 	72 	Åland Islands 	77
12 	Iceland 	65 	Cyprus 	75
13 	Russia 	55 	Iceland 	74
14 	Andorra 	53 	Russia 	66
15 	Turkey 	52 	Belgium 	47
16 	Monaco 	49 	Brazil 	42
17 	Malaysia 	45 	Monaco 	42
18 	Georgia 	39 	Turkey 	38
19 	Belgium 	39 	Estonia 	30
20 	Spain 	37 	Malaysia 	25
21 	Brazil 	27 	Spain 	20
22 	Estonia 	23 	Georgia 	11
=== Semi-Final 2 ===
Semi-Final 2 split jury/televote results	Semi-Final 2 split jury/televote results	Semi-Final 2 split jury/televote results	Semi-Final 2 split jury/televote results	Semi-Final 2 split jury/televote results
Place 	Jury 	Points 	Televoting 	Points
1 	South Korea 	113 	South Korea 	106
2 	Albania 	109 	France 	98
3 	Lithuania 	102 	Albania 	96
4 	Slovakia 	94 	Hungary 	94
5 	Switzerland 	91 	United States 	90
6 	France 	89 	Lithuania 	89
7 	Hungary 	89 	Switzerland 	86
8 	Czech Republic 	85 	Czech Republic 	85
9 	North Korea 	74 	North Korea 	80
10 	United States 	73 	Slovakia 	79
11 	Norway 	63 	United Kingdom 	78
12 	United Kingdom 	59 	Norway 	74
13 	Luxembourg 	56 	Luxembourg 	57
14 	North Macedonia 	56 	Australia 	53
15 	Australia 	46 	North Macedonia 	47
16 	Iran 	45 	Indonesia 	45
17 	Indonesia 	41 	Iran 	41
18 	Japan 	37 	Japan 	33
19 	Belarus 	29 	Colombia 	28
20 	Colombia 	25 	Belarus 	19
21 	Ukraine 	16 	Ukraine 	14
=== 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 	Netherlands 	170 	Romania 	188
2 	South Korea 	161 	South Korea 	168
3 	Romania 	156 	Kosovo 	150
4 	Hungary 	148 	Netherlands 	150
5 	Sweden 	141 	Albania 	147
6 	Lithuania 	139 	Hungary 	135
7 	Albania 	136 	Switzerland 	131
8 	Greece 	120 	Germany 	130
9 	Poland 	119 	Italy 	128
10 	Israel 	118 	Greece 	126
11 	Kosovo 	117 	Poland 	122
12 	Germany 	115 	Sweden 	116
13 	Italy 	115 	New Zealand 	107
14 	New Zealand 	112 	North Korea 	99
15 	Switzerland 	108 	Czech Republic 	99
16 	Åland Islands 	96 	United States 	98
17 	Canada 	96 	Lithuania 	96
18 	Finland 	92 	Canada 	96
19 	United States 	91 	Åland Islands 	93
20 	Czech Republic 	89 	Serbia 	84
21 	France 	81 	Finland 	82
22 	Serbia 	80 	Israel 	77
23 	North Korea 	77 	Cyprus 	67
24 	Slovakia 	71 	Slovakia 	65
25 	Cyprus 	64 	France 	57
26 	Bulgaria 	30 	Bulgaria 	31
== 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.
*The following countries failed to confirm their participation within the given deadline and were fined by the GBU:
* Faroe Islands
* Portugal
* Slovenia
*The following countries failed to send their entry within the given deadline and were fined by the GBU:
* Austria
* Mexico
* Thailand
* South Africa
* Bosnia and Herzegovina: Shortly after the Semi-final's of the previous edition, the Bosnian Head of Delegation quit his position. However, no reason was announced of the withdrawal. The Bosnian entry was Disqualified.
* Croatia: HRT 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 North Macedonia. A return with new HoD is possible.
* Denmark: DR 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 Indonesia. A return with new HoD is possible.
* Liechtenstein: It was announced that Liechtenstein will take a break from the contest. However, no reason was announced of the countries withdrawal but the non-qualifications in the past editions could be use as a reason for the countries withdrawl. A future return was not ruled out by the broadcaster.
* Tajikistan: the broadcaster 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 Iran. A return with new HoD is possible.