Country Games I

The Country Games I is an international television music competition to determine the most beautiful countries across the globe. The first series began airing on 6 October 2017 and finished later that month. Every week introduced a new presenter for the series of the main show and no one presented spin-off show The Xtra Factor. 
South Korea, South Africa, United Kingdom and United States were chosen as the judging countries meaning they were ineligible to participate this edition. With these countries chosen from each continent, professional juries and televote from the countries would vote in early rounds to decide who to put through.
The judging countries were permitted to choose one country to auto-qualify once up until the fifth live show; this was as the competition was more serious in the second half of the live shows. They decided that Australia should be auto-qualified from the second live-show, owing to the nation's bottom three appearance in the first show.
The first five shows had double elimination, with the country with least votes automatically and the second from a nation-off. The remaining shows had one country being eliminated from a prolonged nation-off.
The winning country of the contest will serve as the leading judge in the next edition; though meaning that the country would not participate the following edition. Additionally, the contest would take place in the country if not declined by the broadcaster.
==Judges, presenters and other personnel==
The CCU decided a respectable country from each continent to serve as a judge which ultimately became South Korea, South Africa, United Kingdom and United States.
==Finalists==
Key:
: – Winner
: – Runner-up
: – Third place
Continent 	Countries	Countries	Countries	Countries
Africa 	 	 	 	
America 	 	 	 	
Asia-Pacific	 	 	 	
Europe 	 	 	 	
== Live shows ==
===Results summary===
;Colour key
 –	Contestant was in the bottom two/three and had to perform again in the sing-off
 –	Contestant received the fewest public votes and was immediately eliminated (no sing-off)
 –	Contestant received the most public votes
 Weekly results per contestant
Contestant 	Week 1 	Week 2 	Week 3 	Week 4 	Week 5 	Week 6 	Week 7 	Week 8 	Week 8
Contestant 	Week 1 	Week 2 	Week 3 	Week 4 	Week 5 	Week 6 	Week 7 	Saturday 	Sunday
 	15th2.7% 	Wildcard qualifier 	9th6.4% 	3rd12.2% 	4th16.2% 	1st22.8% 	1st29.7% 	1st36.9% 	Winner56.2%
 	2nd11.1% 	3rd11.5% 	1st14.4% 	2nd16.7% 	6th7.0% 	4th15.2% 	2nd23.1% 	2nd29.4% 	Runner-up43.9%
 	7th6.6% 	1st17.0% 	10th6.1% 	1st21.7% 	3rd16.9% 	3rd19.8% 	3rd21.7% 	3rd24.9% 	Eliminated(week 8)
 	13th3.2% 	7th6.4% 	5th8.4% 	8th4.8% 	1st20.7% 	6th9.9% 	4th14.5% 	4th8.9% 	Eliminated(week 8)
 	6th7.0% 	5th9.2% 	4th9.7% 	7th7.9% 	5th11.2% 	2nd21.1% 	5th10.9% 	Eliminated(week 7) 	Eliminated(week 7)
 	3rd9.5% 	12th3.5% 	3rd11.0% 	6th8.9% 	2nd17.3% 	5th11.3% 	Eliminated(week 6) 	Eliminated(week 6) 	Eliminated(week 6)
 	1st12.9% 	8th5.2% 	2nd11.6% 	4th11.0% 	7th5.7% 	Eliminated(week 5) 	Eliminated(week 5) 	Eliminated(week 5) 	Eliminated(week 5)
 	12th4.5% 	10th4.5% 	8th7.4% 	5th9.4% 	8th5.0% 	Eliminated(week 5) 	Eliminated(week 5) 	Eliminated(week 5) 	Eliminated(week 5)
 	5th7.6% 	4th9.9% 	6th8.1% 	9th3.9% 	Eliminated(week 4) 	Eliminated(week 4) 	Eliminated(week 4) 	Eliminated(week 4) 	Eliminated(week 4)
 	4th8.4% 	2nd14.6% 	7th7.8% 	10th3.6% 	Eliminated(week 4) 	Eliminated(week 4) 	Eliminated(week 4) 	Eliminated(week 4) 	Eliminated(week 4)
 	11th4.9% 	9th4.9% 	11th5.0% 	Eliminated(week 3) 	Eliminated(week 3) 	Eliminated(week 3) 	Eliminated(week 3) 	Eliminated(week 3) 	Eliminated(week 3)
 	10th5.2% 	5th9.2% 	12th3.9% 	Eliminated(week 3) 	Eliminated(week 3) 	Eliminated(week 3) 	Eliminated(week 3) 	Eliminated(week 3) 	Eliminated(week 3)
 	9th5.3% 	11th4.2% 	Eliminated(week 2) 	Eliminated(week 2) 	Eliminated(week 2) 	Eliminated(week 2) 	Eliminated(week 2) 	Eliminated(week 2) 	Eliminated(week 2)
 	8th5.9% 	13th1.5% 	Eliminated(week 2) 	Eliminated(week 2) 	Eliminated(week 2) 	Eliminated(week 2) 	Eliminated(week 2) 	Eliminated(week 2) 	Eliminated(week 2)
 	14th3.0% 	Eliminated(week 1) 	Eliminated(week 1) 	Eliminated(week 1) 	Eliminated(week 1) 	Eliminated(week 1) 	Eliminated(week 1) 	Eliminated(week 1) 	Eliminated(week 1)
 	16th2.3% 	Eliminated(week 1) 	Eliminated(week 1) 	Eliminated(week 1) 	Eliminated(week 1) 	Eliminated(week 1) 	Eliminated(week 1) 	Eliminated(week 1) 	Eliminated(week 1)
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Nation-off 	Australia, Algeria 	Portugal, Tunisia 	Indonesia, Vietnam 	Brazil, Bulgaria 	Italy, France 	Brazil, Portugal 	Canada, Brazil 	No nation-off or nations' votes: results were based on public votes alone	No nation-off or nations' votes: results were based on public votes alone
#KOR's vote to eliminate	Algeria 	Portugal 	Indonesia 	Bulgaria 	France 	Portugal 	Canada 	No nation-off or nations' votes: results were based on public votes alone	No nation-off or nations' votes: results were based on public votes alone
#ZAF's vote to eliminate	Australia 	Portugal 	Indonesia 	Bulgaria 	Italy 	Portugal 	Canada 	No nation-off or nations' votes: results were based on public votes alone	No nation-off or nations' votes: results were based on public votes alone
#GBR's vote to eliminate	Algeria 	Tunisia 	Indonesia 	Brazil 	Italy 	Portugal 	Brazil 	No nation-off or nations' votes: results were based on public votes alone	No nation-off or nations' votes: results were based on public votes alone
#USA's vote to eliminate	Algeria 	Tunisia 	Indonesia 	Bulgaria 	France 	Portugal 	Brazil 	No nation-off or nations' votes: results were based on public votes alone	No nation-off or nations' votes: results were based on public votes alone
#CCU's vote to eliminate	colspan="5" 	Portugal 	 	 	 	 	 	No nation-off or nations' votes: results were based on public votes alone	No nation-off or nations' votes: results were based on public votes alone
Eliminated 	AlgeriaFewest votes to save	ArgentinaFewest votes to save	ChinaFewest votes to save 	PeruFewest votes to save 	MoroccoFewest votes to save	Portugal5 of 5 votesMajority	Canada2 of 4 votesDeadlock	BrazilFewest votes to save 	Italy43.9%to win
Eliminated 	Egypt3 of 4 votesMajority 	Tunisia2 of 4 votesDeadlock 	Indonesia4 of 4 votesMajority	Bulgaria3 of 4 votesMajority	France2 of 4 votesDeadlock 	Portugal5 of 5 votesMajority	Canada2 of 4 votesDeadlock	BrazilFewest votes to save 	Italy43.9%to win
===Week 1 (6/7 October)===
*Host(s): 
*Theme: Capital City
*National guests: United States ("Welcome to America")
 Contestants' performances on the first live show
Nation 	Order 	City 	Result
 	1 	Rabat 	Safe
 	2 	Ottawa 	Safe
 	3 	Canberra 	Bottom three
 	4 	Rome 	Safe
 	5 	Cairo 	Eliminated
 	6 	Brasília 	Safe
 	7 	Beijing 	Safe
 	8 	Paris 	Safe
 	9 	Algiers 	Bottom three
 	10 	Lima 	Safe
 	11 	Jakarta 	Safe
 	12 	Lisbon 	Safe
 	13 	Tunis 	Safe
 	14 	Buenos Aires 	Safe
 	15 	Hanoi 	Safe
 	16 	Sofia 	Safe
Nation-off details	Nation-off details	Nation-off details	Nation-off details
 	1 	Gold Coast 	Safe
 	2 	Annaba 	Eliminated
;Nations' vote to eliminate
* : Algeria – no reason
* : Australia – no reason
* : Algeria – no reason
* : Algeria – no reason
===Week 2 (8/9 October)===
*Host(s): 
*Theme: Sister City
*National guests: United States ("Visit Seattle")
*Auto-qualifier: Australia (South Korea)
 Contestants' performances on the first live show
Nation 	Order 	City 	Result
 	1 	Asilah 	Safe
 	2 	Bridgetown 	Safe
 	3 	Wildcard qualifier	Wildcard qualifier
 	4 	Catania 	Safe
 	5 	Natal 	Safe
 	6 	Guangzhou 	Safe
 	7 	Poitiers 	Safe
 	8 	Arequipa 	Safe
 	9 	Samarinda 	Safe
 	10 	Aveiro 	Bottom 3
 	11 	Monastir 	Bottom 3
 	12 	Quilmes 	Eliminated
 	13 	Haiphong 	Safe
 	14 	Plovdiv 	Safe
Nation-off details	Nation-off details	Nation-off details	Nation-off details
 	1 	Faro 	Safe
 	2 	Bizerte 	Eliminated
;Nations' vote to eliminate
* : Portugal – no reason
* : Portugal – no reason
* : Tunisia – no reason
* : Tunisia – no reason
===Week 3 (10/11 October)===
*Host(s): 
*Theme: Towns
*National guests: South Africa ("Visit Johannesburg")
 Nations' performances on third live show
Nation 	Order 	City 	Result
 	1 	Larache 	Safe
 	2 	Banff 	Safe
 	3 	Broome 	Safe
 	4 	Amalfi 	Safe
 	5 	Paraty 	Safe
 	6 	Zhouzhuang 	Eliminated
 	7 	Biarritz 	Safe
 	8 	Sicuani 	Safe
 	9 	Padang Panjang 	Bottom three
 	10 	Sintra 	Safe
 	11 	Bắc Kạn 	Bottom three
 	12 	Dupnitsa 	Safe
Nation-off details	Nation-off details	Nation-off details	Nation-off details
 	1 	Surabaya 	Eliminated
 	2 	Nha Trang 	Safe
;Nations' vote to eliminate
* : Indonesia – no reason
* : Indonesia – no reason
* : Indonesia – no reason
* : Indonesia – no reason
===Week 4 (12/13 October)===
*Host(s): 
*Theme: Large City
*National guests: South Korea ("Visit Pyeongchang")
 Nations' performances on fourth live show
Nation 	Order 	City 	Result
 	1 	Meknes 	Safe
 	2 	Calgary 	Safe
 	3 	Adelaide 	Safe
 	4 	Naples 	Safe
 	5 	Manaus 	Bottom three
 	6 	Lyon 	Safe
 	7 	Cusco 	Eliminated
 	8 	Coimbra 	Safe
 	9 	Da Nang 	Safe
 	10 	Varna 	Bottom three
Nation-off details	Nation-off details	Nation-off details	Nation-off details
 	1 	Salvador 	Safe
 	2 	Burgas 	Eliminated
;Nations' vote to eliminate
* : Bulgaria – no reason
* : Bulgaria – no reason
* : Brazil – no reason
* : Bulgaria – no reason
===Week 5 (14/15 October)===
*Host(s): 
*Theme: Other capital
*National guests: United Kingdom ("Visit London")
 Nations' performances on fifth live show
Nation 	Order 	City 	Result
 	1 	Fes 	Eliminated
 	2 	Halifax 	Safe
 	3 	Perth 	Safe
 	4 	Turin 	Bottom three
 	5 	São Paulo 	Safe
 	6 	Strasbourg 	Bottom three
 	7 	Porto 	Safe
 	8 	Ho Chi Minh City 	Safe
Nation-off details	Nation-off details	Nation-off details	Nation-off details
 	1 	Florence 	Safe
 	2 	Marseille 	Eliminated
;Nations' vote to eliminate
* : France – no reason
* : Italy – no reason
* : Italy – no reason
* : France – no reason
===Week 6 (16/17 October)===
*Also known as: Quarter-final
*Host(s): 
*Theme:
**First city (chosen by Judges)
**Second city (free choice)
*National guests: Country Contest Union ("A Visit Around the Globe")
This live show marked the first to not include immediate elimination; this was as by now the competition was only left with six countries and had become much more serious. Additionally, America, Asia-Pacific and Europe all had a fair chance as they were respectively left with two countries; though meaning that Africa had been eliminated from the race.
Canada, a country that had never been stable in the bookmaker odds, jumped to first place after being the only country left to never place in the bottom three. However, some professionals argued that "it had been a matter of strategy" but that given Canada is the second largest country "it wasn't much of a problem." By this show, South Africa was forced to pick a continent to "cheer for", but refused due to "wanting to cheer for countries themselves, rather than continents as a whole."
To help decide which countries should advance to the semi-final, the Country Contest Union served as guest judges. Still, three votes were counted as majority but unlike last time, two votes resulted in automatic nation-off elimination (meaning that deadlock was impossible).
 Nations' performances on sixth live show
Nation 	Order 	First city (judges' choice)	Second city (free choice)	Result
 	1 	Saskatoon 	Kelowna 	Safe
 	2 	Brisbane 	Hobart 	Safe
 	3 	Venice 	Palermo 	Safe
 	4 	Fortaleza 	João Pessoa 	Bottom two
 	5 	Cascais 	Estoril 	Bottom two
 	6 	Vũng Tàu 	Nha Trang 	Safe
Nation-off details	Nation-off details	Nation-off details 	Nation-off details 	Nation-off details
 	1 	Rio de Janeiro 	Rio de Janeiro 	Safe
 	2 	Portimão 	Portimão 	Eliminated
;Nations' vote to eliminate
* : Portugal – no reason
* : Portugal – no reason
* : Portugal – no reason
* : Portugal – no reason
* CCU (guest): Portugal – no reason
===Week 7: Semi-final (18/19 October)===
*Host(s): 
*Theme: City to Qualify
*National guests: United States ("Tour Over America")
The semi-final had an evident advantage for America and Asia, as Europe remained with just one act despite being the leading continent for the first five rounds. Still, Canada had never ended in the bottom three or two, as odds for the nation winning shortened. Brazil had also been speculated as the non-qualifier given its part in the bottom two for two times now.
The judging countries put the vote to deadlock, something Canada did not expect when choosing their original city for the show. As Brazil had a marginal lead over Canada in the live show originally, it won the deadlock vote and progressed over Canada to the final.
 Nations' performances on seventh live show
Nation 	Order 	City 	Result
 	1 	Toronto 	Bottom two
 	2 	Wollongong 	Safe
 	3 	Cagliari 	Safe
 	4 	Vitória 	Bottom two
 	5 	Lạng Sơn 	Safe
Nation-off details	Nation-off details	Nation-off details	Nation-off details
 	1 	Nanaimo 	Eliminated
 	2 	Florianópolis 	Safe
;Nations' vote to eliminate
* : Canada – no reason
* : Canada – no reason
* : Brazil – no reason
* : Brazil – no reason
===Week 8: Final (20/21 October)===
*Host(s): (Saturday); & (Sunday)
*Theme: Previous Weeks, Free Choice (Saturday); Best Placing City, Previous Weeks (Sunday)
*National guests: United States ("TBA") and ("TBA"), Country Contest Union ("TBA") and ("TBA"), United Kingdom ("TBA"), South Korea ("TBA"), South Africa ("TBA")
The final saw the Asia-Pacific have a two-country advantage over the other continents, something that was not expected given Brazil's bottom threes/twos and Canada's perfect record up until last week.
During the show, it was revealed that the finalists' week-by-week score from week 1 to the first stage of the final would accustom fifty percent of their result, while the other fifty would be from the day itself. This was later explained to assure that the country had, if not always, at least mostly strong city performances throughout the competition.
During the first round of the final, it was announced that the country who had the least percentage of votes throughout the past 7 weeks would be automatically eliminated, before the remaining 3 countries battled for the final spot in the "Sunday final".
 Nations' performances on eighth live show
Nation	Order	First phase 	First phase	Second phase 	Second phase
Nation	Order	Previous cities 	Result 	City 	Result
 	1 	CanberraBroomeAdelaidePerthBrisbaneHobartWollongong 	Safe 	Sydney 	Safe
 	2 	RomeCataniaAmalfiNaplesTurinVenicePalermoCagliari 	Safe 	Salerno 	Safe
 	3 	BrasíliaNatalParatyManausSão PauloFortalezaJoão PessoaVitória 	Eliminated 	Failed to qualify	Failed to qualify
 	4 	HanoiHaiphongBắc KạnDa NangHo Chi Minh CityVũng TàuNha TrangLạng Sơn	Safe 	Da Lat 	Eliminated
 Nations' performances on eighth live show
Nation	Order	50% result 	50% result	50% result 	50% result	Combined result	Combined result
Nation	Order	City of the series	Result 	Previous cities	Result 	Combined result	Combined result
 	1 	Sydney 	59.3% 	See above 	53.0% 	56.2% 	Winner
 	2 	Amalfi 	40.7% 	See above 	47.0% 	43.9% 	Runner-up
==Controversies==
=== Canadian semi-final elimination ===
After being called out Safe for all past six weeks, Canada was not announced as one of the Safe acts in the semi-final with its city Toronto. Brazil, now being not called Safe for the third time had to compete with Canada in the nation-off for the last spot in the final.
South Korea and South Africa chose to eliminate Canada, whilst the UK and US chose to eliminate Brazil. Professionals claimed that both South Korea and Africa made a deal with TV Brasil to allow Brazil to qualify to the final. The vote went to deadlock, which meant that the public vote in the first round was the deciding factor - in which Brazil "narrowly beat" Canada.
The same reason also affected Morocco in week 6 (though had no chance to defend themselves) and France, both who'd never been in the nation-off. Days after the elimination, CBC stated that they weren't satisfied with the result but that nations should be given "a warning" or "another phase of public vote" to defend themselves as, in their case, had no idea what was coming.
The CCU later stated that they had put those suggestions in consideration, and that some format changes for the next edition would be revealed in due course.
==See also==