Edition 5

On The Edge

### Interval act

Medley of Russian representatives: Nikita Kiosse, Julia Samoylova, Drummatix, Tri Dnya DozhdyaLittle Big "Uno"

## Participants

### Debuting countries

  Bosnia and Herzegovina,   Montenegro,   Uzbekistan

### Returning countries

  Albania,   Algeria,   Estonia,   Israel,   Malta,   Morocco

## Vote

### Voting system

Each country awarded one set in the semi-finals, or two sets in the final of 12, 10, 8–1 points to ten songs.

## Topsical Song Contest

The fifth **Topsical Song Contest** took place in Kazan,   Russia following the country's victory in the third edition with the song "Za Kray" by Tri Dnya Dozhdya. Organised by TopsRadio and the host broadcaster, a Dutch-based Free Russian broadcaster, TV Rain (Dozhd), the contest was held at the Ak Bars Arena, and consisted of two semi-finals on 8 January 2024 and 15 January 2024, and the final on TBA January 2024. The semi-finals shows were presented by Ilya Prusikin and Sonya Tayurskaya, part of the iconic group Little Big, while the final show was presented by Angel Ulyanov and Manizha. Prior to edition 5 semi-finals, a pre-qualification round was hosted in Yekaterinburg, hosted by Alla Pugacheva in the Central Stadium of Yekaterinburg, in which 10 countries took part and fought for the remaining spots in the semi-finals.

57 countries participated in the contest, with   Sweden withdrawing,   Albania,   Algeria,   Estonia,   Israel,   Malta,   Morocco returning to the competition, while   Bosnia and Herzegovina,   Montenegro, and   Uzbekistan are debuting.

The winner of the fourth edition was TBA with the song "TBA", performed by TBA. TBA, TBA, TBA, TBA, and TBA rounded out the top six.

## Overview

*To learn more about the host country, visit Russia.*

### About Kazan

**Kazan**, capital city of Tatarstan Republic is located in western Russia. It lies just north of the Samara Reservoir on the Volga River, where it is joined by the Kazanka River. The city stretches for about 15 miles (25 km) along hills, which are much dissected by ravines.

Ancient Kazan (Iske Kazan) was founded in the late 13th century by the Mongols (Tatars) of the Golden Horde after their overthrow of the Bulgar kingdom on the middle Volga. It was located about 28 miles (45 km) upstream on the Kazanka and was transferred to the mouth of the river at the end of the 14th century. After the disintegration of the Golden Horde in the 15th century, Kazan became the capital of an independent khanate. It developed as an important trading centre; annual fairs were held on an island in the Volga. In 1469 Ivan III captured Kazan, but his puppet khan organized a massacre of all Russians in the town in 1504. Finally in 1552 Ivan IV the Terrible captured Kazan after a long siege and subjugated the khanate. The old Tatar fortress was rebuilt as a Russian kremlin, the white walls and towers of which survive as a feature of the modern skyline. Kazan was seized in a revolt of 1773–74, and much of the city was burned to the ground; Catherine II the Great rebuilt it on a gridiron pattern. The Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul dates from the 18th century.

As Siberia was opened up, Kazan’s trading importance greatly increased, and industry developed in the 18th century; by 1900 it was one of the chief manufacturing cities of Russia. In its wide range of industries, some long-established ones still flourish on a large scale: soapmaking, leatherworking, shoemaking, and fur preparation. New industries include oil refining, electrical and precision engineering, and chemical production. Linen and foodstuffs are also produced. In 1920 Kazan became the capital of the Tatar A.S.S.R. (now Tatarstan, Russia).

Kazan is a major cultural and educational centre. Kazan State University was founded in 1804. The mathematician N.I. Lobachevsky was its rector in 1827–46, and among those who studied there were Leo Tolstoy, the composer M.A. Balakirev, and Vladimir I. Lenin. There is also a branch of the Academy of Sciences, a conservatory, and other institutions of higher education. Kazan has a theatre of Tatar opera and ballet, a philharmonic society, and a noted Tatar museum.

### About Ak Bars Arena

**Ak Bars Arena** (Russian: «Ак Барс Арена»; Tatar: Ак Барс Арена, formerly known as Kazan Arena (Russian: «Казань Арена»; Tatar: Казан Арена)) is a stadium in Kazan, Russia. It was completed in July 2013, and hosts football matches, especially FC Rubin Kazan's home games in the Russian Premier League. The stadium has the largest outside screen in the world. Its capacity is around 45,379.

The stadium was constructed for the 2013 Summer Universiade. On May 5, 2010, president Putin held the groundbreaking ceremony. The construction of the stadium was completed in 2013. The total cost was 15.5 billion rubles. The stadium hosted the 2013 Summer Universiade opening and closing ceremonies, and 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup. On August 17, 2014, the first football match of the Russian Championship was hosted in the Ak Bars Arena.

The 16th FINA World Championships were held in Kazan, with some events held at the Arena. It saw twelve swimming records. In the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the stadium hosted six matches, including the ones where three past champions (Germany, Argentina, and Brazil) were eliminated from the tournament. UEFA announced in March 2020 that thould host the 2023 UEFA Super Cup.

The architectural concept has been designed by Populous; according to lead designer Damon Lavelle, the stadium is a unique response to the local culture and place. As a multiple-purpose venture, Ak Bars Arena can be used as football matches and other sporting events, cultural events concerts. With a capacity of 45,379 seats and 28 ha stadium territory, Ak Bars Arena is one of the UEFA's highest category stadium. The stadium has also 72 skyboxes and a fitness center. The general design stage: "TatInvestGrazhdanProekt", "Intex", "TsNIIpromzdany". It replaced Central Stadium as Kazan's main football stadium.

### About the hosts

**Ilya Prusikin**, **Sonya Tayurskaya**, **Angel Ulyanov** and **Manizha** are the presenters of the fifth edition of Topsical Song Contest, big Russian artists with clear positions against the Russian invasion in Ukraine. The first two mentioned will host the two semi-finals shows, while Angel and Manizha will host the grand final show.

**Ilya Vladimirovich Prusikin** (Russian: Илья́ Влади́мирович Пруси́кин, born 8 April 1985), is a Russian musician, singer, record producer, vlogger, video director and screenwriter. He is best known as the front person and founder of Saint Petersburg punk-pop-rave group Little Big. He is also known under the stage name Ilich (Russian: Ильич), an in-joke referencing Vladimir Lenin's patronymic and Oblomov character. In 2022 after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ilya stated "We adore our country, but we completely disagree with the war in Ukraine, moreover, we believe that any war is unacceptable." He also got a tattoo saying "No war" on his arm. He announced that he had left the country and relocated to Los Angeles with the singer Sonya, stating that "we are so disgusted by the Russian military propaganda machine that we decided to drop everything and leave the country." Later on 23 June 2022 he (as Little Big) released the single *Generation Cancellation*.

**Sofiya Alekseevna Tayurskaya** (Russian: Со́фья Алексе́евна Таю́рская born 1 May 1991, Irkutsk, RSFSR, USSR), is a Russian vocalist for the punk-rave group Little Big. Since 2014, Tayurskaya has been a songwriter for the rave group Little Big. She also made her first appearance with the group as the same time with the video With Russia from Love. Since 2016 she has participated with the group in concerts. In 2022, the main members of Little Big (Ilya Prusikin, Tayurskaya, director Alina Pyazok) moved to Los Angeles in the United States and opposed the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Through his own radical expression of masculinity, **Angel Ulyanov** is an outstanding Russian artist born in Siberia, in Irkutsk, who now resides in New York, who is openly part of LGBT community, and who aims to create music that transcends the boundaries of the queer community - and that seeks to dismantle those that lie beyond it. He is known for his quirky song *Davay Zamutim*.

**Manizha Dalerovna Sangin** (Russian: Мани́жа Дале́ровна Санги́н; née Khamrayeva [Russian: Хамра́ева; Tajik: Ҳамроева]; born 8 July 1991), known professionally as simply **Manizha**, is a Russian-Tajik singer and songwriter, as well as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Beginning her career in 2003 as a child singer, Manizha went on to perform with the music groups Ru.Kola, Assai, and Krip De Shin, before later pursuing a solo career. She represented Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song *Russian Woman*.

### About the visual design: **On The Edge**

On 9 December 2023, TopsRadio unveiled the logo, branding, and slogan of the fifth edition. The slogan is confirmed to be **On The Edge**. Being *on the edge* in the context of a musical competition experience such as Topsical experience typically refers to the high level of excitement, anticipation, and nervousness that participants feel during the competition.

Being *on the edge* can evoke a mix of emotions, including both a sense of exhilaration and fear, as participants strive to showcase their talent and compete against other countries.

The theme art will be used during the edition.

## National Selections and Format

### National Selections

For more information, see Edition 5/National Selections.

### Allocation Draw

The draw to determine the allocation of the participating countries into their respective semi-finals took place on 23 December 2023. The first part of the draw determined in which semifinal the automatic qualifiers would have to vote. The second part of the draw determined 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. 22 countries participated in each semi-final. From each semi-final, 10 countries joined the automatic qualifiers in the final, where a total of 26 countries participated.

The 44 semi-finalists were allocated into six pots based on their geographical location and cultural similarities. Each time a country was drawn from the pot, its semi-final and half of the semi-final were determined.

The 6 pots were the following:

* Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Bulgaria
* Croatia
* Montenegro
* North Macedonia
* Romania
* Serbia
* Azerbaijan
* Egypt
* Iran
* Jordan
* Lebanon
* Morocco
* Türkiye
* France
* Luxembourg
* Monaco
* Netherlands
* Portugal
 Pot 4
 * Austria
* Germany
* Hungary
* Italy
* San Marino
* Slovakia
* Switzerland
* Belarus
* Israel
* Lithuania
* Poland
* Ukraine
* Uzbekistan
* Estonia
* Faroe Islands
* Finland
* Iceland
* Latvia
* Norway

## Participating countries

### Pre-Qualification Round

The Pre-Qualification Round was hosted on 18 December 2023, in the city of Yekaterinburg. The show was presented by the iconic artist Alla Pugacheva, in the Central Stadium of Yekaterinburg. 10 countries competed in the Pre-Qualification Round. 3 countries managed to qualify to the semi-finals of the fifth edition of Topsical Song Contest.

### Semifinal 1

  Czechia,   Georgia and   United Kingdom also voted in this semifinal.

### Semifinal 2

  Greece,   Ireland and   Russia also voted in this semifinal.