Taovision Song Contest 02

## Participation map

**Taovision Song Contest 02**, often referred to as **Taovision 02**, was the 2nd edition of the **Taovision Song Contest.** Following Within Temptation and Tarja’s victory **last edition**, the 2nd edition was hosted in **Utrecht, Netherlands.** The first time ever **Netherlands** hosts Taovision. This edition, we have 18 debuting countries. Including, **Albania, Andorra, Austria, Canada, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Monaco, Moldova, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, South Korea, Ukraine, and United Kingdom.**

## Location

*Further Information on the host country: Netherlands*

### Host City

**Utrecht** is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland **Netherlands**; it has a population of 361,966 as of December 1, 2021. Utrecht's ancient city centre features many buildings and structures, several dating as far back as the High Middle Ages. It has been the religious centre of the Netherlands since the 8th century. It was the most important city in the Netherlands until the Dutch Golden Age, when it was surpassed by Amsterdam as the country's cultural centre and most populous city.

**Utrecht** is home to Utrecht University, the largest university in the Netherlands, as well as several other institutions of higher education. Due to its central position within the country, it is an important hub for both rail and road transport; it contains the busiest train station in the **Netherlands**, Utrecht Centraal. It has the second-highest number of cultural events in the Netherlands, after Amsterdam. In 2012, Lonely Planet included Utrecht in the top 10 of the world's unsung places.

### Venue

The **Jaarbeurs** (pronounced [ˈjaːr.bøːrs]; Dutch for 'Yearly Fair') is an exhibition and convention centre in **Utrecht**, the **Netherlands**. Noted events include the former Space '86, the Hobby Computer Club Days (*HCC Dagen*), and the Mega Record & CD Fair. The venue is also a regular base for music festivals like ASOT festival and Thunderdome.

The Jaarbeurs extends to an area of 100.000 m² next to Utrecht Centraal railway station.

The first Jaarbeurs was held in 1917. It was a major success from the start, opening up the city of Utrecht as a trade centre and giving it an economic boost.

## Format

### Final Allocation Draw

The final allocation draw is used to determine each country’s respective half in the running order. 1st half stretched from 1st-13th, and the 2nd half went from 14th-26th. The draw decided which half each country would perform in, and their slots were decided by the executive team to see which song best fits that slot. Before the allocation draw, it was confirmed in a press conference that the host country **Netherlands** would be performing in the 20th slot. The draw officially took place on April 13th, 2022.

The remaining 25 countries were divided into 4 pots, being totally randomized. Once a country has been drawn. their running order half was determined.

The 4 pots were as followed:

* Denmark
* Israel
* Kazakhstan
* South Korea
* Sweden
* Andorra
* Hungary
* Moldova
* Monaco
* San Marino
* Ukraine
* Greece
* Italy
* Poland
* United Kingdom
* USA
* Canada
* Georgia
* Latvia
* Portugal
* Singapore

### Final

Twenty-six countries participated in the final, with all participating countries and followers of the contest eligible to vote.

## Spokespersons

Each country had a spokesperson announce the 12 points for the country’s jury, the list below are the countries and their spokespersons, in the order they gave points:

1. Monaco : Charlotte Casiraghi
2. Portugal : MARO
3. Denmark : Christian Eriksen
4. United Kingdom : ESC NNS & Tia Kofi
5. Singapore : Jianhao Tan
6. Poland : Ochman
7. Hungary : Mónika Erdélyi
8. South Korea : IU
9. Kazakhstan : Daneliya Tuleshova
10. Ukraine : Verka Seduchka
11. Austria : Philipp Hansa
12. Moldova : Natalia Gordienko
13. France: : Helene in Paris
14. San Marino : Serhat
15. Italy : Emma Marrone
16. Israel : Eden Alene
17. Greece : Marina Diamandis
18. Canada : Celine Dion
19. Australia : Dami Im
20. Andorra : Alaska
21. Latvia : Samanta Tīna
22. USA : Miranda Cosgrove
23. Georgia : Helen Kalandadze
24. Sweden : Charlotte Perrelli
25. Albania : Arilena Ara
26. Netherlands : Michaela DePrince

1. ↑ When USA’s points were being presented, Ellen Degeneres was shown instead of Miranda Cosgrove, it was later revealed that Ellen knocked Miranda out unconscious to insult presenter Nikkie De Jager after De Jager revealed the toxic workplace of “The Ellen Show”, forcing the show to end after a decline in viewership

## Other Countries

Further Information: List of countries in Taovision Song Contest

Many countries are eligible to participate in Taovision Song Contest, they require a national broadcaster active with the TVBU, The countries listed below are eligible for participation, but did not participate.

### Active Members

* Belarus: Belarus participated in Taovision Song Contest 01 and got 11th , but this edition, they were ineligible to participate due to support of Russia in the Russian Invasion of Ukraine, and also due to governmental issues inside of the country. Although they were forbidden this edition, it’s likely they might be allowed to participate next edition.
* Russia: Russia participated in Taovision Song Contest 01 and got 12th, but this edition, they were ineligible to participate due to the Russian invasion on Ukraine, but with criticism with the exclusion in a fan contest, it’s likely that Russia can return.

The following countries participated last edition, but withdrew this edition due to lack of users interested in representing the country and becoming a HoD for the country:

* Czech Republic
* Germany
* Lebanon
* New Zealand
* North Korea
* Norway
* Philippines
* Thailand
* Uzbekistan
* Vatican City