The Sound Of Europe 13

## Editions

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The **Sound Of Europe 13**was the 13th edition of the Sound Of Europe. It took place in **Saku Suurhall, Tallinn, Estonia**, following **Estonia**'s**victory** in the 12th edition with **Kerli** and her song **"Feral Hearts"**. This was the first time that Estonia hosted the contest. The 13th edition consisted of **two semi-finals**, which took place on 18 April 2017, and **a final**, held on 22 February 2017. The shows were presented by **Ariadne Pedanik** and **Getter Jaani** while **Kerli** was hosting the green room. Forty-seven countries participated in the 13th edition.

Once all the votes had been announced, based on 50% jury and 50% televoting, **Belgium** won the contest, with **Loïc Nottet**'s song **"Million Eyes"**.

## Location

**Tallinn** is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, 80 km (50 mi) south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. From the 13th century until 1918 (and briefly during the Nazi occupation of Estonia from 1941 to 1944), the city was known as **Reval**. Tallinn occupies an area of 159.2 km2 (61.5 sq mi) and has a population of 443,894. Approximately 32% of Estonia's total population lives in Tallinn.

Tallinn was founded in 1248, but the earliest human settlements date back 5,000 years, making it one of the oldest capital cities of Northern Europe. The initial claim over the land was laid by the Danes in 1219 after a successful raid of Lyndanisse led by Valdemar II of Denmark, followed by a period of alternating Scandinavian and German rule. Due to its strategic location, the city became a major trade hub, especially from the 14th to the 16th century, when it grew in importance as part of the Hanseatic League.

Tallinn's Old Town is one of the best preserved medieval cities in Europe and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Tallinn is the major political, financial, cultural and educational center of Estonia. Often dubbed the Silicon Valley of Europe, it has the highest number of startups per person in Europe and is a birthplace of many international companies, including Skype. Providing to the global cybersecurity it is the home to the NATO Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence. It is ranked as a global city and has been listed among the top 10 digital cities in the world. The city was a European Capital of Culture for 2011, along with Turku in Finland.

## Format

The edition will be consisted of two semi-finals and a final. The eleven countries with the highest scores in both semi-finals qualified to the final.

Each participating country had their own national jury, which consisted of five professional members of the music industry. Each member of a respective nation's jury was required to rank every song, except that of their own country. The voting results from each member of a particular nation's jury were combined to produce an overall ranking from first to last place. Likewise, the televoting results were also interpreted as a full ranking, taking into account the full televoting result rather than just the top ten. The combination of the jury's full ranking and the televote's full ranking produced an overall ranking of all competing entries. The song which scored the highest overall rank received 12 points, while the tenth-best ranked song received 1 point.

### **Semi-final allocation draw**

The final running order of the competing performances at the semi-finals and the final were decided by the producer of the show and approved by the Executive Producer, the Executive Supervisor, the CBU and the Reference Group.

* Cyprus
* Greece
* Montenegro
* Bulgaria
* Romania
* Albania
* Denmark
* Norway
* Sweden
* Finland
* Latvia
* Lithuania
* Armenia
* Georgia
* Russia
* Ukraine
* Belarus
 Pot 4
 * Australia
* Bosnia-Herzegovina
* Croatia
* Slovenia
* Hungary
* Slovakia
* Moldova
* Switzerland
* Germany
* Netherlands
* Belgium
* Czech Republic
* Austria
* Ireland
* Portugal
* Malta
* Andorra
* Monaco
* San Marino

### **Presenters**

On 25 March 2017, ERR announced that **Ariadne Pedanik** and **Getter Jaani** were the hosts of the 13th edition. **Kerli**, last edition's winner, was also chosen as host of the green room.

### **National host broadcaster**

During an initial meeting between the host broadcaster ERR and CBU (Contest Broadcasting Union), the representatives of the core organising team were selected. **Merfi Amadeus** was announced as the executive producer and **Kostas Bouris** as the executive supervisor.

## Participants

47 countries will participate in the 13th edition. The edition will be consisted of two semi-finals and a final. Bosnia-Herzegovina returned in the 13th edition, while FYR Macedonia withdrew.

### **Big 5**

  United Kingdom | Louisa Johnson
  Italy | Emma
  France | Mozart Opera Rock
  Israel | Daniella Lugassy

### **Returning artists**

Louisa Johnson is back for the United Kingdom after the last edition with her song "So Good". Emma returns for Italy after the 5th edition with her song "Arriverà L'Amore" and the 11th edition, in which she sang together with Modà, with the song ''Come In Un Film". Mustafa Ceceli represented Belgium in the 1st edition together with Lara Fabian with the song ''Make Me Yours Tonight". Hari Mata Hari return for Bosnia-Herzegovina after the 1st edition with the song "Da Ti Ko Covjek Oprostim", and the 8th edition, in which they sang with Ivana Banfić the song "Navodno". Elena Risteska represented in the 3rd edition the FYR Macedonia with the song "Dozivotno". Severina returns for Croatia after the 2nd edition, in which she sang with Učitelije, with the song "Generale", and the 4th edition edition with the song "Uno Momento", in which she sang with Ministrake. Nina Pušlar returns for Slovenia, this time in a duet, after the 8th edition with the song "Ta Svet Ne Zna Zivet". Soraya Arnelas represented Andorra in the 10th edition with the song "Mi Mundo Si Ti". David Bisbal represented Romania in the last edition, together with Andra, with the song "Without You". Bianka returns for Belarus after the 2nd edition with the song "Muzika" and the 10th edition, together with Potap & Nastya, with the song "Stil Sobachki".

## Results

### **Semi-final 1**

21 countries will take part in the first semi-final. The eleven songs in places 1 to 11 qualified for the final and are marked in orange. Estonia, United Kingdom and France will vote in this semi-final.

### **Semi-final 2**

21 countries will take part in the first semi-final. The eleven songs in places 1 to 11 qualified for the final and are marked in orange. Estonia, Italy and Israel will vote in this semi-final.

## Other countries

* FYR Macedonia - Due to financial issues and the high cost of participation, Makedonska radio televizija (MRT) decided that the FYR Macedonia would withdraw from the 13th edition of the Sound Of Europe.

* Kazakhstan - Khabar Agency became an associate member of the CBU, opening up the possibility of a future participation. The heads of delegation of the Khabar Agency stated that the Kazakh participation in the Sound Of Europe would interest them.

* Lebanon - Télé Liban became an associate member of the CBU, opening up the possibility of a future participation.

* Morocco - SNRT became an active CBU member, opening up the possibility of a future participation.