BalkanVision Song Contest 17

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* Participating countries     Countries that participated in the past but not in #17
* **BalkanVision Song Contest**
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The **BalkanVision Song Contest 17** was the seventeenth edition of the BalkanVision Song Contest. The contest took place in Pristina, Kosovo, following Kosovo's victory at the BalkanVision Song Contest 16 in Chișinău, Moldova, with the song "Kiss and Make Up", performed by Dua Lipa and Blackpink. This was the second time that Kosovo hosted the contest, having previously hosted the BalkanVision Song Contest 4. The contest was held at the Palace of Youth and Sports. The contest consisted of a final. The show was hosted by Era Istrefi and Rita Ora. The event was organized by the Balkan Broadcasting Union and hosted by RTK. North Macedonia and Turkey returned to the contest, while Cyprus, Republika Srpska, Slovakia and Ukraine withdrew.

The winner was Bulgaria with the song "Tiempo" performed by Mihaela Marinova. This was Bulgaria's fourth win, having previously won the 6th, 8th and 12th editions. Romania placed 2nd and North Macedonia placed 3rd.

## Location

**Pristina**

The contest took place in Pristina, Kosovo.

### Venue

**Palace of Youth and Sports** (Albanian: Pallati i Rinise dhe Sporteve; Serbian: Палата омладине и спорта, romanized: Palata omladine i sporta; formerly named **"Boro and Ramiz"**) is a multi-purpose hall located in Pristina, Kosovo. It includes two arenas, the larger of which has a capacity of 8,000 spectators, and the smaller a capacity of 3,000 spectators. It also includes a shopping mall, indoor parking, two convention halls and a library. The building in its entirety measures over 10,000 square meters.

### About the host city

Pristina (Albanian: Prishtina or Prishtinë Albanian: [pɾiˈʃtiːnə]; Serbian: Priština or Приштина) is the capital city of the district of Pristina and the Republic of Kosovo. The city is situated some 250 kilometres northeast of Tirana, 90 kilometres north of Skopje, 560 kilometres south of Budapest and 300 kilometres east of Podgorica.

The city has a majority Albanian-speaking population, alongside other smaller communities. With a municipal population of 204,721 inhabitants (2016), Pristina is the second-largest city in the world with a predominantly Albanian-speaking population (after Tirana in Albania). Within Serbia, it would be the 4th largest. Geographically, it is located in the north-eastern part of Kosovo close to the Goljak mountains.

During the Paleolithic Age, what is now the area of Pristina was envolved by the Vinča culture. Pristina was home to several Illyrian and Roman people at the classical times. King Bardyllis brought various tribes together in the area of Pristina in the 4th century BC, establishing the Dardanian Kingdom. The heritage of the classical era is still evident in the city, represented by the ancient city of Ulpiana, that was considered one of the most important Roman cities in the Balkan peninsula. In the Middle Ages, Pristina was an important town in Medieval Serbia and also the royal estate of Stefan Milutin, Stefan Uroš III, Stefan Dušan, Stefan Uroš V and Vuk Branković.

When the Ottomans conquered the Balkan peninsula, Pristina was an important mining and trading centre due to its strategic position near the rich mining town of Novo Brdo. The city was known for its trade fairs and items, such as goatskin and goat hair as well as gunpowder. The first mosque in Pristina was built in the late 14th century while under Serbian rule. Tolerance and coexistence of religion and culture have been part of the society for centuries.

Pristina constitutes the central junction of Kosovo, due to its strategic location and its importance in the fields of politics, economy, transport and culture. Almost all domestic and foreign companies, governmental and scientific institutions have their headquarters across the city.

## Format

### Visual design

The theme for the edition "*Yours To Keep*", was unveiled on the contest's Google+ community on the 3 February 2019.

### Presenter(s)

Era Istrefi and Rita Ora were selected to host on the 3 February 2019.

### Running order

The running order was made by randomly splitting the participating countries into 2 halves.

## Other countries

* Cyprus - The Cypriot broadcaster CyBC gave no reasons for their withdrawal.

* Republika Srpska - Despite initially confirming their participation, RTRS announced the country‘s withdrawal due to the resignation of their previous head of delegation. After a few weeks, it was announced, that a new HoD arrived to cooperate with RTRS and that they plan to return to the eighteenth edition.

* Slovakia - Despite the fact that Slovakia had already chosen their entry, "Losing My Ground", RTVS was forced to withdraw after failing to give an accurate vote in the previous edition.

* Ukraine - Like Slovakia, Ukraine was forced to withdraw after failing to give an accurate vote in the previous edition. They, however, had not selected their entry yet.