Altervision Song Contest 4

Final date
 Venue
 Interval act
 Entries
 Debuting
**Participation map**
* Countries that have confirmed their participation but have not announced their entry     Countries that have confirmed their participation and their entry, and qualified for the final     Countries that have confirmed their participation and their entry, but did not qualify to the final     Countries that participated in the past, but not in this edition
 System
 Null points

The **Altervision Song Contest 4** was the fourth edition of the Altervision Song Contest. It took place in Glasgow, United Kingdom and was organised by the British Broadcasting Corporation following a decision made by ABU regarding the hosting due to the withdrawal of the previous edition's winner, Andorra. It was the first time the contest was held in the United Kingdom and the first time discounting the first edition where the previous edition's winner didn't host. It was also the first contest not to take place in continental Europe.

The contest consisted of one show: a grand final held on 10th October. The final was hosted by Claudia Winkleman and Ryan Clark-Neal, the latter becoming the first male host of the contest.

A total of 17 countries will participate with Belarus making its debut in the contest, while Albania, Hungary, Romania and the Netherlands have announced their return after an absence of 1 edition for everyone except the Netherlands, who have returned after 2 editions. Andorra and Ireland withdrew from the contest due to various reasons. Several other countries have been disqualified due to not presenting their entries until the given date.

The **4th winner of the Altervision Song Contest** was **Australia** with the song "Devil You Don't" performed by CXLOE gathering a record-breaking 209 points overall in the final, passing the runner-up by a record margin of 35 points. It was the first victory of Australia and will have been the only top 3 placement of the country until the thirteenth edition. The top 5 was rounded out by the host United Kingdom, South Korea, Sweden and Germany.

## Location

**Glasgow** is the most populous city in Scotland, and the third most populous city in the United Kingdom, as of the 2019 estimated city population of 611,748. Glasgow is situated on the River Clyde in the country's West Central Lowlands. It is the fifth most visited city in the UK. Inhabitants of the city are referred to as "Glaswegians" or, in the pejorative, as "Weegies".

Glasgow grew from a small rural settlement on the River Clyde to become the largest seaport in Scotland, and tenth largest by tonnage in Britain. Expanding from the medieval bishopric and royal burgh, and the later establishment of the University of Glasgow in the fifteenth century, it became a major centre of the Scottish Enlightenment in the eighteenth century. From the eighteenth century onwards, the city also grew as one of Great Britain's main hubs of transatlantic trade with North America and the West Indies.

With the onset of the Industrial Revolution, the population and economy of Glasgow and the surrounding region expanded rapidly to become one of the world's pre-eminent centres of chemicals, textiles and engineering; most notably in the shipbuilding and marine engineering industry, which produced many innovative and famous vessels. Glasgow was the "Second City of the British Empire" for much of the Victorian era and Edwardian period, having taken the mantle from pre-independence Dublin, which was largely recognised the second city during the Georgian era. Although many other cities argue the title was theirs, not Glasgow's.

Glasgow hosted the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the first European Championships in 2018; and is also well known in the sporting world for football, rugby, athletics, tennis, golf and swimming.

Today, Glasgow has a diverse architectural scene, one of the key factors leading visitors to the city. From the city centre sprawling with grand Victorian buildings, to the many glass and metal edifices in the International Financial Services District to the serpentine terraces of blonde and red sandstone in the fashionable west end and the imposing mansions which make up Pollokshields, on the south side. The banks of the River Clyde are also dotted with a plethora of futuristic-looking buildings which include Riverside Museum, Glasgow Science Centre, the SSE Hydro and the SEC Armadillo.

### Bidding phase

Following Andorra's victory in Gothenburg, concerns were raised on whether such a small nation can host, given that Andorra's capital city is home to approximately twenty-two-thousand people. RTVA and the ABU engaged in talks on the hosting of the contest in the micronation. These talks concluded with the ABU announcing that Andorra wouldn't be able to stage the competition and they would open a conversation with BBC and the United Kingdom. Andorra later revealed it's intention to withdraw from the competition, citing financial difficulties as the main reason for doing so.

Following the announcement of the ABU, the British Broadcasting Corporation immediately began searching for the host venue of the 4th Altervision Song Contest. BBC had opened the sign-ups where, out of about 30 submissions, a total of seven venues were shortlisted. Eventually, BBC have chosen the OVO Hydro in Glasgow to give home to the contest. The OVO Hydro has a capacity of approximately 13,000 attendees.

Legend:

 †  Host venue

 ‡  Shortlisted venues

## Other countries

* Algeria: ENTV did not sign up in time for the competition thus have been fined by the ABU.
* Andorra: RTVA announced it's withdrawal on 9th August stating financial issues as the main reason. Later in a leaked voice recording, it was revealed that RTVA did not hold the fee to host or to participate in the contest neither the venue fitting the requirements.
* Austria: ORF did not sign up n time for the competition thus have been fined by the ABU.
* Azerbaijan: ITV had originally signed up for participation for the 4th Altervision Song Contest, however due to scheduling issues the country later withdrew despite already having provided an entry. The Azeri entrant would have been Roya with her song "Bad".
* Bosnia & Herzegovina: BHRT originally announced it's intent to participate, however later withdrew citing scheduling issues as the main reason.
* Ireland: RTÉ announced it's withdrawal on 10th August without any further explanation.
* Kazakhstan: Khabar Agency had originally announced it's come back to the contest after an edition break. However the Head of Delegation expressed their impatience and had decided to leave the contest on the 3rd September.
* Luxembourg: RTL announced it's withdrawal due to their HoD stepping down.
* Malta: TVM had originally intended in participating, however as their Head of Delegation had stepped down, the broadcaster became uncertain about their participation. Their official statement is still yet to be announced. Their decision became clear on 9th October, when ABU revealed the official list of participants, on which Malta did not appear.
* Norway: NRK did not submit an entry in time for the competition thus have been fined by the ABU.
* Russia: C1R did not submit an entry in time for the competition thus have been fined by the ABU.
* United States: NBC withdrew on 1st October without givig any explanation.

## Conflicts and issues

### The delay of the edition

In early August 2020, the work on the contest slowed down which led to many deadlines being passed. On 19th August, the ABU revealed that they have suffered from scheduling issues and a lack of workforce which was the main reason why many deadlines have been passed. As well as that, they stated in their announcement that the work on the 4th edition would indefinitely stop giving the union a chance to re-organize itself and gather workforce to begin working on the contest soon with full power. A month later, the work has been resumed and the contest took place in October 2020.

## References and notes

1. ↑ Poland would have received the 4th place with 149 points, however, as their Head of Delegation failed to present their votes in time, the country was given a deduction of their votes by 25%.
2. ↑ Belarus would have received the 16th place with 77 points, however, as their Head of Delegation failed to present their votes in time, the country was given a deduction of their votes by 25%.

 First decade
 Active
 Host cities