Canticum Certamine 16

PQR date
 Final date
 Venue
 Entries
 Debuting
**Participation map**
* Participating countries     Did not qualify from the semi final or the PQR     Countries that participated in the past but not this edition
 System
 Winner

**Canticum Certamine 16**, often known as **CC 16**, is the fifteenth edition of Canticum Certamine. It took place in Spain, following Pipolas' victory in the previous edition with the song "Romancero Propio". It was the second time Spain hosted the contest.

Fifty-three countries confirmed their participation in the edition. Austria, Greece, Israel, Monaco and Serbia returned after their absence from the previous editions, Meanwhile Bulgaria and Moldova withdrew from the contest. Egypt made their debut this edition.

The winner of the edition was Poland with the song "Tańcz głupia" performed by Margaret. This was Poland's second victory in Canticum Certamine. The song gathered a total of 405 points, 20 points ahead the runner-up, Morocco, marking their best result, and second top three placement. Iceland finished on third place, while Malta, Switzerland and Greece completed the top 6 of the edition, Switzerland made Canticum Certamine history this edition, holding the record for most automatic qualifications in a row, with three, this record is shared by Norway, managing to automatically qualify in editions two through four.

## Location

The venue will be announced at a later date.

## Format

### Semi-final allocation draw

The draw to determine the allocation of the participating countries into their respective semi-finals took place on the 18th of August 2023. The first part of the draw determined in which semi-final the Big Six would have to vote. The second part of the draw decided 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. Twenty countries will participate in both semi-finals, respectively. From each semi-final, ten countries will join the "Big 6" in the final, where a total of twenty-six countries will participate.

The forty-two semi-finalists were allocated into six pots, based on their geographical place and cultural similarities. Drawing from different pots helps in reducing the chance of so-called neighbour voting and increasing suspense in the semi-finals. Each time a country was drawn from the pot, its semi-final and half of the semi-final was determined.

The six pots were the following:

* Cyprus
* Greece
* Kosovo
* Montenegro
* North Macedonia
* Serbia
* Croatia
* France
* Italy
* Malta
* Monaco
* San Marino
* Czech Republic
* Hungary
* Kazakhstan
* Poland
* Russia
 Pot 4
 * Armenia
* Egypt
* Georgia
* Israel
* Morocco
* Tunisia
* Uzbekistan
* Estonia
* Faroe Islands
* Iceland
* Latvia
* Norway
* Sweden
* Belgium
* Germany
* Ireland
* Luxembourg
* Netherlands
* United Kingdom

## Participating countries

### Semi-final 1

Twenty-one countries participated in the first semi-final. Finland, Portugal and Switzerland also voted in this semi-final. The highlighted countries qualified for the final.

### Semi-final 2

Twenty-one countries participated in the second semi-final. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lithuania and Spain also voted in this semi-final. The highlighted countries qualified for the final.

## Other countries

*Further information: List of countries in Canticum Certamine*