Edition 26

The twenty-sixth edition of the **Global Music Festival**​ took place at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta, Malta. It was the first time the country hosted the contest after Malta's first victory in the twenty-fifth edition with Eleanor and her song "Back To Life" - which scored a record breaking score of 303 points (the highest score in the history of the contest to-date and the first song to score over 300 points). This edition consisted of three semi-finals which were all launched on the 29 January 2018 and a grand final which took place from the 02 February 2018. All four of the shows in this edition were hosted by the presenters of popular Maltese television show, *Ilsien in nisa*​: Clare Agius, Pauline Agius and Claire Agius Ordway.

Sixty-three countries participated in this edition of the contest - the largest number of participants to ever participate in an edition of the contest!  Nicaragua debuted in this edition, marking another Central American nation joining the competition.  Also, we saw the return of the Åland Islands, Armenia, Belgium, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Latvia, Monaco and Northern Ireland.  However, we sadly saw the withdrawal of a number of countries (hopefully they will re-join the competition soon): Belarus, Brazil, Denmark, Iraq, Lebanon, Portugal and Zimbabwe.

The power six for this edition were Malta, Mexico, the Philippines, Ireland, China and Northern Ireland - these were the delegations that placed in the top six from the previous edition: Belarus changed to Northern Ireland. Their placement in the power six means that they received an automatic place to perform in the final of this edition, while also being allowed to vote in one of the semi-finals in this edition.

This edition of the Global Music Festival saw a number of countries do their best and their worst; most significantly, after twenty-six participations Italy finally received their first victory with Lodovica Comello and her song "Non cadiamo mai" which scored an impressive 295 points. Also, receiving their best entries to date were: Malaysia and Wales, who received their first placement in the top ten, and the top six; also, Vietnam received their best result, and reached the final for the first time since their debut! Unfortunately, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Slovakia, Ukraine and Armenia all received their worst placements to date; and most significantly, Scotland failed to qualify for the first time since their debut as an independent country.

 Slogan
 Venue
 Presenter(s)
 Participants
 Winner

## Participants

* Armenia
* Belgium
* Iceland
* India
* File:Indonesian Flag.png Indonesia
* Latvia
* Monaco
* Northern Ireland
* Brazil
* Denmark
* Iraq
* Lebanon
* Portugal
* Zimbabwe

## Pots for the Semi-Final Allocation Draw

The draw to determine the allocation of the participating countries into their respective semi-finals took place on the 29 January 2018. The fifty-six semi-finalists were allocated to five pots, based on the previous results of each participating country, calculated by the averages of the past results. Drawing from each pot helps to create an equal split of successful and not-so successful countries in each semi-final to give countries an equal chance of qualification.

Finland was not included in the pots because the head of delegations for Finland is on the admin team and in charge of the second semi-final; as a result, the country was automatically assigned to the third semi-final.

Also, in the semi-final allocation draw the power six nations (Malta, Mexico, the Philippines, Ireland, China and Northern Ireland) were all drawn to vote in one of the respective semi-finals. The Philippines and Northern Ireland were assigned to vote in the first semi-final, Malta and China were assigned to vote in the second semi-final, and Mexico and Ireland were assigned to vote in the third semi-final.

## ​Semi Final One

The  Philippines and  Northern Ireland from the power six were randomly allocated to vote in this semi-final, as well as, the countries who participated in this semi-final - as always countries not in this semi-final had the choice whether they wanted to vote in this semi-final or not.  Unfortunately, the  Åland Islands and  San Marino were disqualified because both failed to qualify before the voting deadline. After the results were announced, there were discussions about selecting one of the non-qualifiers to progress to the final as a wildcard entry -  India were selected as the wildcard entry.

## ​Semi Final Two

 Malta and  China from the power six were randomly allocated to vote in this semi-final, as well as, the countries who participated in this semi-final - as always countries not in this semi-final had the choice whether they wanted to vote in this semi-final or not.  After the results were announced, there were discussions about selecting one of the non-qualifiers to progress to the final as a wildcard entry -  Vietnam were selected as the wildcard.

## ​Semi Final Three

 Mexico and  Ireland from the power six were randomly allocated to vote in this semi-final, as well as, the countries who participated in this semi-final - as always countries not in this semi-final had the choice whether they wanted to vote in this semi-final or not.  Finland were automatically assigned to this semi-final (as always) because the head of delegation for Finland is on the admin team and is the organiser for the second semi-final - this is done to allow the admins to have the uncertainty of their countries' result. Unfortunately,  Sweden were disqualified because they failed to vote before the voting deadline. After the results were announced, there were discussions about selecting one of the non-qualifiers to progress to the final as a wildcard entry -  Panama were selected as the wildcard entry.

## ​Grand Final

Thirty countries participated in the final of this edition of the **Global Music Festival**​ - the power six, the seven qualifiers from the three semi-finals and the three wildcard entries (one from each semi-final). All sixty-three participating countries were eligible to vote in the final; however, only the thirty finalists were obligated to vote! The running order for the final was announced shortly after the semi final results on the 02 February 2018. The results for the final were released on the 09 February 2018.