BalkanVision Song Contest 9

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* Participating countries     Countries that participated in the past but not in #9
* **BalkanVision Song Contest**
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The **BalkanVision Song Contest 9** was the ninth edition of the BalkanVision Song Contest. The contest took place in Varna, Bulgaria, following Bulgaria's victory at the BalkanVision Song Contest 8 in Banja Luka, Republika Srpska, with the song "Nedei", performed by DARA. This was the 2nd time that the contest was staged at the Palace of Culture and Sports in Varna, having previously hosted the seventh edition. 23 countries participated in the contest, with Slovakia and Switzerland making their debut. Italy, Malta and Moldova made their return after an absence from the previous edition. Croatia and San Marino withdrew.

The winner was Romania with the song "Call The Police" performed by G Girls. This was Romania's third victory, following their wins in the first and fourth editions. Kosovo came 2nd and Turkey came 3rd. Hungary became the first country to score no points in the final.

## Location

**Varna**

The contest took place in Varna, Bulgaria.

### Venue

**Palace of Culture and Sports** (Bulgarian: Дворец на културата и спорта) is an indoor complex for culture and sport located in Varna, Bulgaria. The complex has three sports halls - "Kongresna Hall", "Mladost Hall" and "Hall 20". The Palace of Culture and Sports was completed in 1968.

### About the host city

**Varna** (Bulgarian: Варна) is the third-largest city in Bulgaria and the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. Situated strategically in the Gulf of Varna, the city has been a major economic, social and cultural centre for almost three millennia. Varna, historically known as *Odessos* (Ancient Greek: Ὀδησσός), grew from a Thracian seaside settlement to a major seaport on the Black Sea.

Varna is an important centre for business, transportation, education, tourism, entertainment and healthcare. The city is referred to as the maritime capital of Bulgaria and headquarters the Bulgarian Navy and merchant marine. In 2008, Varna was designated the seat of the Black Sea Euroregion by the Council of Europe. In 2014, Varna was awarded the title of European Youth Capital 2017.

The oldest gold treasure in the world, belonging to the Varna culture, was discovered in the Varna Necropolis and dates to 4200–4600 BC.

## Format

### Visual design

The theme for the edition "*#Shine*", was unveiled on the contest's Google+ community on the 2 January 2018.

### Presenter(s)

Poli Genova and Stoyka Petkova were selected to host on the 30 December 2017.

### Running order

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

## Other countries

Further information: List of countries in the BalkanVision Song Contest
Eligibility for potential participation in the BalkanVision Song Contest requires a national broadcaster with active BBU membership that will be able to broadcast the contest. The BBU had issued an invitation of participation in the contest to all active members.

### Active BBU members

The following countries and broadcasters were bared participation after failing to give an accurate vote in the eighth edition:

* Croatia – HRT
* San Marino – SMRTV