Altervision Song Contest 9

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
 Winner

The **Altervision Song Contest 9** will be the ninth edition of the Altervision Song Contest. It will take place in Croatia following the nation's victory at the 8th edition with Lorde performing "Green Light". It was the first time Croatia hosted the contest, and the first time since the sixth edition that the contest will be held in Europe. It will also be the first time since the third edition that the contest will be held in Continental Europe.

30 countries have confirmed their participation, 3 less than last edition. 7 countries made their debut, while 5 additional nations have confirmed their return to the contest. 12 countries have confirmed their withdrawal while 3 other countries were disqualified due to failing to present an entry until the given deadline.

The contest consisted of 3 shows: two semi-finals and a grand final. All shows were hosted by Lana Jurčević, making her the fourth solo presenter of the contest.

The **9th winner of the Altervision Song Contest** was **Sweden** with the song "Little Tot" performed by Dotter gathering a total amount of **285** points overall in the final, passing the runner-up by **60** points. The top 5 was rounded out by Belgium, Iceland, the United Kingdom and Germany.

## Location

**Split** is Croatia's second-largest city and the largest city in the Dalmatia region. It lies on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea and is spread over a central peninsula and its surroundings. An intraregional transport hub and popular tourist destination, the city is linked to the Adriatic islands and the Apennine peninsula.

The city was founded as the Greek colony of Aspálathos (Aσπάλαθος) in the 3rd or 2nd century BC on the coast of the Illyrian Dalmatae, and later on was home to Diocletian's Palace, built for the Roman emperor in AD 305. It became a prominent settlement around 650 when it succeeded the ancient capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia, Salona. After the sack of Salona by the Avars and Slavs, the fortified Palace of Diocletian was settled by Roman refugees. Split became a Byzantine city. Later it drifted into the sphere of the Republic of Venice and the Kingdom of Croatia, with the Byzantines retaining nominal suzerainty. For much of the High and Late Middle Ages, Split enjoyed autonomy as a free city of the Dalmatian city-states, caught in the middle of a struggle between Venice and Croatia (in union with Hungary) for control over the Dalmatian cities.

Venice eventually prevailed and during the early modern period Split remained a Venetian city, a heavily fortified outpost surrounded by Ottoman territory. Its hinterland was won from the Ottomans in the Morean War of 1699, and in 1797, as Venice fell to Napoleon, the Treaty of Campo Formio rendered the city to the Habsburg Monarchy. In 1805, the Peace of Pressburg added it to the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy and in 1806 it was included in the French Empire, becoming part of the Illyrian Provinces in 1809. After being occupied in 1813, it was eventually granted to the Austrian Empire following the Congress of Vienna, where the city remained a part of the Austrian Kingdom of Dalmatia until the fall of Austria-Hungary in 1918 and the formation of Yugoslavia. In World War II, the city was annexed by Italy, then liberated by the Partisans after the Italian capitulation in 1943. It was then re-occupied by Germany, which granted it to its puppet Independent State of Croatia. The city was liberated again by the Partisans in 1944, and was included in the post-war Socialist Yugoslavia, as part of its republic of Croatia. In 1991, Croatia seceded from Yugoslavia amid the Croatian War of Independence.

### Bidding phase

Following Lorde's win in Tokyo, HRT immediately confirmed that the broadcaster would be able to host the 9th edition provided that at least one venue fitting the rules would apply to host.

A total of 7 venues have sent in a bid to host the contest. Despite the speculations that Arena Zagreb would serve as the eventual host venue, it was announced on 18th April that the Spaladium Arena in Split would give home to the contest. The Spaladium Arena has a capacity of approximately 11,000 attendees.

## Participating countries

### Semi-Final 1

Croatia, Germany and Norway also voted in this semi-final.

### Semi-Final 2

Hungary, Moldova and Morocco also voted in this semi-final.

## Other countries

* Åland Islands: Following the stepping down of the HoD, TVA announced that their participation is unclear, and that unless a new HoD steps in the country would have to withdraw. Their non-participation became official on 24th April when ABU revealed the official list of participants.
* Albania: RTSH withdrew from the contest due to a change in HoD.
* Bulgaria: BNT withdrew from the 9th edition without providing any reasons.
* Canada: CBC announced their withdrawal from the contest stating scheduling issues as the reason for why they did so.
* Ghana: GBC withdrew due to lack of interest from the public.
* Israel: KAN originally intended in participating in the contest, however they have been disqualified due to failing to present a valid entry in the given time. Israel would have been among the 6 automatic qualifiers who go directly to the final and they were supposed to vote in the second semi-final. Their place got fulfilled by last edition's 7th place Morocco.
* Luxembourg: RTL announced their withdrawal stating that the broadcaster is facing several issues that needs to be fixed inbefore entering the contest. A return to the next edition has not been ruled out.
* Nigeria: NBC made the decision to withdraw from the contest in spite of their qualification to the final.
* Poland: TVN would originally have participated in the contest, however they have been disqualified due to failing to present a valid entry. Poland was set to compete in the second semi-final, performing on the 7th spot.
* Puerto Rico: Puerto Rico has been disqualified from the 9th edition due to failing to present their votes on time in both their semi-final and the grand final.
* Russia: C1R would originally have participated in the 9th edition, however they have been disqualified due to failing to present a valid entry. Russia was set to compete in the second semi-final, performing on the 4th spot.
* Somalia: SNTV and Somalia did not appear on the final list of participating countries. SNTV later revealed that they did not sign up to the competition due to their repeated non-qualification and the internal issues in both the country and the broadcaster.
* South Korea: KBS announced their withdrawal following the previous edition stating their placement as the reason for why they did so.
* Türkiye: TRT withdrew from the contest after their HoD stepped down.
* Vietnam: VTV decided not to compete due to internal issues that the broadcaster has to face.

## References and notes

1. ↑ Contains one word in English repeating throughout the song.

 First decade
 Active
 Host cities