Mediterraneanvision Song Contest 9

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* **Semi-Final 2:** "Love Like Chemicals" performed by Shirin
 Interval act | * **Semi-final 1:** "Balad" performed by Yasmine Hamdan
* **Semi-final 2:** "Barbarian" performed by Mona Haydar
Participation map
* Participating countries     Did not qualify from the semi final     Countries that participated in the past but not in #9
* **Mediterraneanvision Song Contest**
* 10 →

The **Mediterraneanvision Song Contest 9** was the ninth edition of the Mediterraneanvision Song Contest. The contest took place in Beirut, Lebanon, following Lebanon's victory at the eighth edition in Thessaloniki, Greece, with the song "Almost Lover", performed by Shirin. 36 countries participated in the contest. Algeria, Bulgaria, Egypt, Spain and Tunisia returned after a one-edition absence and Jordan, North Macedonia and Syria after a two-edition absence. Andorra and Croatia withdrew.

The winner was Syria with the song "Human Nature", performed by ALITA. This was Syria's first win. Algeria placed 2nd and Libya placed 3rd, meaning the entire top 3 was made up of Arab countries.

## Location

Preparations for the ninth edition began on the 1 January 2020, immediately after Lebanon won the eighth edition in Thessaloniki, Greece. The Mediterranean Broadcasting Union (MBU) handed LBCI, the Lebanese participating broadcaster, a stack of documents and a USB drive with tools to begin the work needed to host the next edition.

### Bidding phase

**Beirut**
Ghazir

Shortly after Lebanon's victory in the eighth edition, it was confirmed by LBCI that 2 cities had submitted bids to host the contest. On the 2 January 2020 it was announced that the Indoor Olympic Stadium in Beirut would be the host venue of the Mediterraneanvision Song Contest 9. Below are the 2 cities and their bids:

**Key**:  †  Host venue

 Ghazir | Ghazir Club Court | 5,000

### About the host city

**Beirut** (Arabic: بيروت; French: Beyrouth) is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. No recent population census has been conducted, but 2007 estimates ranged from slightly more than 1 million to 2.2 million as part of Greater Beirut, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region and the fifteenth-largest in the Arab world. Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coast, Beirut is an important regional seaport.

It is one of the oldest cities in the world, having been inhabited for more than 5,000 years. The first historical mention of Beirut is found in the Amarna letters from the New Kingdom of Egypt, which date to the 15th century BC.

Beirut is Lebanon's seat of government and plays a central role in the Lebanese economy, with most banks and corporations based in its Central District, Badaro, Rue Verdun, Hamra, Ryad el Soloh street, and Achrafieh. Following the destructive Lebanese Civil War, Beirut's cultural landscape underwent major reconstruction. Identified and graded for accountancy, advertising, banking, finance and law, Beirut is ranked as a Beta World City by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.

## Format

### Contest

The contest consisted of 2 semi-finals and a final.

### Visual design

The theme for the edition, *Be Passionate*, was unveiled on the 2 January 2020.

### Presenter(s)

Nelly Makdessy, Maya Diab and Wissam Sabbagh were announced as the presenters on the 2 January 2020.

### Running order

The running orders were created by the producers.

## Participating countries

### Returning artists

 Vanotek |  Moldova | #4 (for Romania as part of Havana with Ioana Ignat)

### Semi-final 1

Greece, Iraq and Malta also voted in this semi-final.

### Semi-final 2

Lebanon, Libya and Monaco also voted in this semi-final.

## Other countries

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

### Active MBU members

* Andorra – RTVA gave no reasons as to why they withdrew.

* Croatia – Despite initially confirming their participation, HRT confirmed their withdrawal on the 25 January 2020 without citing any reasons.

### Non-MBU members

* Palestine – On the 28 December 2019, the MBU announced plans to admit Palestinian broadcaster PBC as a full member starting from the 10th edition, thus not allowing Palestine to be able to debut in the 9th edition, but paving the way for the country's possible debut in the future. PBC's membership application has faced heavy criticism from Israel, having refused to accept their application. A final vote regarding their membership was held during the 9th edition and it was decided that Palestine would become an effective MBU member starting from the 10th edition.

## Spokespersons

The spokespersons announced the 12-point score from their respective country's national jury in the following order:

2. Bosnia and Herzegovina – Ilma Karahmet (Bosnian representative in #10)
3. Portugal – Filomena Cautela
4. Hungary – Reni Tolvai
5. Cyprus – Sandro
6. Slovenia – Raiven
7. Libya – Nadia Ali (Libyan representative in #4 with Sultan & Shepard & IRO)
8. Liechtenstein – Lindsey Kevitch
9. Monaco – Louane (Monégasque representative in #10)
10. Spain – Blas Cantó
11. Romania – wrs
12. Albania – Arilena Ara
13. Morocco – Faouzia (Maltese representative in #10)
14. France – Tom Leeb
15. Turkey – Funda Arar
16. Jordan – Benny the Arabian Oryx
17. Montenegro – Slavko Kalezić
18. San Marino – Gemma Collins
19. North Macedonia – Kaliopi
21. Israel – Yael Grobglas
22. Kosovo – Kida (Kosovar representative in #2 and #4)
23. Moldova – Diana Rotaru
24. Gibraltar – Dr. Jean (Gibraltarian representative in #7)
25. Vatican City – Elodie
26. Egypt – Nathalie Saba (Egyptian representative in #6 and #7)
27. Serbia – Miljana Kulić
28. Italy – Marco Mengoni
29. Switzerland – Stefanie Heinzmann (Swiss representative in #7)
30. Austria – Nathan Trent
31. Algeria – Lolo Zouaï (Monégasque representative in #7)
32. Tunisia – Enji Maaroufi (Would have been the Tunisian representative in #9)
33. Syria – Liv Young
34. Iraq – Helly Luv (Iraqi representative in #8)
35. Malta – Ella Eyre
36. Lebanon – Haifa Wehbe (Would have been the Lebanese representative in #7)

## Official album

***Mediterraneanvision Song Contest: Beirut #9*** is the official compilation album of the contest, put together by the Mediterranean Broadcasting Union and released on 1 November 2020. The album features all 36 entries including the semi-finalists that failed to qualify for the final.