Edition 72

The seventy-second edition of the **Global Music Festival** took place in Malmö, Sweden, following Molly Sandén's victory at the seventy-first edition in Chongqing, China with the song "Husavik (My Home Town)". It was the third win for Sweden and the first time that the city hosted the competition. Organised by the head of delegation and host broadcaster, the contest was held at the Malmö Arena, and consisted of two semi-finals which were both launched on the 25 August 2020 and a grand final which took place from the 11 September 2020. The three shows were hosted by Måns Zelmerlöw and Petra Mede - hosts of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2016. Also, Zelmerlöw is a previous Global Music Festival participant for Sweden.

Sixty countries participated in this edition of the contest. Unfortunately, this edition saw the withdrawal from seven countries: Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Iran, Laos, Rwanda and Turkmenistan. However, we saw the return of Jamaica, Turkey, Serbia, Armenia and Argentina after a 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 edition break respectively. Most significantly, we also saw the return of Uruguay, whom last participated in edition 48 - returning from a twenty-three edition break from the competition.

The power six for this edition were Sweden, Malta, New Zealand, Switzerland, North Macedonia and Iceland - these were the delegations that placed in the top six from the previous edition. 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.

 Slogan
 Venue
 Presenter(s)
 Participants
 Winner

## Other Participants

* Bulgaria
* Cyprus
* Iran
* Laos
* Rwanda
* Turkmenistan

## Semi-Final Allocation Draw

The draw to determine the allocation of the participating countries into their respective semi-finals took place on the 20 August 2020. The fifty-four 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 and Ireland were not included in the pots because the heads of delegation are on the admin team and are in charge of the second and first semi-finals respectively. As a result, Finland was automatically assigned to semi-final one and Ireland was automatically assigned to semi-final two.

Also, in the semi-final allocation draw the power six nations Sweden, Malta, New Zealand, Switzerland, North Macedonia and Iceland were all drawn to vote in one of the respective semi-finals. Malta, New Zealand and Iceland were assigned to vote in the first semi-final and Sweden, Switzerland and North Macedonia were assigned to vote in the second semi-final.

## Semi Final One

 Malta,  New Zealand and  Iceland 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 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.

## Semi Final Two

 Sweden,  Switzerland and  North Macedonia 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.  Ireland were automatically assigned to this semi-final because the head of delegation for Ireland is on the admin team and is the organiser for the first semi-final - this is done to allow the admins to have the uncertainty of their countries' result.

## Grand Final

Thirty countries participated in the final of this edition of the **Global Music Festival** - the power six and the twenty-four qualifiers from the two semi-finals. All participating countries were eligible to vote in the final; however, only the thirty finalists were obligated to vote! The votes of the non-qualifiers and non-participants were all combined in to the televote. However, only thirty non-qualifiers and non-participants could vote.