Mediterraneanvision Song Contest 5

THE MEDITERRANEANVISION WIKI HAS MIGRATEDThe Mediterraneanvision Wiki has always been a project that seeks to replicate the Eurovision articles on Wikipedia, something that Fandom has never been able to provide, therefore the decision was made to migrate the wiki to Miraheze. It's been great hosting our wiki on Fandom and we thank this site so much for the years we hosted our wiki on here, we absolutely believe that Fandom is suitable for other wikis, it's just that our wiki needed to go in a new direction. The information on this wiki is no longer current, for up-to-date information visit our new wiki linked on the side. We hope to see everyone at the new and improved Mediterraneanvision Wiki!NEW WIKI

Participation map
* Participating countries     Did not qualify from the semi final     Countries that participated in the past but not in #5
* **Mediterraneanvision Song Contest**
* 6 →

The **Mediterraneanvision Song Contest 5** was the fifth edition of the Mediterraneanvision Song Contest. The contest took place in Tirana, Albania, following Albania's victory at the fourth edition in Ta' Qali, Malta, with the song "Piedestal", performed by Inis Neziri. 32 countries participated. Austria, Jordan, Libya and Tunisia withdrew.

The winner was Kosovo with the song "Ku Vajti", performed by Elvana Gjata. This was Kosovo's first win. Syria placed 2nd and Italy placed 3rd.

## Location

The contest took place in Albania, the winning country of the previous edition.

### Bidding phase

Elbasan
Korçë
**Tirana**

On the 20 September 2018, a bidding phase began. A day later on the 21 September 2018, the MBU and RTSH announced that Tirana had been selected as the host city with the Asllan Rusi Sports Palace as the venue, overcoming the bids from Elbasan and Korçë. Below are the 3 cities and their bids:

**Key**:  †  Host venue

 Tirana | Asllan Rusi Sports Palace †
 Palace of Congresses | 2,100

### About the host city

Tirana is the capital and most populous city of Albania. The city is also the capital of the surrounding county of Tirana, one of 12 constituent counties of the country. By air, it is 501 kilometres (311 miles) north of Athens, 613 kilometres (381 miles) southeast of Rome, 153 kilometres (95 miles) southwest of Skopje and 131 kilometres (81 miles) south of Podgorica.

Tirana was founded as a city in 1614, but the region that today corresponds to the city territory has been continuously inhabited since the Bronze Age. As most of Albania, the area was populated by several Illyrian tribes but had no importance within Illyria. Indeed, it was annexed by Rome and became an integral part of the Roman Empire following the Illyrian Wars. The heritage of that period is still evident and represented by the Mosaics of Tirana. Further later in the 5th and 6th century, a Paleo Christian basilica was built around this site.

When the Roman Empire divided into east and west, its successor the Byzantine Empire took control and included the construction of the Petrelë Castle, under the reign of Justinian I. Until the 20th century, the city did not attain much significance, when the Congress of Lushnjë proclaimed it as the country's capital, after the country's declaration of independence in 1912.

Tirana is located in the centre of the country surrounded by mountains and hills, with Dajt on the east and a slight valley opening on the northwest, overlooking the Adriatic Sea in the distance. Due to its location within the Tirana plain and the close proximity to the Adriatic Sea, the city is influenced by a Mediterranean seasonal climate. It is among the wettest and sunniest cities in Europe, with 2,544 hours of sun per year.

Being a primate city, Tirana is considered the economic and cultural hub of Albania, due to its significant location and importance in finance, commerce, media, entertainment, arts, international trade, education, service, research and healthcare. All of the country's largest companies, media and scientific institutions have their headquarters in the city. Tirana is also the seat of power of the Government of Albania, the residences for work of the President and Prime Minister of Albania.

 Format

### Contest

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

### Visual design

The theme for the contest, *"#WeAreTheMediterranean"*, was unveiled on the 22 September 2018 on the contest's Google+ Community.

### Presenters

Inis Neziri and Lorela Sejdini were chosen to be the presenters of the contest on the 19 September 2018, just after Albania won the previous edition.

### Running order

The running order for the semi-finals was made randomly and the reveal took place on the 10 October 2018 on the contest's Google+ Community. The Grand Final running order was also made randomly, and it was revealed after semi-final 2.

## Participating Countries

### Returning artists

 Opitz Barbi |  Hungary | #4 (with Herceg & Missh)

### Semi-final 1

Albania, Greece, and Serbia also voted in this semi-final.

### Semi-final 2

Andorra, Egypt, and Portugal also voted in this semi-final.

## Other countries

 Austria - The Austrian broadcaster, ORF, gave no reasons as to why they did not participate.

 Jordan - Despite initially confirming participation, JRTV announced on the 25 September 2018 that they had made no decision regarding whether they would participate or not. Jordan was not on the final list of participants released by the MBU on the 28 September 2018.

 Libya - Despite initially confirming participation, LNC announced on the 25 September 2018 that they had not decided whether they would be in Tirana or not. Libya was not on the final list of participants released by the MBU on the 28 September 2018.

 Tunisia - The Tunisian broadcaster, RTTT, confirmed on the 28 September 2018 that they would not participate due to financial issues.

## Spokespersons

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

2. Bulgaria - Mihaela Fileva
3. Montenegro - Nina Petković
4. Monaco - Lea Castel
5. Spain - Barei (Host of the Mediterraneanvision Song Contest 3, represented Spain at the Mediterraneanvision Song Contest 4)
6. Lebanon - Yasmine Hamdan (Represented Lebanon at the Mediterraneanvision Song Contest 1)
7. Turkey - Sertab Erener
8. Andorra - Alvaro Soler
9. FYR Macedonia - Kaliopi
10. Hungary - Freddie
11. Vatican City - Betta Lemme
12. Portugal - Luísa Sobral
13. San Marino - Valentina Monetta (Represented San Marino along with Joshua de Cadenex at the Mediterraneanvision Song Contest 3)
14. Algeria - Zaho (Represented Algeria at the Mediterraneanvision Song Contest 3 and 4)
15. Kosovo - Mimoza
16. Greece - Helena Paparizou (Winner of the Mediterraneanvision Song Contest 1 for Greece, represented Cyprus at the Mediterraneanvision Song Contest 2)
18. Israel - Netta Barzilai
19. Switzerland - Kat Graham
20. Romania - Serena
21. Bosnia and Herzegovina - Maya Berović (Represented Bosnia and Herzegovina at the Mediterraneanvision Song Contest 4)
22. Syria - Safiya (Represented Syria at the Mediterraneanvision Song Contest 4)
23. Italy - Marco Mengoni
24. Egypt - Xenia Ghali (Represented Egypt at the Mediterraneanvision Song Contest 4)
25. Gibraltar - Amy Macdonald (Represented Gibraltar at the Mediterraneanvision Song Contest 2)
26. Serbia - Miljana Kulić
27. Cyprus - Maria Elena Kyriakou
28. France - Alma
29. Liechtenstein - Thomas Muller
30. Croatia - Franka Batelić
31. Morocco - Faouzia
32. Albania - Kejsi Tola (Runner-up in Kënge Shqiptarë, the Albanian national selection)

## Official album

***Mediterraneanvision Song Contest: Tirana #5*** 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 32 entries including the semi-finalists that failed to qualify for the final.