Discogram International Song Contest 04

## Discogram International Song Contest

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**Discogram International Song Contest 04** also referred as **DISC04**, is the 4th edition of Discogram International Song Contest, held in Saitama, Japan after Masaki Suda won the last edition with his song "Machigai Sagashi".

Eighteen countries participated in the fourth contest. This edition saw the debut of  French Polynesia,  Palau,  Portugal,  Tuvalu while  Germany returned after two editions as well as  Hong Kong,  Mexico and  United States returned after one edition. However,  Aruba,  Austria,  Bulgaria,  Canada,  Greece,  Iceland,  Malaysia,  Sweden withdrew due to various reason.

 Germany ended up victorious after beating out  Taiwan for the win by a single point margin. This was Germany's first victory.  Palau rounded up the podium in 3rd. While the Host Country,  Japan finished in 10th.

This edition only  Germany was able to achieve a better result, however both  Israel and  United Kingdom managed to equal their best result this edition, finishing 4th & 8th respectively.

## Venue

Saitama Super Arena (さいたまスーパーアリーナ, Saitama Sūpā Arīna) is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Chūō-ku, Saitama, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. It opened preliminarily on May 5, 2000, and then officially opened on September 1 of the same year. Its spectator capacity is 36,500 at maximum settings,making it the second-largest indoor arena in the world. The main arena capacity is between 19,000 and 22,500.

The arena was designed by Dan Meis, who at the time was working for architecture firm Ellerbe Becket, together with Nikken Sekkei. Meis's design was selected as a result of an international design competition. The arena features a gigantic movable section of seating which can reduce capacity for smaller events and create a more intimate setting.

It is a favorite venue for puroresu (Japanese professional wrestling) and mixed martial arts (MMA). It has also hosted other sports events such as boxing, basketball, volleyball, tennis, ice hockey, and gymnastics. It is the only Japanese arena equipped especially for American football.

It formerly housed the John Lennon Museum, which displayed John Lennon memorabilia and closed in 2010.

## Location

**Saitama** is the capital and the most populous city of Saitama Prefecture, Japan. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa, Ōmiya, Yono and Iwatsuki. It is a city designated by government ordinance. Being in the Greater Tokyo Area and lying 15 to 30 kilometres north of central Tokyo, many of its residents commute into Tokyo. As of 1 February 2021, the city had an estimated population of 1,324,854, and a population density of 15,781 people per mi²(6,093 people per km²). Its total area is 217.43 square kilometres (83.95 sq mi).

The city is located 20 to 30 km north of central Tokyo, roughly at the center of the Kantō Plain. Situated in the southeast of Saitama Prefecture, the city is topographically comprised by lowlands and plateaus, at mostly less than 20 m above sea level, with no mountain ranges or hills within the city boundaries. The western portion of the city lies on the lowland created by the Arakawa River along with those created by small rivers such as the Moto-Arakawa River, Shiba River, and Ayase River. The rest of the area mostly resides on the Ōmiya Plateau lying in the north-south direction. Dispersed in this region, major rivers flow southward, almost paralleling to one another.

## Results

**Grand Final**

Recap Video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FTdYm665wRNJg9s64P3Q-6sVttt2WJ16/view?usp=sharing

The Grand Final took place between 23 January 2021 to 30 January 2021.

## Other Countries

 US Virgin Islands initially wanted to debut in this edition, however the HoD swapped to  French Polynesia, thus did not debut until the next edition.

 Lebanon initially was in the final line-up, however the HoD failed to submit an entry, thus resulting as a non-participation. Lebanon has yet to debut.