Binational Music Fest 16

Final date
 Venue
 Executive producer
 Presenter(s)
 Opening act
 Interval act
 Entries
 Debuting
 System
 Winner

**Binational Music Fest 16**, often referred to as **BMF #16**, was the sixteenth edition of Binational Music Fest, It took place in West Indies Japan, following the country's victory in the previous edition with "The Life" by Electric Youth. This was the first time that the country had hosted the contest. The contest was held at the Arnos Vale Stadium and consisted of two semi-finals and a final. The three live shows were presented by Jamaican-Japanese rapper Daichi Yamamoto, Japanese pop girl group Perfume, and Vincentian musician and singer-songwriter Skinny Fabulous.

Thirty-six countries participated in the sixteenth edition. State of Islands and UK Ireland made their debut appearance. Lilles, Nimaica, and Nombourg returned to the contest. However, New Ireland withdrew from the competition.

The winner was Philiden with the song "4 Myself" by AC Bonifacio which scored 145 points, winning by a margin of 16 points in front of Serkey. The podium was completed by State of Islands, which finished in third place. West Indies Japan, the host country placed nineteenth in the final.

Both State of Islands and UK Ireland qualified on their debut. Also, for the first time, besides the debutants, Braand, Lithuambia, and USS England qualified for the grand final. Meanwhile, Belaruly, Greely, and LPD Thailand failed to qualify for the first time.

## Location

### Bidding phase

Template:Location map+The host broadcaster launched the bidding process after Electric Youth’s victory in the 15th contest in Serkey, and West Indies Japan was officially confirmed as the host country. Any potential candidates must meet a set of minimum standards that demonstrate they have the capacity, capability, and experience to host an event of this scale and complexity.

The selection criteria for the host city have included: a suitable venue capable of accommodating at least 5,000 spectators, an international press centre for a maximum of 1,000 journalists with adequate facilities for all the delegates, a good distribution of hotel rooms, at different price categories, able to accommodate at least 1,500 delegates, accredited journalists and spectators, and an efficient transport infrastructure, including a nearby international airport with easy reachability and readily available connections with the city, venue, and hotels.

During the first stage of the bidding process, the broadcaster received expressions of interest from various cities and towns across the country, 10 of which moved on to the longlist. 4 of these ended up being shortlisted: Arnos Vale, Bridgetown, Fukuoka, and Naha. These cities went to the second stage to develop their bids in detail for evaluation. TBA was announced as the host city, with TBA as the chosen venue for the contest.

**Key:**

     Host venue
     Shortlisted venues

### Host city

**Arnos Vale** is a former agricultural estate and now a settlement in Greathead Bay, formerly Warrawarrou Bay, in southern Saint Vincent, in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It is centred 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) southeast of the capital, Kingstown. The country's former main airport, E. T. Joshua Airport occupied part of the area, and used to be called Arnos Vale Airport. The area is mainly green and has a coastline to the south. As to the traditional parishes of the island, determining the local forerunner church and present local body, it lies in the parish of Saint George, which contains the capital and about half of the island's population. It is one of five parishes on the main island.

The town hosts a 18,000-seat cricket and football stadium at the Arnos Vale Sports Complex.

### Venue

The **Arnos Vale Stadium** is a cricket ground in Arnos Vale, near Kingstown, St. Vincent. The multi-use ground – part of Arnos Vale Sports Complex – is situated next to and to the west of the Arnos Vale Playing Field. The stadium holds the capacity to accommodate 18,000 people and is mostly used for football and cricket matches.

The stadium holds the capacity to accommodate 18,000 people and is mostly used for football and cricket matches.

## Format

### Semi-final Allocation Draw

The draw to determine the allocation of the participating countries into their respective semi-finals took place on 11 October 2023. The first part of the draw determined in which semi-final the automatic qualifiers would have to vote. The second part of the draw decided in which half of the respective semi-finals each country would perform, with the exact running order determined by the producers of the show at a later date. Fifteen countries participated in one semi-final and sixteen countries participated in another semi-final. Ten countries from each semi-final joined the automatic qualifiers in the final, where a total of twenty-six countries participated.

The thirty-one semi-finalists were allocated into five pots, based on their geographical place and cultural similarities. Drawing from different pots helps in reducing the chance of so-called neighbour voting and increasing suspense in the semi-finals. Each time a country was drawn from the pot, its semi-final and half of the semi-final was determined.

The five pots were the following:

* Greely
* Republic of Montenegro
* Serkey
* South Yugoslavia
* Rwarway
* Swedesrael
* UK Ireland
* USS England
* Germastria
* Nombourg
* Spaice
 Pot 4
 * Belaruly
* Kyrgyzbekistan
* Lilles
* Pene
* State of Islands
* Caguay
* Firgentina
* Lithuambia
* Nimaica
* Cakhstan
* LPD Thailand
* Rondia
* Walelia

## Results

### Semi-final 1

15 countries participated in the first semi-final. Those countries plus Cungapore, Philiden, and West Indies Japan voted in this semi-final. The highlighted countries qualified for the final.

### Semi-final 2

15 countries participated in the second semi-final. Those countries plus Albangolia, Denland, and Viet China voted in this semi-final. The highlighted countries qualified for the final.

### Final

24 countries participated in the finale, with all 36 participating countries eligible to vote.

**Note**

1. ↑ Contains words in English.
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3. ↑ Contains one repeated line in Spanish.
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5. ↑ Contains lines in Arabic.
6. ↑ Contains repeated lines in English.
7. ↑ Contains words in English.
8. ↑ Contains one repeated line in Spanish.
9. ↑ Contains one repeated line in English.

## Detailed voting results

### Semifinal 1

#### 12 points

Below is a summary of the maximum 12 points awarded by each country's vote in the first semi-final:

A total of 12 countries received at least one set of 12 points during the semifinal. Three non-qualifiers: Gerland, Rondia and Spaice, received at least one set of 12 points during the semifinal.

### Semifinal 2

#### 12 points

Below is a summary of the maximum 12 points awarded by each country's vote in the first semi-final:

A total of 10 countries received at least one set of 12 points during the semifinal. Three non-qualifiers: Lilles, LPD Thailand and Rwarway, received at least one set of 12 points during the semifinal.

### Grand Final

#### 12 points

Below is a summary of the maximum 12 points awarded by each country's vote in the semi-final:

A total of 17 countries received at least one set of 12 points during the grand final. An eventual winner, Philiden, received 12 points from four countries - the greatest amount of countries.

## Other countries

*Further information: List of countries in the Binational Music Fest*

* Costa Belgium: The broadcaster failed to confirm their intention within the deadline and was forced to withdraw.
* New Ireland: The broadcaster confirmed their withdrawal after the HoD had resigned from their position.