Altervision Song Contest 11

Final date
 Venue
 Entries
 Debuting
**Participation map**
* Countries that have confirmed their participation but have not announced their entry     Countries that have confirmed their participation and their entry, and qualified for the final     Countries that have confirmed their participation and their entry, but did not qualify to the final     Countries that participated in the past, but not in this edition
 System
 Winner

The **Altervision Song Contest 11** was the 11th edition of the **Altervision Song Contest**. It took place in North Macedonia following the country's victory in the first anniversary edition held in Stockholm with Lara performing Za Nas. It was the 8th time the contest takes place in Europe and the third time on the Balkan peninsula. It was as well the first time North Macedonia hosted the Altervision Song Contest.

40 countries competed through 2 semi-finals and a grand final. All shows were hosted by Lara Ivanov and Tamara Todevska.

The **11th winner of the Altervision Song Contest** was **Hungary** with the song "Pók" performed by Carson Coma, gathering **280** points overall in the final, passing the runner-up by **30** points. The top 5 was rounded out by Andorra, Malta, the United Kingdom and the Falkland Islands. Pók was the second winning song sung entirely in a language other than English (although the first in an edition where English-language songs are allowed), and the first winning rock song in the history of the contest. Carson Coma also became the first band to win the competition, and it was altogether the first time since the 3rd edition that an act other than an individual won (and the first time that the main singer was not female).

## Location

### Host city

**Skopje** (Macedonian: *Скопје*) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic center. It was known in the Roman period under the name Scupi.

The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; remains of Neolithic settlements have been found within the old Kale Fortress that overlooks the modern city centre. On the eve of the 1st century AD, the settlement was seized by the Romans and became a military camp. When the Roman Empire was divided into eastern and western halves in 395 AD, Scupi came under Byzantine rule from Constantinople. During much of the early medieval period, the town was contested between the Byzantines and the Bulgarian Empire, whose capital it was between 972 and 992. From 1282, the town was part of the Serbian Empire and acted as its capital city from 1346. In 1392, the city was conquered by the Ottoman Turks who renamed the town Üsküp. The town stayed under Ottoman control over 500 years, serving as the capital of pashasanjak of Üsküb and later the Vilayet of Kosovo. At that time the city was famous for its oriental architecture. In 1912, it was annexed by the Kingdom of Serbia during the Balkan Wars and after the First World War the city became part of the newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Kingdom of Yugoslavia). In the Second World War the city was conquered by the Bulgarian Army, which was part of Axis powers. In 1944, it became the capital city of Democratic Macedonia (later Socialist Republic of Macedonia), which was a federal state, part of Democratic Federal Yugoslavia (later Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia). The city developed rapidly after World War II, but this trend was interrupted in 1963 when it was hit by a disastrous earthquake. In 1991, it became the capital city of an independent Macedonia.

Skopje is located on the upper course of the Vardar River, and is located on a major north-south Balkan route between Belgrade and Athens. It is a center for metal-processing, chemical, timber, textile, leather, and printing industries. Industrial development of the city has been accompanied by development of the trade, logistics, and banking sectors, as well as an emphasis on the fields of culture and sport. According to the last official count from 2002, Skopje has a population of 506,926 inhabitants; according to two unofficial estimates for more recent period, the city has a population of 668,518 or 491,000 inhabitants.

### Bidding phase

Following North Macedonia's victory in Stockholm, preparations for the 11th edition have immediately began. In the first week after the win, the Macedonian Radio Television, the national broadcaster of North Macedonia confirmed that the contest is going to be hosted in the country by the said broadcaster. The ABU presented every detail and requirement for the contest venue, after which the bidding process began. As of August 7th, 13 venues expressed their interest in hosting the contest. On 9th of August, it was revealed that only 4 venues were still in race after a series of rejections and withdrawals. On the same day, the bid books were handed over to the 2 cities' mayors. On 10th August, it was revealed that the contest would take place in the Boris Trajkovski Sports Centre in Skopje. The arena has a capacity of around 10.000 attendees.

The following table includes information about every bidding venue. Shortlisted venues are shown in red. Host venue is highlighted in blue.

## Participating countries

### Semi-Final 1

The Falkland Islands, North Macedonia and the United Kingdom also voted in this semi-final.

### Semi-Final 2

French Guiana, Poland and Venezuela also voted in this semi-final.

## References

1. ↑ Hungary originally held a national final, which has been cancelled due to low interest and bad organization.

 First decade
 Active
 Host cities