Altervision Song Contest 5

Final date
 Venue
 Interval act
 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
 Null points

The **Altervision Song Contest 5** was the fifth edition of the Altervision Song Contest. It took place in Gold Coast, Australia and was organised by Special Broadcasting Service following the nation's victory in the 4th edition with the song "Devil You Don't" performed by CXLOE. It was the first time that Australia hosted the contest as well as the first time the contest took place outside Europe.

The contest consisted of one show: a grand final held on 15th November. The final was hosted by Electric Fields, making them the first band to host the show.

21 countries have confirmed their participation. 7 countries are debuting, while several countries will return after their breaks. A total of 8 countries have decided to withdraw from the contest citing numerous reasons for doing so.

The **5th winner of the Altervision Song Contest** was the **United Kingdom** with the song "Tonight" performed by Alice Chater gathering a record breaking **300** points overall in the final, passing the runner-up by a record margin of **134** points. The top 5 was rounded out by the France, Morocco, Germany and Australia.

## Location

The **Gold Coast** is a coastal city in the Australian state of Queensland, approximately 66 kilometres (41 mi) south-southeast of the centre of state capital Brisbane and immediately north of the border with New South Wales. The demonym for the Gold Coast is Gold Coaster. With an estimated population of 679,127, at June 2019 (including 79,001 in the adjacent Tweed Valley of New South Wales), the Gold Coast is the sixth-largest city in Australia, making it the largest non-capital city, and Queensland's second-largest city.

Gold Coast is a major tourist destination with a sunny, subtropical climate and has become widely known for its world-class surfing beaches, high-rise dominated skyline, theme parks, nightlife, and rainforest hinterland. The city is part of the nation's entertainment industry with television productions and a major film industry. The city hosted the 2018 Commonwealth Games which ran from 4 to 15 April 2018.

### Bidding phase

As soon as Australia won the 4th edition of the Altervision Song Contest, the Special Broadcasting Service began searching for the host venue of the 5th edition. A total of 10 venues have expressed their interest in hosting, and later on they were confirmed to have sent a bid. SBS later have made a shortlist of 4 venues, which included the Brisbane Entertainment Centre in Brisbane, the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre in Gold Coast, the Perth Arena in Perth and the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney. SBS have eventually decided and announced that the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre would serve as the host venue for the 5th Altervision Song Contest. The venue has a capacity of approximately 6,000 attendees.

Legend:

 †  Host venue

 ‡  Shortlisted venues

## Other countries

* Albania: RTSH had expressed interest in returning to the contest, however they did not appear on the final list of participating countries released on 7th November.
* Algeria: ENTV and Algeria did not return to the contest due to financial issues.
* Austria: Austrian broadcaster ÖRF have decided not to return to the contest due to lack of interest from the public.
* Bosnia & Herzegovina: Bosnia & Herzegovina did not appear on the final list of participants released by ABU on 7th November. Later, BHRT stated in an announcement that the broadcaster is still dealing with financial issues and stated that future participations are uncertain.
* Belarus: BTRC have not signed up for the competition in time thus were fined by ABU.
* Belgium: Belgian broadcaster RTBF withdrew from the contest due to change in HoD.
* Canada: CBC stated that the country might not return without giving any further explanation.
* Croatia: HRT have decided to withdraw from the contest stating internal issues as the main reason.
* Ireland: Irish broadcasterRTÉ have decided not to return to the contest due to lack of interest from the public.
* Latvia: Without any further explanation, Latvia did not appear on the final list of participants released by the ABU.
* Lithuania: LRT stated that the country may not return in the near future due to
* Netherlands: AVROTROS had expressed interest in participating in the contest, however decided otherwise stating internal problems and financial issues as the main reason.
* Poland: Polish broadcaster TVP had been warned several times by ABU to hand in their votes, however they did not manage to do so thus have been fined by ABU. Following that, in a statement TVP had decided to withdraw from the contest due to lack of interest from the broadcaster and as well as that, the HoD stepped down thus questioning any future participations.
* Russia: Channel 1 Russia had originally signed up for the competition, but later decided otherwise due to financial issues.
* Serbia: Without any further explanation, Serbia did not appear on the final list of participants
* Slovenia: Without any further explanation, Slovenia did not appear on the final list of participants
* South Korea: KBS announced that the country might not enter the contest due to internal issues that the broadcaster has to face. Their decision became official when South Korea did not appear on the final list of participants
* Sweden: SVT originally intended in participating in the contest, however they did not appear on the final list of participants released by ABU.
* Ukraine: Without any further explanation, Ukraine did not appear on the final list of participants.

 First decade
 Active
 Host cities