AwlaVision Song Contest 19

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

**AwlaVision Song Contest 19**, often referred to as **ASC#19**, was the nineteenth edition of AwlaVision Song Contest, held in Barcelona, Spain. The edition started the 02nd June 2017, and ended the 30th June 2017.

50 countries took part in this edition. Morocco and Tunisia debuted in this edition. No one withdrew from ASC. Andorra, Armenia, Belarus, Lebanon, Malta and Moldova returned to the competition. Marija from Serbia won the contest with the song "Dance like nobody's watching" receiving a total of 335 points, 44 point ahead the runner-up, England. Sweden finished in third place with 275 points. The host country, Spain achieved a 10th place with 99 points. The last place was for Macedonia, that got 0 points.

## Organisation

After Spain's victory in AwlaVision Song Contest 18, RTVE and ABU had to decide where to organise the contest this time. The projects were from Barcelona (*Palau Sant Jordi*), Barakaldo (*Bizkaia Arena*), Madrid (*Palacio Vistalegre*) and Vitoria (*Fernando Buesa Arena*), mainly. Finally, RTVE and ABU chose **Barcelona** as the host city of ASC19.

RTVE decided to use popular and professionals people as presenters. Finally **Ruth Lorenzo** and **Vanesa Romero** were selected.

 Barakaldo
 Madrid
 Vitoria-Gasteiz
 A Coruña
 Valencia

## Location

### **Palau Sant Jordi**

**Palau Sant Jordi** is an indoor sporting arena and multi-purpose installation that is part of the Olympic Ring complex located in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Designed by the Japanese architect Arata Isozaki, it was opened in 1990. The maximum seating capacity of the arena is 16,670 for basketball, and 24,000 for musical events. It is the largest indoor arena in Spain. The Palau Sant Jordi was one of the main venues of the 1992 Summer Olympics hosting the artistic gymnastics, handball final, and volleyball final events. Today, it is used for all kinds of indoor sport events as well as for concerts and other cultural activities, due to its great flexibility.

The arena was the venue of the 1995 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics. It was the venue of three EuroLeague Final Fours in 1998, 2003, and 2011. It also hosted the EuroBasket 1997, from the quarterfinals on, and the 2012 Spanish Basketball Cup. The final of 2000 Davis Cup was the 89th edition of the most important tournament between nations in men's tennis. Spain defeated Australia at Palau Sant Jordi on 8–10 December, giving Spain their first title. The arena also hosted the finals of 2009 Davis Cup between Spain and Czech Republic with the victory for the Spanish 5-0. Palau Sant Jordi was the main venue of the 2003 FINA World Championships. A temporary, regulation swimming pool was installed for the occasion. It played the same role for the 2013 FINA World Championships, since the city of Barcelona hosted the Championships again after 10 years. It was one of six sites that hosted the 2013 World Men's Handball Championship including the final. It was also one of six sites to host the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain. On October 5, 2016, the arena hosted an NBA preseason game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and local team FC Barcelona Regal.

### **Barcelona**

**Barcelona** is the capital city of the autonomous community of Catalonia in the Kingdom of Spain, as well as the country's second most populous municipality, with a population of 1.6 million within city limits. Its urban area extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of around 4.7 million people, being the sixth-most populous urban area in the European Union after Paris, London, Madrid, the Ruhr area and Milan. It is the largest metropolis on the Mediterranean Sea, located on the coast between the mouths of the rivers Llobregat and Besòs, and bounded to the west by the Serra de Collserola mountain range, the tallest peak of which is 512 metres (1,680 feet) high.

Founded as a Roman city, in the Middle Ages Barcelona became the capital of the County of Barcelona. After merging with the Kingdom of Aragon, Barcelona continued to be an important city in the Crown of Aragon as an economic and administrative centre of this Crown and the capital of the Principality of Catalonia. Barcelona has a rich cultural heritage and is today an important cultural centre and a major tourist destination. Particularly renowned are the architectural works of Antoni Gaudí and Lluís Domènech i Montaner, which have been designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The headquarters of the Union for the Mediterranean is located in Barcelona. The city is known for hosting the 1992 Summer Olympics as well as world-class conferences and expositions and also many international sport tournaments.

Barcelona is one of the world's leading tourist, economic, trade fair and cultural centres, and its influence in commerce, education, entertainment, media, fashion, science, and the arts all contribute to its status as one of the world's major global cities. It is a major cultural and economic centre in southwestern Europe, 24th in the world (before Zürich, after Frankfurt) and a financial centre. In 2008 it was the fourth most economically powerful city by GDP in the European Union and 35th in the world with GDP amounting to €177 billion. In 2012 Barcelona had a GDP of $170 billion; it is leading Spain in both employment rate and GDP per capita change. In 2009 the city was ranked Europe's third and one of the world's most successful as a city brand. In the same year the city was ranked Europe's fourth best city for business and fastest improving European city, with growth improved by 17% per year, and the city has been experiencing strong and renewed growth for the past three years. Since 2011 Barcelona has been a leading smart city in Europe. Barcelona is a transport hub, with the Port of Barcelona being one of Europe's principal seaports and busiest European passenger port, an international airport, Barcelona–El Prat Airport, which handles over 40 million passengers per year, an extensive motorway network, and a high-speed rail line with a link to France and the rest of Europe.

This is the first time in the contest that AwlaVision Song Contest is held in Spain, although the first winner edition was held in Barcelona, too.

### **Debuting countries**

Bellow a list of all withdrawing countries:

* Morocco
* Tunisia

### **Returning countries**

Bellow a list of all withdrawing countries:

* Andorra
* Armenia
* Belarus
* Malta
* Moldova
* Lebanon

## Results

### **First Semifinal**

**Jury**

* Spain (Host)
* Norway (Finalist)
* Denmark (Finalist)

### **Second Semifinal**

**Jury**

* Poland (Finalist)
* Iceland (Finalist)
* Sweden (Finalist)

## See also

* AwlaVision Song Contest
* AwlaVision Song Contest 1
* AwlaVision Song Contest 2
* AwlaVision Song Contest 3
* AwlaVision Song Contest 4
* AwlaVision Song Contest 5
* AwlaVision Song Contest 6
* AwlaVision Song Contest 7
* AwlaVision Song Contest 8
* AwlaVision Song Contest 9
* AwlaVision Song Contest 10
* AwlaVision Song Contest 11
* AwlaVision Song Contest 12
* AwlaVision Song Contest 13
* AwlaVision Song Contest 14
* AwlaVision Song Contest 15
* AwlaVision Winners Edition 1
* AwlaVision Song Contest 16
* AwlaVision Song Contest 17
* AwlaVision Song Contest 18