Edition 43

The forty-third edition of the **Global Music Festival** took place at the Dundee ICE Arena in Dundee, Scotland. It was the fifth time the country hosted the contest, after Scotland's fourth victory in the forty-second edition with the song Head Above Water performed by Avril Lavigne - which scored 248 points. This edition consisted of three semi-finals which were all launched on the 23 October 2018 and a grand final which took place from the 30 October 2018. All four of the shows in this edition were hosted by actress Karen Gillian - who appeared in Doctor Who. This is the fourth time that Gillian has hosted the Global Music Festival.

Fifty-two countries participated in this edition of the contest. Haiti returned for their second appearance in the forty-third edition. Their first appearance was in the twenty-seventh edition. Another nine countries also returned in this edition, they were as follows; Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Colombia, Hungary, Kosovo, Luxembourg, Monaco, Romania and Moldova - who last appeared in the thirtieth edition. The Netherlands decided they would bow out in the forty-third edition after appearing in every edition since the thirty-second edition. Armenia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Morocco and Namibia all withdrew from the contest.

The power six for this edition were Scotland, Japan, Mexico, Ireland, United States and Finland - these were the delegations that placed in the top six from the previous edition. Their placement in the power six means that they received an automatic place to perform in the final of this edition, while also being allowed to vote in one of the semi-finals in this edition.

 Slogan
 Presenter(s)
 Participants
 Winner
 Danna Paola - ¿Dónde Estabas Tú?

## Participants

* Bosnia & Herzegovina
* Colombia
* Haiti
* Hungary
* Kosovo
* Luxembourg
* Moldova
* Monaco
* Romania
* Bahrain
* Bangladesh
* Belarus
* Morocco
* Namibia
* The Netherlands
* Portugal

## Pots for the Semi-Final Allocation Draw

The draw to determine the allocation of the participating countries into their respective semi-finals took place on the 22 October 2018. The forty-six semi-finalists were allocated to five pots, based on the previous results of each participating country, calculated by the averages of the past results. Drawing from each pot helps to create an equal split of successful and not-so successful countries in each semi-final to give countries an equal chance of qualification.

Malta were not included in the pots because the head of delegation for Malta is on the admin team and are in charge of the first semi-final. As a result, Malta were automatically assigned to semi-final two.

Also, in the semi-final allocation draw the power six nations (Scotland, Japan, Mexico, Ireland, United States and Finland) were all drawn to vote in one of the respective semi-finals. Ireland and United States were assigned to vote in the first semi-final, Scotland and Finland were assigned to vote in the second semi-final, and Japan and Mexico were assigned to vote in the third semi-final.

## Semi Final One

 Ireland and  United States from the power six were randomly allocated to vote in this semi-final, as well as, the countries who participated in this semi-final - as always countries not in this semi-final had the choice whether they wanted to vote in this semi-final or not.

## Semi Final Two

 Scotland and  Finland from the power six were randomly allocated to vote in this semi-final, as well as, the countries who participated in this semi-final - as always countries not in this semi-final had the choice whether they wanted to vote in this semi-final or not.  Malta were automatically assigned to this semi-final because the head of delegation for Malta is on the admin team and is the organiser for the first semi-final - this is done to allow the admins to have the uncertainty of their countries' result.

## Semi Final Three

 Japan and  Mexico from the power six were randomly allocated to vote in this semi-final, as well as, the countries who participated in this semi-final - as always countries not in this semi-final had the choice whether they wanted to vote in this semi-final or not.

## Grand Final

Thirty countries participated in the final of this edition of the **Global Music Festival** - the power six, the seven qualifiers from the three semi-finals and the three wildcard entries (one from each semi-final). All fifty-two participating countries were eligible to vote in the final; however, only the thirty finalists were obligated to vote! The votes of the non-qualifiers and non-participants were all combined in to the televote. However, only thirty non-qualifiers and non-participants could vote. The running order for the final was announced shortly after the semi final results on the 30 October 2018. The results for the final were released on the 06 November 2018.