Evovision Song Contest 04

Final date
 Venue
 Presenter(s)
 Opening act
**SF2:** Itzy - Ting Ting Ting
 Interval act
**SF2:** Mamamoo - Hip
 Entries
 Debuting
 American Samoa
 Angola
 Cyprus
 England
 Estonia
 Guam
 Iran
 Japan
 Lithuania
 Malta
 Norway
 Palau
 Scotland
 Serbia
 Taiwan
 US Virgin Islands
 Returning
 Iceland
 Poland
 Sweden
 Withdrawing
 Australia
 Belarus
 Belgium
 Bulgaria
 Canada
 Croatia
 Ethiopia
 Faroe Islands
 Gibraltar
 Haiti
 Ireland
 Israel
 Kazakhstan
 Kenya
 New Zealand
 Romania
 San Marino
 Thailand
 Netherlands
 United Kingdom
 System
 Winner

The **Evovision Song Contest 04**, also known as Evovision 04 or EVOSC 04, was the 4th edition of the Evovision Song Contest. It took place in South Korea. Organised by the Evo Broadcasting Union (EVOBU) and host broadcaster MNET, the contest was held in TBA, and consisted of two Semi-Finals and a Grand Final.

This was the first edition in which the United Kingdom was split into England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

## Location

### South Korea

**South Korea**, officially the **Republic of Korea** (**ROK**), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula, and sharing a land border with North Korea. About 25 million people, around half of the country's population of 51 million, live in the Seoul Capital Area.

The Korean Peninsula was inhabited as early as the Lower Paleolithic period. Its first kingdom was noted in Chinese records in the early 7th century BCE. Following the unification of the Three Kingdoms of Korea into Silla and Balhae in the late 7th century, Korea was ruled by the Goryeo dynasty (918–1392) and the Joseon dynasty (1392–1897). The succeeding Korean Empire was annexed into the Empire of Japan in 1910. After World War II, Korea was divided into two zones; a northern zone occupied by the Soviet Union and a southern zone occupied by the United States. After negotiations on reunification , the latter became the Republic of Korea in August 1948 while the former became North Korea.

In 1950, a North Korean invasion began the Korean War, which saw extensive US-led U.N. intervention in support of the South, while the North received support from China and from the Soviet Union. After the war's end in 1953, the country's economy began to soar, recording the fastest rise in average GDP per capita in the world between 1980 and 1990. The June Struggle led to the end of authoritarian rule in 1987 and the country is now considered among the most advanced democracies in Asia, with the highest level of press freedom. However, corruption and political scandals remain serious problems; all four living former South Korean presidents have been sentenced to prison for various crimes ranging from abuse of authority to bribery and embezzlement; with two still currently serving their sentences.

### Busan

**Busan**, formerly romanized as **Pusan** and now officially known as **Busan Metropolitan City**, is South Korea's second-most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. It is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, with its port—Korea's busiest and the sixth-busiest in the world. The surrounding "Southeast Economic Zone" (including Ulsan and South Gyeongsang) is South Korea's largest industrial area.

Busan is divided into 15 major administrative districts and a single county, together housing a population of approximately 3.6 million. The full metropolitan area, the Southeastern Maritime Industrial Region, has a population of approximately 8 million. The most densely built-up areas of the city are situated in a number of narrow valleys between the Nakdong and the Suyeong Rivers, with mountains separating most of the districts. The Nakdong is Korea's longest river and Busan's Haeundae Beach is also the country's largest.

### Sajik Arena

The **Sajik Arena** is an indoor sporting arena located in Busan, South Korea. The seating capacity of the arena is 14,099 and was built in 1985. Until 2021, it was the home arena of the Busan KT Sonicboom basketball team.

### **Bidding Phase**

After South Korea accepted the hosting of the third Evovision Song Contest, 4 cities made Bids to host the contest. On 27 June 2021, it was announced that the Sajik Arena in Busan would host the contest.

 Seoul | Olympic Gymnastics Arena | 15,000

# Participating Countries

The fourth edition had 36 countries participating. 18 countries made their debut, 5 countries returned and 22 countries withdrew.

# Returning Artists

EVOSC 04 marked the first edition to have a returning artist from a previous edition.
Chung Ha, one of the presenters, also previously reprersented  North Korea in the 3rd Edition.

## Format

Each Semi-Final has 15 participating countries, as well as 3 of the 6 automatic qualifiers voting. 8 countries qualify from each Semi-Final, meaning that, when joined by the Big 6, the Grand Final has 22 participating countries.

## First Semi-Final

 North Korea,  Scotland and  United States also voted in this Semi-Final.

## Second Semi-Final

 Guam,  South Korea and  Switzerland also voted in this Semi-Final.