GreatVision Song Contest 5

PQR date
 Final date
 Venue
 Presenter(s)
 Entries
 Debuting
**Participation map**
* Confirmed participant that have their artist or song     Countries that did not qualify for the final     Past participant that will not participate
 Voting system
 Winning song

**GreatVision Song Contest 5**, often referred to as **GVSC 5**, will be the fifth edition of the GreatVision Song Contest. The contest will be hosted in South Korea, after BoA won the fourth edition with "Camo". KBS chose the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul to serve as the host venue for the edition, HyunA, Matthew Kim and BoA were selected as the presenters. BoA will host the Green Room.

**Winner** after a big and exciting show was Arilena Ara from  Albania with their the song "Nëntori", she reached 406 Points, which set a new record for highest scoring winner. At the 2nd Place was the  United States represent by Rhys with her song ""Last Dance"" , she reached 381 Points and on 3rd Place was  Romania represent by Brighi with her song "Invizibila", they reached 286 Points, while the  Norway,  Belarus and  Greece completed the top six of the edition.

## Location

*For further information see South Korea*
**South Korea**, officially the **Republic of Korea**, is a sovereign state in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. Officially, its territory consists of the whole Korean Peninsula and its adjacent islands, which are largely mountainous. South Koreans lead a distinctive urban lifestyle, as half of them live in high-rises concentrated in the Seoul Capital Area with 25 million residents. The capital Seoul is the world's sixth leading global city with the fifth largest economy and is the seventh most sustainable city in the world.

South Korea is one of the Four Asian Tigers. The South Korean economy soared at an annual average of 10% for over 30 years in a period of rapid transformation called the Miracle on the Han River. A long legacy of openness and focus on innovation made it successful. Today, it is the world's seventh largest advanced economy and fifth largest exporter with the G20's largest budget surplus and highest credit rating of any country in East Asia. It has free trade agreements with 75% of the world economy and is the only G20 nation trading freely with China, the US and the EU simultaneously. Since 1988, its constitution guarantees a liberal democracy with high government transparency and many fundamental rights such as universal healthcare. High personal freedoms led to the rise of a globally influential pop culture such as K-pop and K-drama, a phenomenon called the Korean Wave, known for its distinctive fashionable and trendy style. Home of the UN Green Climate Fund and GGGI, South Korea is a leader in low carbon green growth, committed to helping developing countries as a major DAC and Paris Club contributor. It is the world's third least ignorant country in the Index of Ignorance, ranking eighth highest for peaceful tolerance and inclusion of minorities on the Fragile States Index.

South Korea is a technologically advanced developed country driven by a highly educated and skilled workforce, having the world's eighth highest median household income, the highest in Asia. Globally, it ranks highly in personal safety, job security, ease of doing business and healthcare quality, with the world's third highest health adjusted life expectancy and fourth most efficient healthcare system. It is the world's largest spender on R&D per GDP, leading the OECD in graduates in science and engineering and ranking third in the Youth Wellbeing Index. Home of Samsung, LG and Hyundai-Kia, South Korea was named the world's most innovative country for 4 consecutive years since 2014 in the Bloomberg Innovation Index, ranking first in business R&D intensity, manufacturing value-added, patents filed per GDP, second in higher education efficiency and fourth in high-tech density and researcher concentration. In 2005, it became the world's first country to fully transition to high-speed Internet and today it has the world's fastest Internet speed and highest smartphone ownership, ranking first in ICT Development, e-Government and 4G LTE coverage. South Korea currently provides the world's second largest number of Christian missionaries, surpassed by the United States.

### Host City

*For further information see Seoul*
**Seoul**, officially the Seoul Special Metropolitan City – is the de facto capital and largest metropolis of the Republic of Korea (commonly known as South Korea). Seoul is the world's 16th largest city,[10] and forms the heart of the Seoul Capital Area, which includes the surrounding Incheon metropolis and Gyeonggi province. The Seoul Capital Area houses about half of the country's population of 51.44 million people with 678,102 international residents.

Situated on the Han River, Seoul's history stretches back more than two thousand years when it was founded in 18 BC by Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. It continued as the capital of Korea under the Joseon Dynasty. The Seoul Capital Area contains five UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Changdeok Palace, Hwaseong Fortress, Jongmyo Shrine, Namhansanseong and the Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty. Seoul is surrounded by mountains, the tallest being Mt. Bukhan, the world's most visited national park per square foot. Modern landmarks include the iconic N Seoul Tower, the gold-clad 63 Building, the neofuturistic Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Lotte World, the world's largest indoor theme park, Moonlight Rainbow Fountain, the world's longest bridge fountain and the Sevit Floating Islands. The birthplace of K-pop and the Korean Wave, Seoul received over 10 million international visitors in 2014, making it the world's 9th most visited city and 4th largest earner in tourism.

Seoul is the world's most wired city and ranked first in technology readiness by PwC's Cities of Opportunity report- It is served by the KTX high-speed rail and the Seoul Subway, providing 4G LTE, WiFi and DMB inside subway cars as well as wifi at every station. Seoul is connected via AREX to Incheon International Airport, rated the world's best airport nine years in a row (2005–2013) by Airports Council International. Lotte World Tower, a 556-metre (1,824-foot) supertall skyscraper with 123 floors, has been built in Seoul and become the OECD's tallest in 2016, with the world's tallest art gallery. Its Lotte Cinema houses the world's largest cinema screen. Seoul's COEX Mall is the world's largest underground shopping mall.

Seoul hosted the 1986 Asian Games, 1988 Summer Olympics, 2002 FIFA World Cup, the Miss Universe 1980 pageant, and the 2010 G-20 Seoul summit. A UNESCO City of Design, Seoul was named the 2010 World Design Capital.

### Venue

*For further information see Gocheok Sky Dome*
**The Gocheok Sky Dome** is a domed baseball stadium located in Gocheok-dong, Seoul, South Korea. It is the home ballpark for the Nexen Heroes. The stadium is primarily used for baseball and has a capacity for 16,813 spectators for baseball games. The stadium replaced Dongdaemun Baseball Stadium and opened on 15 September 2015. It also serves as a concert venue, with a capacity for around 25,000 spectators.

### Bidding phase

One day after their announcement of hosting the contest, KBS announced that there will be a Bidding phase in this edition. But the GBU has set some Rules for the Venue. Those were the following:

* The Green Room should be located in the arena or as near it as possible, with a capacity of 300.
* An additional room at least 6,000 square metres (65,000 sq ft) in area, to house 2 catering stands, a viewing room, make-up rooms, wardrobe, and booths for approximately 50 commentators.
* Separate offices to house the press centre, open between end of August 2016 and mid/end September 2016, at least (43,000 sq ft) in area, with a capacity of at least 1,500 journalists.

**Key**
     Host venue

## Format

The GBU has decided that in the upcoming edition there will be most likely 2 Semi-finals. In each semi-final 10 countries will qualify for the Grand Final to make a line-up of 26 competing countries (20 Semi-Final qualifers + Big 6), furthermore there will be Pre-Qualification Round, where eight countries battle for the last four places for the semi-finals.

### Voting

The GBU has announced that the voting system would be each country awarding two sets of points from 1-8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting. The new voting system is also used to determine the qualifiers from each semi-final, but as before the qualifiers are announced in a random order

### Semi Final allocation draw

The draw to determine the allocation of the participating countries into their respective semi-finals took place at Seoul City Hall on 9 October 2017, hosted by HyunA and BoA. The first part of the draw determined in which semi-final the Big Six would have to vote. The second part of the draw decided in which half of the respective semi-finals each country would perform, with the exact running order determined by the producers of the show at a later date. Twenty-one countries will participate in both semi-finals, respectively. From each semi-final, ten countries will join the "Big 6" in the final, where a total of twenty-six countries will participate.

As the pre-qualification round would start after the draw, the spot for the four pre-qualification round qualifiers were drawn first. The thirty-eight semi-finalists were allocated into six pots, based on their geographical place. Each time a country was be drawn from the pot, it´s half of the semi-final was determined.

The six pots were the following:

* Bulgaria
* Croatia
* Cyprus
* Greece
* Serbia
* Turkey
* Estonia
* Finland
* Iceland
* Lithuania
* Sweden
* France
* Gibraltar
* Portugal
* Spain
 Pot 4
 * Belarus
* Czech Republic
* Moldova
* Poland
* Romania
* Slovakia
* Ukraine
* Hong Kong
* Japan
* North Korea
* Russia
* Taiwan
* Colombia
* Fiji
* New Zealand
* Singapore
* Vanuatu

### Running order

The Running order of both Semi-finals was official announced by KBS on the 24th October 2017, shortly before the semi-finals start. The Running order for Grand Final will official announced in November 2017, one day before the Grand Final will start.

## Participating countries

**Fifty-two** countries have confirmed their participation in the fifth edition. This includes Croatia and Moldova they returned after being absent since the third edition, as well Albania, Brazil and Vatican City returned to the contest after their one-edition absence. Also Belarus, Colombia, Fiji, Gibraltar, Portugal, Taiwan and Vanuatu will make their debut appearance in this edition.

Nine countries, however, announced their withdrawal from the contest. Austria,
Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Palau and Vietnam announced their withdrawal citing their Head of Delegation change as the reason, while Luxembourg's and Nauru's Head of Delegation had no longer interest to participate in the contest.

The confirmation period for the fifth edition opened on the 26th September 2017. The contest will start most likely in late October 2017. As the rules say, if the country will select internally their entry, they should announced the artist at least one week before they reveal the song.

### Returning artists

Hedley from Canada took part for a second time, after they represented the country in the first edition. Christiana Loizu was internally selected to represent Cyprus for the second time; she previously represented the country in the third edition. Greece will be represented by a former winner of the GreatVision Song Contest, Playmen was internally selected to represent the country for the second time together with Demy; she previously represented the country in the first edition. Also LiSA was selected to represent Japan for the second time; she previously represented the country in the third edition. As well GJan from Lithuania took part for a second time, after she represented the country in the third edition. Furthermore Theia was selected to represent New Zealand for a second time, after she represented the country in the second edition. Slovakia will be represented by Celeste Buckingham for a second time. The Sam Willows were internally selected to represent Singapore for the third time; they previously represented the country in the first edition and in the third edition.

## Results

### Pre-qualification round

*Main article: Pre-Qualification Round 1*
Eight countries participated in the first pre-qualification round. Andorra, Armenia, China and Norway qualifed to the semi-finals, while Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ireland, Malta and United Kingdom were eliminated.

### Semi Final 1

Twenty-one countries will participate in the first semi-final.  Germany,  Malaysia and  San Marino will also vote in this semi-final. The highlighted countries qualified for the final.

### Semi Final 2

Twenty-one countries will participate in the second semi-final.  Italy,  South Korea and  United States will also vote in this semi-final. The highlighted countries qualified for the final.

### Final

The following countries either finished in the top 6 of the previous edition and therefore automatically qualify to the final of this edition or qualified from the semi-finals.

## Other countries

*Further information: List of able countries in GreatVision Song Contest*
Countries that are active members of the GreatVision Broadcasting Union (GBU) are also eligible to participate in the GreatVision Song Contest. As in every edition, an invitation to all the members have been sent in order to confirm whether they will participate or not. The following list of countries declined stating their reasons as shown below.

### Withdrawing countries

* Austria: ORF announced that they would withdraw. However, no reason was announced of the countries withdrawal but the non-qualifications in the past editions could be use as a reason for the countries withdrawl. The Hod quit his position and will change his country to Norway. A return with new HoD is possible.
* Denmark: DR announced that they would withdraw. However, no reason was announced of the countries withdrawal but the non-qualifications in the past editions could be use as a reason for the countries withdrawl. The Hod quit his position and will change his country to Taiwan. A return with new HoD is possible.
* Faroe Islands: KVF announced that they would withdraw. However, no reason was announced of the countries withdrawal but the non-qualifications in the past editions could be use as a reason for the countries withdrawl. The Hod quit his position and will change his country to Ireland. A return with new HoD is possible.
* Indonesia: TVRI announced that they would withdraw. However, no reason was announced of the countries withdrawal, but the saltiness of non-qualification in the past edition could be use as a reason for the countries withdrawl. The Hod quit his position and will change his country to Albania. A return with new HoD is possible.
* Kazakhstan: KA announced that they would withdraw. However, no reason was announced of the countries withdrawal. The Hod quit his position and will change his country to Moldova. A return with new HoD is possible.
* Luxembourg. RTL on the 1st October 2017 the HoD announced the withdrawl of the country, because the broadcaster lost the interrest in a new participation and the Hod quit his position, due non-qualifications in the past editions . A return with new HoD is possible.
* Nauru: NBS on the 28th September 2017 the HoD announced the withdrawl of the country, because the broadcaster lost the interrest in a new participation and the Hod quit his position, due non-qualifications in the past editions . A return with new HoD is possible.
* Palau: TBS announced that they would withdraw. However, no reason was announced of the countries withdrawal but the non-qualification in the past edition could be use as a reason for the countries withdrawl. The Hod quit his position and will change his country to Brazil. A return with new HoD is possible.
* Vietnam: TVM announced that they would withdraw. However, no reason was announced of the countries withdrawal. The Hod quit his position and will change his country to Fiji. A return with new HoD is possible.