Edition 2

Brave Heart

## Vote

### Voting system

Each country awarded one set in the semi-finals, or two sets in the final of 12, 10, 8–1 points to ten songs.

## Topsical Song Contest

The second **Topsical Song Contest** took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, following the country's victory in the first edition with the song "Qaradan Qara" by Aisel. Organised by TopsRadio and the host broadcaster, Azerbaijani Television (AzTV), the contest was held at the Crystal Hall Arena, and consisted of two semi-finals on 17 June 2023 and 23 June 2023, and the final on 22 July 2023. The shows were presented by popular TV host Narmin Salmanova.

47 countries participated in the contest, with   Israel withdrawing, and 15 countries debuting in the competition:   Andorra,   Austria,   Bulgaria,   Croatia,   Denmark,   Egypt,   Iceland,   Lebanon,   Lithuania,   Morocco,   Romania,   Slovenia,   Spain,   Sweden and   Tunisia.

The winner of the second edition was   Switzerland with the song "Gone With The Wind", performed by Roxane.   Ukraine,   Georgia,   Serbia,   Jordan and   Egypt rounded out the top six.

## Overview

*To learn more about the host country, visit Azerbaijan*

### About Baku

Azerbaijan’s capital Baku (or Bakı in Azeri) lies on the western shore of the Caspian Sea and the southern side of the Abşeron Peninsula, around the wide curving sweep of the Bay of Baku. The bay, sheltered by the islands of the Baku Archipelago, provides the best harbor in the Caspian, while the Abşeron Peninsula gives protection from violent northerly winds. The name Baku is possibly a contraction of the Persian *bad kube* (“blown upon by mountain winds”).

The first historical reference to Baku dates from 885 CE, although archaeological evidence indicates a settlement there several centuries before Christ. By the 11th century CE, Baku was in the possession of the Shīrvān-Shāhs, who made it their capital in the 12th century, although for a period in the 13th and 14th centuries it came under the sway of the Mongols. In 1723, Peter I (the Great) captured Baku, but it was returned to Persia in 1735; Russia finally captured it in 1806. In 1920, Baku became the capital of the Azerbaijan Republic.

Baku is the architectural love child of Paris and Dubai, albeit with plenty of Soviet genes floating half-hidden in the background. Few cities in the world are changing as quickly, and nowhere else in the Caucasus do East and West blend as seamlessly or as chaotically. At its heart, the Unesco-listed İçəri Şəhər (Old City) lies within an exotically crenellated arc of fortress wall. Around this are gracefully illuminated stone mansions and pedestrianized tree-lined streets filled with exclusive boutiques. The second oil boom, which started around 2006, has turned the city into a crucible of architectural experimentation, and some of the finest new buildings are jaw-dropping masterpieces. Meanwhile, romantic couples canoodle their way around wooded parks and hold hands on the Caspian-front bulvar (promenade), where greens and opal blues make a mockery of Baku’s desert-ringed location. The walled city, along with the Palace of the Shīrvān-Shāhs and Maiden’s Tower, were collectively designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000.

Around the walls of the fortress, the regular streets and imposing buildings of modern Baku rise up the slopes of the amphitheater of hills surrounding the bay. Along the waterfront, an attractive park has been laid out. Most industrial plants are located at the eastern and southwestern ends of the city. Greater Baku, divided into 11 districts, encompasses almost the entire Abşeron Peninsula as well as islands off the tip of the peninsula and another built on stilts in the Caspian Sea, 60 miles (100 km) from Baku.

### About Crystal Hall Arena

Baku Crystal Hall is a multi-functional indoor venue in Baku, Azerbaijan. Located on the coast of Baku near National Flag Square, construction of the arena began in August 2011 and finished in April 2012, just in nine months, especially for the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest in Baku. Currently, it is the largest indoor arena in Azerbaijan, with a capacity of 25,000 people. Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, and Rihanna performed concerts at Baku Crystal Hall later in 2012. Baku Crystal Hall hosted the 6th e-Sports World Championship held by the International e-Sports Federation in November 2014. Crystal Hall hosted boxing, karate, taekwondo, fencing, and volleyball (indoor) events during the inaugural 2015 European Games. From September 1 to 14, 2016, Baku Crystal Hall was the venue for FIDE’s 42nd Chess Olympiad, where 182 teams from 176 countries participated.

### About the host

Narmin Salmanova is the presenter of the 9 PM news on the Azeri broadcaster iTV. She also presented the results of the Azerbaijani jury in the Eurovision Grand Final for two years, in 2022 and 2023.

### About the visual design: **Braveheart**

On May 21, 2023, TopsRadio unveiled the logo, branding, and slogan of the 2nd edition. The slogan is confirmed to be **Braveheart**. Braveheart represents a strong feminist movement in the world recently, with a healing statue as a symbol/logo of the edition.

The theme art will be used during the edition.

## National Selections and Format

### National Selections

For more information, see Edition 2/National Selections.

### Allocation Draw

The draw to determine the allocation of the participating countries into their respective semi-finals took place on May 26. The first part of the draw determined in which semifinal the automatic qualifiers would have to vote. The second part of the draw determined 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 participated in semifinal one, while twenty countries were allocated to semifinal two. In each semi-final, ten countries joined the automatic qualifiers in the final, where a total of 26 countries participated.

The forty-one semi-finalists were allocated into six pots based on their geographical location and cultural similarities. Each time a country was drawn from the pot, its semi-final and half of the semi-final were determined.

The six pots were the following:

* Bulgaria
* Greece
* Italy
* Serbia
* Slovenia
* Türkiye
* Estonia
* Finland
* Iceland
* Lithuania
* Norway
* Sweden
* Croatia
* Hungary
* Moldova
* Romania
* Slovakia
 Pot 4
 * Andorra
* Belgium
* France
* Monaco
* Netherlands
* Portugal
* Spain
* Jordan
* Lebanon
* Malta
* Morocco
* Tunisia
* Belarus
* Georgia
* Kazakhstan
* Russia
* Ukraine

## Participating countries

### Semifinal 1

  Luxembourg,   San Marino and   United Kingdom also voted in this semi final.

### Semifinal 2

  Azerbaijan,   Germany and   Poland also voted in this semi final.

### Grand Final

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lithuania, Moldova and Norway all share the same amount of points, but the countries are ranked by the total number of sets received from most countries. Lithuania received points from 15 countries, Moldova from 13 countries, and Norway from 14 countries.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Austria and Türkiye all share the same amount of points, but the countries are ranked by the total number of sets received from most countries. Austria received points from 18 countries, and Türkiye from 16 countries.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Andorra and Ukraine all share the same amount of points, but the countries are ranked by the total number of sets received from most countries. Andorra received points from 18 countries, and Ukraine from 17 countries.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 France and Finland all share the same amount of points, but the countries are ranked by the total number of sets received from most countries. Finland received 40 sets, and France received 38 sets.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Norway and San Marino all share the same amount of points, but the countries are ranked by the total number of sets received from most countries. Norway received 43 sets, and San Marino received 42 sets.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Azerbaijan and Lithuania all share the same amount of points, but the countries are ranked by the total number of sets received from most countries. Azerbaijan received 33 sets, and Lithuania received 31 sets.