GreatVision Song Contest 6

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 6**, often referred to as **GVSC 6**, will be the sixth edition of the GreatVision Song Contest. The contest will be hosted in Albania, after Arilena Ara won the fifth edition with "Nëntori". RTSH chose the Pallati i Kongreseve in Tirana to serve as the host venue for the edition, Arilena Ara, Genta Ismajli and Elvana were selected as the presenters. Elvana will host the Green Room.

**Winner** after a big and exciting show was Mihaela Marinova feat. Pavell & Venci Venc from  Bulgaria with their the song "Listata Padat", they reached 346 Points. At the 2nd Place was the  Canada represent by Michelle Treacy with her song "Armageddon", she reached 288 Points and on 3rd Place was the  United States represent by KARD with their song "You In Me", they reached 281 Points, while the  Sweden,  Andorra and  Moldova completed the top six of the edition.

## Location

*For further information see Albania*
**Albania** officially the **Republic of Albania**, is a country in Southern and Southeastern Europe. It spans 28,748 square kilometres (11,100 square miles) and had a total population of 3 million people as of 2016. Albania is a unitary parliamentary constitutional republic with the capital in Tirana, the country's most populous city and main economic and commercial centre, followed by Durrës. The country's other major cities include Vlorë, Sarandë, Shkodër, Berat, Korçë, Gjirokastër and Fier.

Albania occupies the southwestern portion of the Balkan Peninsula, bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east, and Greece to the south and southeast. The country features notable diversity with the landscape ranging from the Albanian Alps in the north, Korab Mountains in the east, Ceraunian Mountains in the south and Skanderbeg Mountains in the center. It has a coastline on the northern shore of the Mediterranean Sea; the Adriatic Sea to the west and the Ionian Sea to the southwest, forming the Albanian Riviera. Albania is less than 72 km (45 mi) from Italy across the Strait of Otranto which connects the Adriatic Sea to the Ionian Sea.

During the classical times, Albania was inhabited by various ancient Illyrian, Thracian and Greek tribes, as well as several Greek colonies established inside the Illyrian coast. In the third century BC, the region was annexed by Rome and became part of the Roman provinces of Dalmatia, Macedonia and Moesia Superior. The unified Principality of Arbër emerged in 1190, established by archon Progon in the Krujë, within the Byzantine Empire. In the late thirteenth century, Charles of Anjou conquered the Albanian territories from the Byzantines and established the medieval Kingdom of Albania, extending from Durrës along the coast to Butrint in the south. Falling in the mid-fifteenth century under Ottoman dominion, the modern nation state of Albania emerged in 1912 following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and Balkan Wars. The modern Kingdom of Albania was invaded by Italy in 1939, which formed Greater Albania, before becoming a Nazi German protectorate in 1943. The following year, a socialist People's Republic emerged under the leadership of Enver Hoxha and the Party of Labour. The country experienced widespread social and political transformations in the communist era, as well as isolation from much of the international community. In the aftermath of the Revolutions of 1991, the Socialist Republic was dissolved and the fourth Republic of Albania was established.

Albania is a democratic and developing country with an upper-middle income economy. The service sector dominates the country's economy, followed by the industrial and agriculture sector. Following the collapse of communism in 1990, Albania went through a process of transition from a centralized economy to a market-based economy. Albania has a high Human Development Index and is ranked thirty-seventh in the world for life expectancy. It provides universal health care and free primary and secondary education to its citizens. Albania is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, UNESCO, NATO, WTO, CoE, OSCE and OIC. It is also an official candidate for membership in the European Union. Furthermore, Albania is one of the founding members of the Energy Community, including the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, and Union for the Mediterranean.

### Host City

*For further information see Tirana*
**Tirana** is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is also the heart of Albania's cultural, economic and governmental activity, located on the central-west corner of the country surrounded by mountains and hills with the Dajti Mountain on the east and a slight valley opening on the north-west overlooking the Adriatic Sea in the distance. The city is located some 700 kilometres (430 miles) north of Athens, 290 km (180 mi) west of Skopje, 250 km (160 mi) south-east of Pristina and 160 km (99 mi) south of Podgorica.

Tirana was founded as a city in 1614, although the area has been continuously inhabited since antiquity. One of the ancient monuments, the Tirana Mosaic is believed to have been part of a 3rd-century Ancient Roman house. Later, in the 5th and 6th centuries, a Paleo-Christian Basilica was built around this site. Tirana did not attain much significance until the early 20th century, when the Congress of Lushnjë proclaimed it Albania's capital following the country's declaration of independence in 1912.

Tirana is the largest city in Albania and one of largest cities in the Balkans, ranking 7th, with a population of 800,000. The city is ranked among the ten sunniest cities in Europe, with 2,544 hours of sun per year.

Being Albania's primate city, Tirana is considered the heart of Albania because of its central location and its importance in finance, commerce, media, entertainment, arts, international trade, education, service, research and healthcare. Almost all of the country's largest companies, media and scientific institutions have their headquarters in the city. Tirana is also the seat of power of the Government of Albania, the residences for work of the President and the Prime Minister of Albania. Tirana retains Roman and Byzantine monuments, as well as a number of Ottoman monuments.

### Venue

*For further information see Pallati i Kongreseve*
The **Palace of Congresses** is a venue in Tirana, Albania, where numerous festivals and events are held, including the annual Festivali i Këngës and Kënga Magjike and the Tirana Book Fair.

It was built during the late communist era to host the Congresses of Albanian Labour Party and other main activities. Today, the palace is used as a nonfunctional venue, that hosts conferences, festivals, exhibitions, ceremonies, concerts and more. It currently has a capacity of 2,100 seats.

There are three other smaller halls, with a smaller capacity of 150, 280 and 300 people, designed as working environments for different meetings and occasions. It has a Stalinist architecture and was designed to harmonize with the local architecture.

### Bidding phase

One day after their announcement of hosting the contest, RTSH 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 and one Wildcard will qualify for the Grand Final to make a line-up of 27 competing countries (20 Semi-Final qualifers + Wildcard + Big 6).

### 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 Tirana City Hall on 21 November 2017, hosted by Arilena Ara and Genta Ismajli. 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-two or Twenty-one countries will participate in each semi-finals, respectively. From each semi-final, ten countries and a Wildcard will join the "Big 6" in the final, where a total of twenty-seven countries will participate.

* Denmark
* Finland
* Iceland
* Ireland
* Sweden
* United Kingdom
* Italy
* Malta
* Portugal
* San Marino
* Serbia
* Turkey
* Czech Republic
* France
* Germany
* Liechtenstein
* Poland
 Pot 4
 * Armenia
* Estonia
* Latvia
* Lithuania
* Moldova
* Russia
* Ukraine
* Fiji
* Malaysia
* New Zealand
* Singapore
* Sri Lanka
* South Africa
* Canada
* China
* Japan
* North Korea
* South Korea
* Thailand
* Vietnam

### Running order

The Running order of both Semi-finals was official announced by RTSH on 27 November 2017, shortly before the semi-finals start. The Running order for Grand Final was official announced on 9 December 2017, one day before the Grand Final will start.

## Participating countries

**Fourty-nine** countries have confirmed their participation in the sixth edition. This includes Latvia and Liechtenstein they returned after being absent since the second edition, as well Denmark and Vietnam returned to the contest after their one-edition absence. Also the Åland Islands, Sri Lanka, South Africa and Thailand will make their debut appearance in this edition.

Eleven countries, however, announced their withdrawal from the contest. Belgium,
Colombia, Cyprus, Gibraltar, Hong Kong and Taiwan announced their withdrawal citing their Head of Delegation change as the reason, while Spain's and Vatican City's Head of Delegation had no longer interest to participate in the contest. Bosnia-Herzegovina was forced to withdraw due the country failed to submit their votes last edition within the deadline. Vanuatu was forced to withdraw after his HoD lost his persmission to participate in the contest. Finally Croatia was forced to withdraw as the country failed to submit their song within the deadline.

The confirmation period for the sixth edition opened on the 2nd November 2017. The contest will start most likely in December 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

Iveta Mukuchyan was internally selected to represent Armenia for the second time; she previously represented the country in the second edition. Bulgaria will be represented by Mihaela Marinova for the second time; she previously represented the country in the third edition. As well GOT7 from China took part for a second time, after they represented the country in the first edition. Also Pórdis Birna was selected to represent Iceland for the second time; he previously represented the country in the first edition. Also Moniqué was selected to represent Lithuania for the second time; she previously represented the country in the second edition. 9Muses was internally selected to represent North Korea; they previously represented South Korea in the third edition. Vietnam will be represented by Min for the second time; she previously represented the country in the first edition.

## Results

### Semi Final 1

Twenty-two countries will participate in the first semi-final.  Belarus,  Romania and  United States 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.  Albania,  Greece and  Norway will also vote in this semi-final. The highlighted countries in organge qualified for the final and the highlighted countriy in blue got a Wildcard.

### 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.

* Belgium: The HoD 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 Aland Islands. A return with new HoD is possible.
* Bosnia-Herzegovina: BHRT was forced to withdraw for one edition, due to non-voting in the Pre-Qualification Round. Furthermore the country did not send their votes for the Grand Final within the given deadline. Bosnia and Herzegovina can return in the seventh edition.
* Croatia: HRT first confirm for the upcoming edition. But on the 27th November 2017 the country was forced to withdraw as it failed to submit their song within the deadline. Croatia can return in the seventh edition.
* Colombia: C1 announced the withdrawl of the country, because the broadcaster lost the interrest in a new participation and the Hod quit his positionand will change his country to Brazil, due non-qualifications in the past editions . A return with new HoD is possible.
* Cyprus: CYBC announced the withdrawl of the country, because the broadcaster lost the interrest in a new participation and the Hod quit his position and will change his country to Denmark, due non-qualifications in the past editions. A return with new HoD is possible.
* Gibraltar: GBC 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 Liechtenstein. A return with new HoD is possible.
* Hong Kong: RTHK 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 Thailand. A return with new HoD is possible.
* Spain: RTVE first confirm for the upcoming edition and annouced already their selection process. But on the 15th November 2017 the HoD announced the withdrawl of the country and Hod quit his position. A return with new HoD is possible.
* Taiwan: TBS first confirm for the upcoming edition and annouced already their selection process. But on the 15th November 2017 the HoD announced the withdrawl of the country and Hod quit his position and will change his country to Sri Lanka. A return with new HoD is possible.
* Vanuatu: VBTC first confirm for the upcoming edition and annouced already their entry. But on the 26th November 2017 the HoD lost his permission to participate in the contest. A return with new HoD is possible.
* Vatican City: announced that they would withdraw. However, no reason was announced of the countries withdrawal. The country could return after a one edition absence.