NoNonsense Song Contest 9

## Participation map

**NoNonsense Song Contest #9**, often referred to as NNSC #9, was the ninth edition of NoNonsense Song Contest. The contest took place Tokyo, Japan, following the country's victory in the eighth edition with the song "Shanti Shanti Shanti" by Babymetal. It was the first time that Japan hosts the contest, and the contest was hosted at the Tokyo Dome, and the live shows were hosted by Japanese-British singer Rina Sawayama. For this edition, all heads of delegation were assigned to countries randomly, using a draw system created by the NNBU.

Forty countries participated this edition, the lowest number of participants ever. No countries made their debut this edition. Armenia, Belarus and Malta returned after previous absences, while Bosnia & Herzegovina, Denmark, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Moldova and Serbia withdrew as no head of delegation won a draw for these countries.

The winner was Russia with the song "Komety" performed by Polnalyubvi. This was the country's first victory in the contest. The podium was completed by Netherlands and Norway, with Norway equalling their best result. Ukraine, Japan and Israel rounded up the top 6. The host nation Japan finished in 5th place. The edition marked the first time that New Zealand failed to qualify for the final.

During the edition, it was announced by the broadcaster that the edition would be temporarily paused for a few weeks. It was promised that the edition would resume exactly where it paused. An official return was announced by the broadcaster on 10 April 2022, and semi-final results being revealed the next day. A shorter, unofficial hiatus took place following the grand final. This delayed the final results being made public.

## Location

*Further information on the host country: Japan*

### Host City

**Tokyo** is the capital, the largest city and the most populous metropolitan area in the Greater Tokyo Area, the Kantō region and Japan, as well as the most metropolitan in the world. and most populous prefecture of Japan. Located at the head of Tokyo Bay, the prefecture forms part of the Kantō region on the central Pacific coast of Japan's main island of Honshu. Tokyo is the political and economic center of the country, as well as the seat of the Emperor of Japan and the national government. As of 2021, the prefecture has an estimated population of 14.04 million. The Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous metropolitan area in the world, with an estimated 37.468 million residents in 2018.

Tokyo is the largest urban economy in the world by gross domestic product, and is categorized as an Alpha+ city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. Part of an industrial region that includes the cities of Yokohama, Kawasaki, and Chiba, Tokyo is Japan's leading center of business and finance. In 2019, it hosted 36 of the Fortune Global 500 companies. In 2020, it ranked fourth on the Global Financial Centres Index, behind New York City, London, and Shanghai. Tokyo has the world's tallest tower, Tokyo Skytree, and the world's largest underground floodwater diversion facility, MAOUDC. The Tokyo Metro Ginza Line is the oldest underground metro line in East Asia (1927).

### Venue

**Tokyo Dome** is an indoor stadium in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. Construction on the stadium began on May 16, 1985, and it opened on March 17, 1988. It was built on the site of the Velodrome, adjacent to the predecessor ballpark, Korakuen Stadium. It has a maximum total capacity of 57,000 depending on configuration, with an all-seating configuration of 42,000.

Tokyo Dome's original nickname was "The Big Egg", with some calling it the "Tokyo Big Egg". Its dome-shaped roof is an air-supported structure, a flexible membrane supported by slightly pressurizing the inside of the stadium. It was developed by Nikken Sekkei and Takenaka Corporation. It was modeled after the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.

## Format

### Semi-final Allocation Draw

The draw to determine the allocation of the participating countries into their respective semi-finals will take place on 18th February 2022. The draw will decide 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 and nineteen countries will participate in each semi-final respectively. From each semi-final, twelve countries will join Japan in the final, where a total of twenty-six countries will participate.

The 39 semi-finalists were allocated into six pots, based on their geographical place and cultural similarities. Drawing from different pots helps in reducing the chance of so-called neighbour voting and increasing suspense in the semi-finals. Each time a country was drawn from the pot, its semi-final and half of the semi-final was determined.

The six pots were the following:

* Ireland
* Latvia
* Norway
* Russia
* Sweden
* United Kingdom
* France
* Germany
* Luxembourg
* Monaco
* Netherlands
* Switzerland
* Austria
* Italy
* Liechtenstein
* Portugal
* San Marino
 Pot 4
 * Albania
* Bulgaria
* Cyprus
* Greece
* Malta
* North Macedonia
* Belarus
* Israel
* Poland
* Romania
* Ukraine
* Canada
* Mexico
* Morocco
* New Zealand
* United States

## Participating Countries

### Semi-Final 1

Twenty countries participated in the first semi-final. Voting was open to all countries and followers of the contest.

### Semi-Final 2

Nineteen countries participated in the second semi-final. Voting was open to all countries and followers of the contest.

### Final

Twenty-six countries will participate in the final, with all participating countries and followers of the contest eligible to vote.

## Other countries

*Further information: List of Countries in the NoNonsense Song Contest*

Eligibility for potential participation in the contest requires a national broadcaster with active NNBU membership that would be able to broadcast the contest. As in every edition, an invitation to all the members has been sent to confirm whether they will participate or not.

### Active Members

* Denmark: Denmark initially confirmed participation, as a head of delegation won a draw, but the country was forced to withdraw as a song was not sent before the deadline.

The following countries did not win a head of delegation country draw, and did not participate in the edition.

* Azerbaijan
* Bosnia & Herzegovina
* Croatia
* Czech Republic
* Estonia
* Faroe Islands
* Georgia
* Hungary
* Iceland
* Kazakhstan
* Lebanon
* Lithuania
* Moldova
* Montenegro
* Serbia
* Slovakia
* Slovenia
* Turkey