The Sound Of Europe 12

Delta Goodrem (Green Room)

## Editions

Previous ◄ 11 ~Sound Of Europe~ 13 ► Next

The **Sound Of Europe 12**was the 12th edition of the Sound Of Europe. It took place in **Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, Australia**, following **Australia**'s**victory** in the 11th edition with **Delta Goodrem** and her song **"Wings"**. This was the first time that Australia hosted the contest. The 12th edition consisted of **two semi-finals**, which took place on 12 February 2017, and **a final**, held on 17 February 2017. The shows were presented by **Faustina Agolley** and **Sonia Kruger** while **Delta Goodrem** was hosting the green room. Forty-seven countries participated in the 12th edition.

Once all the votes had been announced, based on 50% jury and 50% televoting, **Estonia** won the contest, with **Kerli**'s song **"Feral Hearts"**.

## Location

**Sydney** is the state capital of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds the world's largest natural harbour, and sprawls towards the Blue Mountains to the west. Residents of Sydney are known as "Sydneysiders". Sydney is the second official seat and second official residence of the Governor-General of Australia and the Prime Minister of Australia and many federal ministries maintain substantial presences in Sydney.

The Sydney area has been inhabited by indigenous Australians for at least 30,000 years. The first British settlers, led by CaptainArthur Phillip, arrived in 1788 to found Sydney as a penal colony, the first European settlement in Australia. Since convict transportation ended in the mid-19th century, the city has transformed from a colonial outpost into a major global cultural and economic centre. As at June 2015 Sydney's estimated population was 4.92 million. In the 2011 census, 34 percent of the population reported having been born overseas,[3] representing many different nationalities and making Sydney one of the most multicultural cities in the world. There are more than 250 different languages spoken in Sydney and about one-third of residents speak a language other than English at home.

Despite being one of the most expensive cities in the world, the 2014 Mercer Quality of Living Survey ranks Sydney tenth in the world in terms of quality of living, making it one of the most livable cities. It is classified as an Alpha+ World City by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, indicating its influence in the region and throughout the world. Ranked eleventh in the world for economic opportunity, Sydney has an advanced market economy with strengths in finance, manufacturing and tourism. Its gross regional product was $337 billion in 2013, the largest in Australia. There is a significant concentration of foreign banks and multinational corporations in Sydney and the city is promoted as Asia Pacific's leading financial hub.

In addition to hosting events such as the 2000 Summer Olympics, Sydney is amongst the top fifteen most-visited cities in the world, with millions of tourists coming each year to see the city's landmarks. Its natural features include Sydney Harbour, the Royal National Park, and the Royal Botanic Garden. Man-made attractions such as the Sydney Opera House, Sydney Tower and the Sydney Harbour Bridge are also well known to international visitors.

## Format

The edition will be consisted of two semi-finals and a final. The eleven countries with the highest scores in both semi-finals qualified to the final.

Each participating country had their own national jury, which consisted of five professional members of the music industry. Each member of a respective nation's jury was required to rank every song, except that of their own country. The voting results from each member of a particular nation's jury were combined to produce an overall ranking from first to last place. Likewise, the televoting results were also interpreted as a full ranking, taking into account the full televoting result rather than just the top ten. The combination of the jury's full ranking and the televote's full ranking produced an overall ranking of all competing entries. The song which scored the highest overall rank received 12 points, while the tenth-best ranked song received 1 point.

### **Running order**

The final running order of the competing performances at the semi-finals and the final were decided by the producer of the show and approved by the Executive Producer, the Executive Supervisor, the CBU and the Reference Group.

### **Presenters**

On 22 January 2017, SBS announced that **Faustina Agolley** and **Sonia Kruger** were the hosts of the 11th edition. **Delta Goodrem**, last edition's winner, was also chosen as host of the green room.

### **National host broadcaster**

During an initial meeting between the host broadcaster SBS and CBU (Contest Broadcasting Union), the representatives of the core organising team were selected. **Merfi Amadeus** was announced as the executive producer and **Kostas Bouris** as the executive supervisor.

## Participants

47 countries will participate in the 12th edition. The edition will be consisted of two semi-finals and a final. Bosnia and Herzegovina withdrew from the 12th edition, while Georgia returned.

### **Big 5**

  United Kingdom | Louisa Johnson
  France | Kendji Girac ft Soprano
  Sweden | Icona Pop
  Norway | Astrid S

### **Returning artists**

**Astrid S** is back for Norway after the 2nd edition with the song "2AM". **Gigi Radics** returns for Hungary after the 4th edition with the song "A Sziv Dala" with Wolf Kati and Oroszlan Sonja and the 5th edition with the song "Over You", the country's victory. **Sylwia Grzeszczak** is back for Poland after the 2nd edition with the song "Kiedy Tylko Spojrzę". **Christopher** returns for Denmark after the 7th edition with the song "Tulips". **Kendji Girac** is back in the contest, for France. He represented Monaco once in the past with the song **"Color Gitano"**. **Kristina** returns for Slovakia after the 7th edition with her song "Life Is A Game". **Franka Batelic** returns for Croatia, after the 11th edition with her song "Ruza U Kamenu". **Nicoleta Nuca** returns for Moldova after the 7th edition with her song "Nu Sunt". **Anna Rossinelli** returns for Switzerland after the 5th edition with her song "Shine In The Light". **Kerli** returns for Estonia after the 6th edition with her song "Army Of Love".

## Results

### **Semi-final 1**

21 countries will take part in the first semi-final. The eleven songs in places 1 to 11 qualified for the final and are marked in orange. Australia, United Kingdom and Sweden will vote from the Big 5.

### **Semi-final 2**

21 countries will take part in the first semi-final. The eleven songs in places 1 to 11 qualified for the final and are marked in orange. Norway and France will vote from the Big 5.

## Other countries

* Bosnia-Herzegovina - The Bosnian national broadcaster Radio and Television of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BHRT) announced that they would not be taking part in the 12th edition due to their inability to secure stable funding and sponsorship for participation. The broadcaster was also suffering from financial difficulties due to a lack of legislation that would ensure the continued operation of BHRT. Earlier, the CBU had threatened to withdraw BHRT from all member services due to non-payment of debts totalling 6 million Swiss francs (€5.4 million). Recent news sources have revealed that the CBU have now begun to impose sanctions on the Bosnian broadcaster as a result of their outstanding debt.