Altervision Song Contest 6

Final date
 Venue
 Interval act
 Entries
 Debuting
**Participation map**
* Countries that have confirmed their participation but have not announced their entry     Countries that have confirmed their participation and their entry, and qualified for the final     Countries that have confirmed their participation and their entry, but did not qualify to the final     Countries that participated in the past, but not in this edition
 System
 Null points

The **Altervision Song Contest 6** was the sixth edition of the Altervision Song Contest. It took place in Edinburgh, United Kingdom and was organised by the British Broadcasting Corporation following the nation's victory in Gold Coast in the 5th edition with the song "Tonight" by Alice Chater. It was the second time that the United Kingdom hosted the contest. As well as that, it was the first time where the contest took place in a country that had hosted before.

A record breaking 28 countries confirmed their participation with 9 countries making their debut and an additional 5 returning to the contest.

The contest consisted of two shows: a semi final and a grand final. The two show format was necessary to implement due to the high amount of countries participating in the contest. Both shows were hosted by Adele, Graham Norton and Harry Styles, making this the first time when the contest had 3 hosts.

The **6th winner of the Altervision Song Contest** was **New Zealand** with the song "Ruin" performed by So Below gathering a total amount of **236** points overall in the final, passing the runner-up by **9** points. The top 5 was rounded out by the Romania, Andorra, Germany and Brazil. It was the first time (discounting the first edition) that a debuting country won. At 4 minutes and 55 seconds, "Ruin" also the longest winning song ever and the fourth longest song ever to take part at the contest after "Corps", "Empire" and "Dust".

## Location

**Edinburgh** is Scotland's second most populous city and the seventh most populous in the United Kingdom. The official population estimates are 488,050 (2016) for the Locality of Edinburgh (Edinburgh pre 1975 regionalisation plus Currie and Balerno), 524,930 (2019) for the City of Edinburgh, and 1,339,380 (2014) for the city region. Edinburgh lies at the heart of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland city region comprising East Lothian, Edinburgh, Fife, Midlothian, Scottish Borders and West Lothian.

The city is the annual venue of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. It is home to national institutions such as the National Museum of Scotland, the National Library of Scotland and the Scottish National Gallery. The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1582 and now one of three in the city, is placed 20th in the QS World University Rankings for 2020. The city is also known for the Edinburgh International Festival and the Fringe, the latter being the world's largest annual international arts festival. Historic sites in Edinburgh include Edinburgh Castle, the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the churches of St. Giles, Greyfriars and the Canongate, and the extensive Georgian New Town built in the 18th/19th centuries. Edinburgh's Old Town and New Town together are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, which has been managed by Edinburgh World Heritage since 1999.

### Bidding phase

Following Alice Chater's win in the previous edition, the British Broadcasting Corporation immediately started to seek for the host venue of the 6th edition of the contest. Eventually xx venues have expressed their interest in hosting the event with all of them sending the bid to be the host in the end. On 4th December it was revealed that the contest would take place in the Tynecastle Park in Edinburg marking the second time where the contest took place at a football stadium. By the time of the contest the stadium will be equipped with a roof in order to fit ABU's requirements.

 †  Host venue

 ‡  Shortlisted venues

## Format

### Slogan

The official slogan "fly with the colours" was unveiled on the 1st December. The slogan was inspired by the diversity of the winners of all winners to date due to no country has won the contes for the second time to date. As well as that, the slogan also got inspired by the diversity of the host country itself.

### Theme artwork

The official theme artwork, along with the host city, was revealed on 4th December. The theme artwork features a rainbow kite flying in the sky between two rainbows with both rainbows being located in a corner of the theme art. The theme artwork was inspired by the slogan itself, which is featured on the image as well.

### Hosts

Both shows are set to be hosted by English singers and songwriters Adele and Harry Styles and Irish television host Graham Norton.

### Semi Final

Following the first days, the 6th edition turned out to be the biggest participantwise. The high amount of countries taking part in the contest required enabling a semi final from where 12 countries will qualify to the grand final.

## Participating countries

### Returning artists

Rosalía, who will perform with Arca, previously represented Spain at the third contest with the song "F\*cking Money Man". Mahmood represented Italy at the same edition alongside Charlie Charles, Sfera Ebbasta, and Fabri Fibra with the song "Calipso". INNA, who in this edition will perform alongside Minelli, represented Romania in the second edition with the song "VKTM" along with SICKOTOY and TAG.

## Detailed voting

### 12 points

Countries in **bold** gave the maximum 24 points (12 points apiece from professional jury and televoting) to the specified entrant.

## Other countries

* Afghanistan: RTA decided to withdraw from the contest citing internal issues as the main reason.
* Armenia: Without any further explanation, Armenia did not appear on the final list of participants.
* Albania: RTSH had expressed interest in returning to the contest, however they did not appear on the final list of participating countries released on 7th November.
* Algeria: ENTV and Algeria did not return to the contest due to financial issues.
* Austria: Austrian broadcaster ÖRF have decided not to return to the contest due to lack of interest from the public.
* Bosnia & Herzegovina: Bosnia & Herzegovina did not appear on the final list of participants released by ABU on 7th November. Later, BHRT stated in an announcement that the broadcaster is still dealing with financial issues and stated that future participations are uncertain.
* Belgium: Belgian broadcaster RTBF withdrew from the contest due to change in HoD.
* Canada: CBC stated that the country might not return without giving any further explanation.
* Guam: Guam withdrew from the contest citing their poor result as the main reason for doing so.
* Ireland: Irish broadcasterRTÉ have decided not to return to the contest due to lack of interest from the public.
* Latvia: Without any further explanation, Latvia did not appear on the final list of participants released by the ABU.
* Lithuania: LRT stated that the country may not return in the near future due to
* Morocco: Morocco was originally set to participate in the contest, however later it was announed that the country would withdraw from the contest. Many fans cite Israel's participation as the main reason for why Morocco withdrew, however no official statement has been made by the nation's national broadcaster.
* Netherlands: AVROTROS had expressed interest in participating in the contest, however decided otherwise stating internal problems and financial issues as the main reason.
* Norway: Without any further explanation, Norway did not appear on the final list of participants.
* Russia: Channel 1 Russia had originally signed up for the competition, but later decided otherwise due to financial issues.
* Serbia: Without any further explanation, Serbia did not appear on the final list of participants
* Slovenia: Without any further explanation, Slovenia did not appear on the final list of participants
* Sweden: SVT originally intended in participating in the contest, however they did not appear on the final list of participants released by ABU.
* Ukraine: UA:PBC originally intended in participating in the contest, however in the last minute, the HoD disappeared thus forcing the broadcaster to withdraw despite the entrant having been selected. Ukraine would've been represented by Tayanna with her song "Osen'".
* Vatican City: Without any further explanation, Vatican City did not appear on the final list of participants.

## References

1. ↑ Following the tiebreak in which the more televotes counted, South Korea ended up non-qualifying while Israel advanced to the final.

 First decade
 Active
 Host cities