Edition 33

The thirty-third edition of the **Global Music Festival**​ took place at the Kyoto Nishikyogoku in Kyoto, Japan. It was the second time the country hosted the contest, after Japan's second victory in the thirty-second edition with the song "Black to the Dreamlight" performed by EMPiRE - which scored an impressive 317 points. This edition consisted of three semi-finals which were all launched on the 06 May 2018 and a grand final which took place from the 13 May 2018. All four of the shows in this edition were hosted by Aisa Senda.

Sixty-three countries participated in this edition of the contest. Six countries returned to the contest: Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Greece, Kazakhstan and Kosovo. However, we sadly had to say goodbye to five nations, after the withdrawal of: the Dominican Republic, the Faroe Islands, Sweden, Trinidad & Tobago and Ukraine.

The power six for this edition were Japan, Slovakia, England, Malta, Lebanon and South Korea - these were the delegations that placed in the top six from the previous edition. However, Sweden did not send an entry by the submission deadline and therefore were withdrawn from the contest - so South Korea took their place. Their placement in the power six means that they received an automatic place to perform in the final of this edition, while also being allowed to vote in one of the semi-finals in this edition.

 Slogan
 Venue
 Presenter(s)
 Participants
 Winner

## Participants

* Bulgaria
* Denmark
* Greece
* Kazakhstan
* Kosovo
* Faroe Islands
* Sweden
* Trinidad & Tobago
* Ukraine

## Pots for the Semi-Final Allocation Draw

The draw to determine the allocation of the participating countries into their respective semi-finals took place on the 06 May 2018. The fifty-seven semi-finalists were allocated to five pots, based on the previous results of each participating country, calculated by the averages of the past results. Drawing from each pot helps to create an equal split of successful and not-so successful countries in each semi-final to give countries an equal chance of qualification.

Finland and Ireland were not included in the pots because the head of delegations for these countries are on the admin team and are in charge of the first, second and third semi-finals respectively; as a result, the countries were automatically assigned to another semi-final: Finland were assigned to semi-final one, and Ireland were assigned to semi-final two.

Also, in the semi-final allocation draw the power six nations (Japan, Slovakia, England, Malta, Lebanon and South Korea) were all drawn to vote in one of the respective semi-finals. Lebanon and South Korea were assigned to vote in the first semi-final, Slovakia and England were assigned to vote in the second semi-final, and Japan and Malta were assigned to vote in the third semi-final.

## ​Semi Final One

 Lebanon and  South Korea from the power six were randomly allocated to vote in this semi-final, as well as, the countries who participated in this semi-final - as always countries not in this semi-final had the choice whether they wanted to vote in this semi-final or not.  Finland were automatically assigned to this semi-final because the head of delegation for Finland is on the admin team and is the organiser for the second semi-final - this is done to allow the admins to have the uncertainty of their countries' result. After the results were announced, there were discussions about selecting one of the non-qualifiers to progress to the final as a wildcard entry -  Georgia were chosen.

## ​Semi Final Two

 Slovakia and  England from the power six were randomly allocated to vote in this semi-final, as well as, the countries who participated in this semi-final - as always countries not in this semi-final had the choice whether they wanted to vote in this semi-final or not.  Ireland were automatically assigned to this semi-final because the head of delegation for Ireland is on the admin team and is the organiser for the third semi-final - this is done to allow the admins to have the uncertainty of their countries' result. After the results were announced, there were discussions about selecting one of the non-qualifiers to progress to the final as a wildcard entry -  Monaco were chosen.

## ​Semi Final Three

 Japan and  Malta from the power six were randomly allocated to vote in this semi-final, as well as, the countries who participated in this semi-final - as always countries not in this semi-final had the choice whether they wanted to vote in this semi-final or not. After the results were announced, there were discussions about selecting one of the non-qualifiers to progress to the final as a wildcard entry -  Mexico were chosen.

## ​Grand Final

Thirty countries participated in the final of this edition of the **Global Music Festival**​ - the power six, the seven qualifiers from the three semi-finals and the three wildcard entries (one from each semi-final). All sixty-three participating countries were eligible to vote in the final; however, only the thirty finalists were obligated to vote! The running order for the final was announced shortly after the semi final results on the 12 May 2018. The results for the final were released on the 18 May 2018.