| North Vision Song Contest 26 Inner Silence | |
|---|---|
| |
| Dates | |
| Semi-final 1 date | 27 October 2018 |
| Semi-final 2 date | 3 November 2018 |
| Final date | November 2018 |
| Host | |
| Venue | Ahoy Rotterdam, Rotterdam |
| Presenter(s) | Sylvie Meis |
| Broadcaster | AVROTROS |
| Opening act | Semi-final 1: OG3NE, Maan and Pleun performing "Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing" Semi-final 2: TBA Final: TBA |
| Interval act | Semi-final 1: HAEVN performing their song "Mind Games" Semi-final 2: TBA Final: TBA |
| Participants | |
| Entries | 50 |
| Returning |  Algeria Armenia Cyprus Egypt North Macedonia Greece Liechtenstein Slovakia United Kingdom
|
| Withdrawing |  Estonia Germany Moldova Portugal
|
Participation map
| |
| Voting | |
| System | Each country awards two sets of 12, 10, 8–1 points to their 10 favourite songs: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting |
| North Vision Song Contest | |
◄ 25  27 ►
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North Vision Song Contest 26, often referred to as NVSC 26, will be the twenty-sixth edition of the North Vision Song Contest. The contest will be hosted in Rotterdam, as the Netherlands was the winning country of the twenty-fifth edition due to HAEVN's win with "Fortitude". The show will be hosted by television personality and model Sylvie Francoise Meis. As of 2 September 2018, fifty countries have confirmed their provisional participation in the contest, with seven countries confirming their return after a one-edition break: Armenia, Cyprus, Egypt, FYR Macedonia, Greece, Liechtenstein and the United Kingdom while Algeria and Slovakia confirmed a return after a two-edition break. Estonia, Germany, Moldova and Portugal withdrew from the contest.
Location
Bidding phase
After the Netherlands accepted the hosting of the 26th edition, on 25 August 2018, the country announced that seven cities with a total of ten venues had applied: Amsterdam, Arnhem, Den Haag, Eindhoven, Heerenveen, Rotterdam and Tilburg. The only city that had two venues in the bidding phase was Rotterdam.
On 1 September 2018, AVROTROS announced along with the theme for the edition that the Ahoy Rotterdam in Rotterdam was selected as the host venue for the edition.
Key
Host venue
| City | Venue | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Amsterdam | Johan Cruijff Arena | 55,346 |
| Olympic Stadium Amsterdam | 22,288 | |
| Ziggo Dome | 17,000 | |
| Arnhem | GelreDome | 34,000 |
| Den Haag | Kyocera Stadium | 15,000 |
| Eindhoven | Philips Stadion | 36,500 |
| Heerenveen | Thialf | 12,500 |
| Rotterdam | De Kuip | 51,137 |
| Ahoy Rotterdam
|
14,102 | |
| Tilburg | Koning Willem II Stadion | 14,637 |
Format
Semi-final allocation draw
The draw to determine the allocation of the participating countries into their respective semi-finals took place at Rotterdam City Hall on 3 September 2018, hosted by Kim-Lian van der Meij and Ewout Genemans. 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 countries will participate in both semi-finals, respectively. From each semi-final, ten countries will join the "Big 6" in the final, where a total of twenty-six countries will participate.
The thirty-five 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:
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Pot 4 | Pot 5 | Pot 6 |
Participating countries
Countries voting in the first semi-final
Countries in the second semi-final
Countries voting in the second semi-final
49 countries participated in the edition. A total of 9 countries returned to the competition; Armenia, Cyprus, Egypt, FYR Macedonia, Greece, Liechtenstein and the United Kingdom returned after their one edition abscence while Algeria and Slovakia returned after being away for two editions.
5 countries withdrew from this edition. Germany withdrew from the first time since its debut in the 1st edition. Moldova withdrew from the competition due to changes within the country's broadcaster while Estonia cited the lack of interest and being in the Pre-Qualification Round as the reasons for their withdrawal. Norway was initially announced to withdraw from the edition due to missing the deadline, but the broadcaster was eventually allowed to participate with a fine.
Returning artists
John Mamann, who represented Portugal in the 8th edition along with Kika, was selected to represent Monaco this edition. Nina Sublatti returned to represent Georgia for the third time, this time with The Mins, after participating in the 15th and 21st editions. Bobi Andonov competed twice before, under the name Bobby Andonov; in the 6th and 12th editions. Ayree returns for Kazakhstan after previously representing the country in the 20th edition. Emina returned to the contest after representing Serbia in the 24th edition with Milica Todorović, this time participating for Turkey with Edis.
Results
Pre-Qualification Round
| Draw | Country | Artist | Song | Place | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 |  Malta
|
Jane Doe | "GoldRush" | ||
| 02 |  Russia
|
RASA | "Pod fonarem" | ||
| 03 |  Monaco
|
John Mamann | "On s'en fout" | ||
| 04 |  Montenegro
|
Nina Petković | "Dišem" | ||
| 05 |  Romania
|
Raluka | "Undone" | ||
| 06 |  Bulgaria
|
Rachel Row | "L Square" | ||
| 07 |  Spain
|
Lola Indigo | "Ya no quiero ná" | ||
| 08 |  Georgia
|
Nina Sublatti feat. The Mins | "Spiritual" | ||
| 09 |  Lebanon
|
Nina Abdel Malak | "Eza hajarta" |
Semi-final 1
Serbia, Sweden and Switzerland will also vote in this semi-final.
| Draw | Country | Artist | Song | Place | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Spain
|
Lola Indigo | "Ya no quiero ná" | ||
| 02 |  Belarus
|
Sofi Lapina | "Crystal Rainbows" | ||
| 03 |  Türkiye
|
Edis feat. Emina | "Güzelliğine" | ||
| 04 |  Hungary
|
Heni Dér | "Meghalok" | ||
| 05 |  Denmark
|
Mattis | "Loverboy" | ||
| 06 | Algeria
|
Lynda | "L'amour ne suffit pas" | ||
| 07 |  Latvia
|
VIŅA | "Un nakts" | ||
| 08 |  Belgium
|
Sonnfjord | "Lights" | ||
| 09 | North Macedonia
|
Bobi Andonov | "Apartment" | ||
| 10 | Armenia
|
Asmik Shiroyan | "The Code" | ||
| 11 |  Albania
|
JANEX | "Mermaids" | ||
| 12 |  Israel
|
Adi Bity | "Khairo" | ||
| 13 | Liechtenstein
|
The Gardener & The Tree | "Secret" | ||
| 14 | Cyprus
|
Sound of Thieves | "Freedom" | ||
| 15 |  Finland
|
FELIN | "Gossip" | ||
| 16 |  Bosnia & Herzegovina
|
The Loudest Silence | "The Loudest Silence" | ||
| 17 | United Kingdom
|
Maeve | "Martyr" | ||
| 18 |  Italy
|
Nava | "Ritual" | ||
| 19 | Georgia
|
Nina Sublatti feat. The Mins | "Spiritual" | ||
| 20 |  Poland
|
Paulina Czapla | "Twój talizman" |
Semi-final 2
Andorra, France and the Netherlands will also vote in this semi-final.
| Draw | Country | Artist | Song | Place | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 |  San Marino
|
Eujenia | "Ora" | ||
| 02 | Slovakia
|
Fallgrapp feat. Juraj Benetin | "Dym" | ||
| 03 | Bulgaria
|
Rachel Row | "L Square" | ||
| 04 |  Czechia
|
Brixtn | "Tak mi to nedovol" | ||
| 05 |  Norway
|
Ina Wroldsen | "Mother" | ||
| 06 | Greece
|
KAYLYNN | "The Dragging" | ||
| 07 |  Morocco
|
Imane El Halouat | "I Will Be Waiting" | ||
| 08 |  Ukraine
|
RIYA | "Polyusy" | ||
| 09 |  Iceland
|
GDRN feat. Floni | "Lætur mig" | ||
| 10 |  Austria
|
KIDS N CATS | "Germany" | ||
| 11 | Montenegro
|
Nina Petković | "Dišem" | ||
| 12 |  Ireland
|
LAOISE | "You" | ||
| 13 | Lebanon
|
Nina Abdel Malak | "Eza hajarta" | ||
| 14 |  Lithuania
|
MILDA | "Flag" | ||
| 15 |  Faroe Islands
|
Heidrik | "Maria's Donkey" | ||
| 16 | Egypt
|
Lara Scandar | "Khalas khalas" | ||
| 17 |  Luxembourg
|
Nyvinne | "Spreco personale" | ||
| 18 |  Kazakhstan
|
Ayree | "Munaitpa endi" | ||
| 19 |  Slovenia
|
Imset | "Jadrava" | ||
| 20 |  Croatia
|
Nikolija | "Nema limita" |
Final
Other countries
- Further information: List of countries in the North Vision Song Contest
Countries that are active members of the North Broadcasting Union (NBU) are also eligible to participate in the North Vision 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.
Active NBU members
Estonia: On 2 September 2018, ERR announced a withdrawal from the contest, making it the third time Estonia has withdrawn from the competition. The Head of Delegation cited a lack of interest, alongside participation in the pre-qualification round as the reasons behind the withdrawal.- Germany: NDR published a statement announcing the country's withdrawal due to the sudden departure of the broadcaster's Head of Delegation.
- Moldova: The country withdrew due to a restructuring of the broadcaster, including the changing of the nation's Head of Delegation.
- The following countries failed to confirm or withdraw from edition and were fined by the NBU:
Associate NBU members
- Hong Kong: Hong Kong were invited by the NBU in the twentieth and twenty-first edition as part of a special anniversary. However, they have not participated since then and are very unlikely to return.
NBU non-members
- Tunisia: The country is not expected to return to the contest, since they have not participated since the sixteenth edition and lack a broadcaster with NBU membership.
External links
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