Zendari Song Contest 9

Zendari Song Contest 9 is the ninth edition of Zendari Song Contest. It will be hosted in Qyzylsha, the winning country from the previous edition. The contest will consist of two semi-finals and a final.

44 countries participated in this edition, with 7 countries competing for the first time, 3 countries returning and 7 countries withdrawing from Zendari Song Contest.

Location
On 30th September 2018, The broadcaster of the Republic of Qyzylsha announced that it would host the contest and called for various cities throughout the country to place bids to host the contest. After the bidding process had concluded it was revealed that the contest would take place in the city of Kunurum, one of the largest cities in Qyzylsha, in the Doma Kunurum which would undergo extensive renovation during the lead up to the contest to make sure that it is completely capable of hosting the event. The arena can host 36,000 people making it the third largest arena to place a bid.

Bidding phase
A few venues have been announced to have shown interest in hosting the contest. The ZBA announced the conditions under which cities and venues could announce their interest in hosting the contest.


 * The host city has to be near a major airport.
 * The venue must have good connections to public transport.
 * The venue must be available for at least six weeks before the contest and one week after the conclusion of the contest.
 * The venue must not be open-air, but an air-conditioned building with a capacity of at least 10,000 and a minimum ceiling height of 15 metres (49 ft), insulated for sound and light.
 * The green room must be located as close to the arena as possible (or within it), with a capacity of 300.

Host venue

Pots
Pots for the Zendari Song Contest are based off of voting patterns. The pots will be used for semi final allocations for the 9th edition of Zendari Song Contest.

Automatic Qualifiers
Although these countries are automatic qualifiers for this edition, each country has still been assigned a pot.


 * would have been in Pot C.
 * would have been in Pot D.
 * and would both have been in Pot E.
 * would have been in Pot F.

Semi Final 1
Yuvia and Zerox were randomly drawn to vote in this semi-final.

A playlist can be found here, and a recap can be found here.

A full scoreboard of the voting can be found here, and the international jury scoreboard can be found here.

* - After a scandal regarding the behaviour of the  Vendese delegation, it was determined that  would no longer be able to take part in Zendari Song Contest. This means that all of their points are nullified, and that they are automatically placed last in the semi-final. * - Haña received the highest amount of points amongst the international jurors and was picked as the 11th qualifier.

Semi Final 2
Franova, Qyzylsha and Sakao were randomly drawn to vote in this semi-final.

A playlist can be found here, and a recap can be found here.

A full scoreboard of the voting can be found here, and the international jury scoreboard can be found here.

* - Elune received the highest amount of points amongst the international jurors and was picked as the 11th qualifier.

Grand Final
A playlist can be found here, and a recap can be found here.

A scoreboard showcasing each individual votes can be found here. The rest of the world voting scoreboard can be found here.

* - As the hosts of the contest, Qyzylsha were randomly drawn to perform 5th. * - Nuevo Province failed to vote in the grand final, and as a result, they were disqualified and automatically placed last.

International broadcasts and voting
The contest was broadcasted in over 50 countries.

Spokespersons

 * Fenris
 * Alec Benjamin
 * Srbuk
 * Fleurie
 * BlackByrd
 * Severina
 * Beyoncé
 * Kim Petras
 * Kylie Minogue
 * Shauna Sand
 * Aja
 * Bob The Drag Queen
 * Blood on the Dance Floor
 * Sigrid
 * Azealia Banks
 * Ishtar
 * Enca
 * Bob The Builder
 * The Great Mighty Poo
 * Mallrat
 * Lea Michele
 * The Sidh
 * Simply Sara
 * Doda
 * MS MR
 * Franziska Wiese
 * Demy
 * Angela Rummans
 * Katja Krasavice
 * Khaled
 * Vera Blue (Sakan representative in the eighth edition)
 * Ella Mai
 * Hannah Jane Lewis
 * INNA
 * Sarah Midori Perry (Sutruc representative in the fourth edition of Zendarifestivalen)
 * Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas (A part of TLC, who represented Teardrop Islands in #8 )
 * Fleet Foxes
 * Bente Schramm, Catie Wayne & NerdECrafter
 * Tom Grennan (Üsmilian representative in the fifth edition of Zendarifestivalen)
 * ClariS
 * EXES
 * AViVA (Violían representative in the eighth edition)
 * Moko (Yuvian representative in the eighth edition)
 * BILLY

Other countries
Eligibility for potential participation in Zendari Song Contest requires a national broadcaster with an active ZBA membership that is be able to broadcast the contest. All countries with an active ZBA membership have been given an invitation to join this edition.

Active ZBA countries

 * - On the 19th of September 2018, Colleagues Is Lovingly Fantastic (CILF) announced their withdrawal from Zendari Song Contest. It is currently unclear if they will return in the future, but it seems likely at this point. However, on the 26th of September 2018, it was revealed that CILF had re-considered their participation in Zendari Song Contest, and they had chosen to retract their withdrawal.
 * - The country decided to withdraw in support and in solidarity with their ally Xobrania.
 * - NPCB announced on the 14th of September 2018 that they would be taking a break from Zendari Song Contest to focus on some issues within the broadcaster. It is currently unknown when they will return.
 * - On the 25th of September 2018, SJTVR announced that they are currently not sure whether or not they will continue participating in Zendari Song Contest. On the 29th of September, it was revealed by the management team that they had chosen to not participate in this edition, and that their future participation was unlikely. On the 21st of October 2018, SJTVR announced their permanent withdrawal from the contest.
 * - STV announced the country would likely be taking an extended break from the contest, pending the result of the previous edition. No further information has been released. Withdrawal was officially confirmed on 25th September.
 * - RVB has announced the country's withdrawal from the contest after multiple incidents that occurred during both edition 7 and 8 by a specific delegation directed at both Vasseau, and some of Vasseau's biggest allies. RVB has stated that because of these incidents, they refuse to participate in the contest while that nation is still participating. RVB also confirmed a return would be immediately confirmed upon this nation's withdrawal. In a press conference, Head of Delegation Jordan Syrseé was inquired about the identity of this country by Vasseaunian press. "While we will not confirm this identity, we can confirm that it is not or, like some press have speculated. I will also confirm that the offending nation is not , the winner of the 8th edition and the host of the 9th edition."
 * - Following a huge lack of interest from the Xobranian audience, XPB decided to withdraw indefinitely.

Inactive ZBA countries

 * - Despite being invited to the contest, ART declined the invitation and decided to become an inactive nation on the waiting list. On the 25th of September 2018, they announced in a press release that the reason behind their decision was that they "have no interest in competing in Zendari Song Contest as of today".
 * - Although invited to join the contest, Epral failed to accept or decline the invitation to join this edition of Zendari Song Contest. This is the first time they have been invited.
 * - The nation was invited to join the contest, although JTVR chose to decline the invitation and asked to be removed from the waiting list.
 * - Although invited to join the contest, Kaken Republic failed to accept or decline the invitation to join this edition of Zendari Song Contest. They were also downgraded to an inactive nation status. This is the second time they have been invited.
 * - Although invited to join the contest, Konismir failed to accept or decline the invitation to join this edition of Zendari Song Contest. This is the first time they have been invited.
 * - Although invited to join the contest, Liberland failed to accept or decline the invitation to join this edition of Zendari Song Contest. This is the second time they have been invited.
 * - Although invited to join the contest, Tseldora failed to accept or decline the invitation to join this edition of Zendari Song Contest. This is the first time they have been invited.