Zendari Song Contest 7

Zendari Song Contest 7 is the seventh edition of Zendari Song Contest. It will be hosted in Wallica, 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 2 countries competing for the first time, 3 countries returning to the contest and 5 countries withdrawing from Zendari Song Contest.

Location
On the 1st of July 2018, a list of venues interested in hosting the seventh edition of Zendari Song Contest was revealed.

Bidding phase
Seven 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 7th 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 A.
 * , and  would all have been in Pot B.
 * would have been in Pot D.

Semi Final 1
Olkenland, Wallica and Wo Xi were randomly drawn to vote in this semi-final.

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

Semi Final 2
Cyan and Haña were randomly drawn to vote in this semi-final.

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

Grand Final
A preview of the automatic qualifiers can be found here.

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

Spokespersons

 * Clara Henry & Jack Whitehall
 * Shauna Sand
 * Ella Mai
 * Anggun
 * Clara Henry & Jack Whitehall
 * Shauna Sand
 * Ella Mai
 * Anggun
 * Ella Mai
 * Anggun
 * Anggun
 * Anggun
 * Anggun
 * Elina Born
 * Gustavo do Rosário
 * Elina Born
 * Gustavo do Rosário
 * Elina Born
 * Gustavo do Rosário
 * Gustavo do Rosário
 * Gustavo do Rosário
 * Michelle Visage & RuPaul
 * Mile Jedinak
 * Thorgy Thor
 * Mile Jedinak
 * Thorgy Thor

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

 * - The Tribal Council of Mainland Technology Official Broadcasting Unit announced on the 29th of June 2018, that they would withdraw from the contest for a while, as they wish to make room for other television programs to be aired. It is assumed that they will return in the future.
 * - On the 23rd of June 2018, after a scandal involving their head of delegation, Coco Islands (along with Rose) was banned from entering the contest, after breaking the rules of the contest.
 * - Landland's participation in the seventh edition was unclear, since there were no announcements from LandTV regarding their participation. On the 2nd of July 2018, it was revealed that they were not on the final list of participants.
 * - The future participation of Orblein was unclear for a long period of time. Several sources were claiming that Orb Broadcasting Service were contemplating taking a break from the contest, but no official statement had been given as of then. On the 23rd of June 2018, OBS announced their withdrawal from Zendari Song Contest. No reason for the withdrawal was given.
 * - On the 23rd of June 2018, after a scandal involving their head of delegation, Rose (along with Coco Islands) was banned from entering the contest, after breaking the rules of the contest.

Inactive ZBA countries

 * - Elsendanto Ikano have expressed their interest in returning to Zendari Song Contest, but there are several issues that are hindering their return. An official statement was never published, and as a result, they were not on the final list of participanting countries.
 * - KDZ:TELEBACHENYA broadcasted Zendari Song Contest for the first time this edition. Kydziya also submitted votes for the semi-finals, as an international juror.
 * - Even though Oofaria are still on the waiting list, they confirmed that they will vote again as a part of the 'Rest of the World' voters. At the same time, they confirmed that the commentators for the Oof TV broadcasting of this show would be Oofaria's Zendarifestivalen 4 representative, Ministarke.
 * - Despite applying to be apart of the contest (but failing to join, due to the current edition being full), Rhosỳna submitted votes for the semi-finals, as an international juror.
 * - Despite applying to be apart of the contest (but failing to join, due to the current edition being full), Vendujo submitted votes for the semi-finals, as an international juror.