Zendari Song Contest 5

Zendari Song Contest 5 is the fifth edition of Zendari Song Contest. It will be hosted in Titonüi, the winning country from the previous edition. The contest will consist of two semi-finals and a final.

On the 17th of May 2018, it was revealed that Sierra had won the contest, with the song "'Til I'm Done" by Paloma Faith. They received a record-breaking 193 points.

45 countries participated in this edition, with 2 countries competing for the first time, 2 countries returning to the contest and 3 countries withdrawing from Zendari Song Contest.

Location
On the 15th of April 2018, a list of venues interested in hosting the fourth 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

Participating countries
To join Zendari Song Contest, please visit the Joining Zendari Song Contest page for more info.

Semi Final 1
Xaliqtyva and Xobrania 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.

Semi Final 2
Borschóviya, Coco Islands and Titonüi 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.

* - Diversia & Zamolodchikova failed to vote in the second semi-final, and as a result, they were disqualified and automatically placed last. * - After a scandal regarding the votes of, , , , and , it was revealed that  Yuvia only qualified to the final by use of block voting. Therefore, all of their votes were nullified and were revealed to be replacing Yuvia in the Grand Final after re-calculating the votes.

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

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

A temporary 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, Titonüi were randomly drawn to perform 1st.
 * - Borschóviya failed to vote in the grand final, and as a result, they were disqualified and automatically placed last.

Blockvoting
After a scandal regarding the votes of, , , , and , it was revealed that Yuvia only qualified to the final by use of block voting. Thus, were revealed to be replacing Yuvia in the Grand Final. Each of the accused nations was given a strike and a warning that promised permanent expulsion if the activity continued in the Grand Final.

Technical difficulties during the results show
On the 17th of May 2018, when the results were about to be revealed, the hosts gave some information about the contest. However, during their speech, their microphones were shut off. The problem was resolved after a few seconds, but it made the hosts not able to recover very well.

During the results show, Twitter started speculating with rumours about the results show being sabotaged. The ZBA has yet to respond to these claims.

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

Spokespersons

 * Tarja
 * Sonya
 * Amanda Delara
 * TeodoRA
 * Skott
 * Alessio Bernabei
 * Tyler "Telle" Smith
 * Caitriona Balfe
 * Nyusha
 * Shauna Sand
 * Betta Lemme
 * Valentino Khan
 * Pixie Lott
 * Birdy
 * Mariette
 * Roby Fayer
 * Bob the Builder
 * Lady Gaga
 * Sunmi
 * Cécile Corbel
 * Morgan Saint
 * Bip Ling (Offrian representative in the third edition of Zendarifestivalen)
 * Dagny
 * Skott
 * Simon English-Tirikatene
 * Kaiti Garbi
 * Demy
 * Sigrid
 * Siranush
 * FKA twigs (Aquazian representative in the fourth edition)
 * Natali Felicia
 * Polina Gagarina
 * Louisa
 * Syuzanna
 * Lynn Gunn
 * Miss Coco Peru
 * Thorgy Thor
 * Mai Lan
 * Maritess Trosper
 * Natasza
 * Gabrielle Aplin
 * Alison Wonderland (Xobranian representative in the fourth edition)
 * Miss Keisha
 * Inês Brasil
 * Meghan Trainor

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 4th of April 2018, Cascasdian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) announced that they would be withdrawing from the fifth edition of Zendari Song Contest, but that they would most likely be returning to either the following edition, or the edition after that.
 * - On the 4th of April 2018, Kalos HD announced their withdrawal from Zendari Song Contest, claiming that they are withdrawing "for good". A reason behind the withdrawal was not given.
 * - Suczeawa had originally announced their withdrawal from Zendari Song Contest due to bad results, but that they would return in the following edition. However, on the 10th of April, after a scandal involving their head of delegation, Suczeawa was banned from entering the contest, after breaking the rules of the contest.

Inactive ZBA countries

 * - Despite not applying to be apart of the contest in time, Alirie submitted votes for the grand final, as part of the Rest of the World jurors.
 * - Despite not applying to be apart of the contest in time, Carlamastia submitted votes for the grand final, as part of the Rest of the World jurors.
 * - Despite applying to be apart of the contest (but failing to join, due to the current edition being full), Draydal submitted votes for the grand final, as part of the Rest of the World jurors.
 * - Despite applying to be apart of the contest (but failing to join, due to the current edition being full), Putslopistan submitted votes for the grand final, as part of the Rest of the World jurors.
 * - Despite applying to be apart of the contest (but failing to join, due to the current edition being full), Rosalina submitted votes for the semi-finals, as an international juror. They also submitted votes for the grand final, as part of the Rest of the World jurors.
 * - 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. They also submitted votes for the grand final, as part of the Rest of the World jurors.
 * - Despite applying to be apart of the contest (but failing to join, due to the current edition being full), Violía submitted votes for the grand final, as part of the Rest of the World jurors.