Zendari Song Contest 10

Zendari Song Contest 10 was the tenth edition of Zendari Song Contest. It was hosted in Moo, the winning country from the previous edition. The contest consisted of three semi-finals and a final. This is the first (and to date, the only) edition to include more than two semi-finals.

The third semi-final only included countries on the waiting list. There were no official debutants for this edition. The three qualifiers from the third semi-final were invited to join the main contest, regardless of their position on the waiting list.

On the 23rd of December 2018, it was revealed that Xobrania had won the contest, with the song "Ruin" by So Below. They received a record-breaking 202 points.

57 countries participated in this edition, with 11 countries participating as guests, 6 countries returning and 4 countries withdrawing from Zendari Song Contest.

Format
For the first time since edition #2, edition #10 saw a format change (which is exclusive to edition #10).

Additional semi-final
All countries on the waiting list were invited to join the contest as a guest, and the nations who accepted the invitation are all set to compete in an exclusive third semi-final. The third semi-final has a changed voting system, where the countries must rank the entries from best to worst. The three countries who have the highest average rank will advance to the grand final, and will be offered to debut in the following edition, regardless of their position on the waiting list. The other two semi-finals remain unchanged, and follow the original voting system. All countries are invited to vote in this semi-final, including non-participating countries.

No international jurors
In order to prevent the grand final from being over-filled, the international juror system in the semi-finals have been removed for the remainder of the edition. This means that the participating countries are only allowed to vote in their own semi-final, and in the third semi-final. For example, if a country is set to compete in the first semi-final, they may only vote in the first semi-final and the third semi-final, meaning that they may not cast any votes for the second semi-final.

Location
On the 19th of November 2018, a list of venues interested in hosting the tenth edition of Zendari Song Contest was revealed.

Bidding phase
Three 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 10th 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 both have been in Pot C.
 * and would both have been in Pot E.

Semi Final 1
Junker and Shairia were randomly drawn to vote in this semi-final.

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

A scoreboard showcasing each individual votes can be found here.

Semi Final 2
Kydziya, Moo and Sierra were randomly drawn to vote in this semi-final. A playlist can be found here, and a recap can be found here.

A scoreboard showcasing each individual votes can be found here.

Semi Final 3
A playlist can be found here, and a recap can be found here.

A scoreboard showcasing each individual votes can be found here.

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, Moo were randomly drawn to perform 4th. * - Nuevo Province failed to vote in the grand final, and as a result, they were disqualified and automatically placed last.

Sosij broadcast of the Grand Final
On the 16th of December 2018, Sosi TV announced that they would not be broadcasting the grand final of Zendari Song Contest 10, and that they would not assign any jurors to vote in the grand final. The ZBA quickly responded to this announcement with the punishments of not voting, which means receiving a strike, automatically being placed last in the voting (if possible), and the broadcaster getting fined for the occasion, unless it can be explained with a valid reason why. Sosi TV accepted the punishments, and also announced that they would be withdrawing indefinitely from the contest. Sosi TV released a statement locally saying they had gone into liquidation and would be forced to shut down before the broadcast of the final. The company had no employees by 12th December 2018 and was officially closed on the 14th. The company could not physically oppose sanctions placed on them, stating voting was not possible, following the withdrawal of funds from international sponsors immediately after the country's non-qualification.

Nuevan broadcast of the Grand Final
Despite being fully prepared to submit their votes, it was revealed on the 19th of December 2018 that the Nuevan delegation had not submitted any votes for the grand final of Zendari Song Contest 10. This was the second edition in a row that they failed to submit votes for the grand final. This resulted in the country receiving a strike, which unfortunately was their third strike. The rules state that if you manage to receive three strikes, you will face immediate expulsion from Zendari Song Contest, along with all of the spin-offs. This decision was met with very mixed reviews, and the hashtags "#DontNukeNuevoProvince" and "#BringBackNuevo" started trending worldwide on Twitter shortly after the announcement was published.

The management team shortly stated that "it hurts so bad to be forced to do this, especially with banning such a dedicated country, but sadly, rules are rules and they have to be followed".

Their placement in the grand final has yet to be revealed.

International broadcasts and voting
The contest will be broadcasted in over 60 countries.

Spokespersons

 * Tarja
 * Marnie
 * Srbuk
 * Lao Ra
 * MC Lan
 * Mihaela Marinova
 * Carrie Underwood
 * Nicki Minaj
 * Emily Kavanaugh and Perrie Edwards
 * Foreign Figures
 * Shauna Sand
 * Natalia Nykiel
 * Valentino Khan
 * Kelela
 * Sigrid
 * Arca
 * Nicole Scherzinger
 * Eneli
 * Ina Wroldsen


 * Billy Joel
 * Alexandra Stan
 * Rae Morris
 * Kim Jisoo
 * John Richard Allen
 * Bea Miller (Marnonian representative in the ninth edition)
 * Tęskno
 * BØRNS
 * Doda
 * Maan
 * Christine and the Queens
 * Anitta
 * Ian Galloway
 * Lana Jurčević
 * Zhanar Dugalova
 * Hadise
 * Maisie Williams
 * Đông Nhi
 * Khaled


 * Ella Mai
 * Paloma Faith
 * Isaac Elliot
 * Muthoni Drummer Queen
 * Yaeji (Sutruc representative in the ninth edition)
 * ABRA
 * Icon For Hire
 * Jaiden Dittfach, James Rallison & Scott the Woz
 * Bobi Andonov
 * Amanda Lee
 * Dotter
 * Julia Viktoria (Violían representative in the ninth edition)
 * Alice Chater
 * Rebecca More
 * Taylor Hynes
 * Jay Foreman
 * Solange
 * Tom Walker

Other countries
Eligibility for potential participation in Zendari Song Contest normally 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

 * - Colleagues Is Lovingly Fantastic (CILF) announced very early that they were considering withdrawing from Zendari Song Contest for one edition. Their withdrawal was confirmed on the 13th of November 2018. A return in the eleventh edition is very likely.
 * - On 14 November 2018, the Draydials Broadcaster (DB) announced their withdrawal from the contest, citing financial crisis and budget restrictions as factors that influenced this decision. A return in the eleventh edition is "likely".
 * - On the 14th of November 2018, shortly after the results of the previous edition, Sakao Broadcast Corporation (SBC) was asked about their participation in edition #10. The delegation promptly answered the question with "fucking chaos", and stated that they would return in the following edition.
 * - On the 13th of November 2018, Xaliqtyva Muzyka Viaščaĺnik (XMV) announced that they were seeking interest in returning to Zendari Song Contest again. However, the management team has put their invitation on hold, along with the following statement; "edition #10 is looking like it's going to be full, but we will do our best to ensure that Xaliqtyva can return to the contest". A final statement will be released in the coming days.

Inactive ZBA countries

 * - Gaeltiracht failed to accept or decline the invitation to participate in the contest as a guest, and as a result, was not included in this edition.
 * - Gilead failed to accept or decline the invitation to participate in the contest as a guest, and as a result, was not included in this edition.
 * - On the 30th of October 2018, Hexian National Media (HNM) declined the invitation to participate as a guest this edition, with the reason that "we wish to give the chance for other waiting list countries to compete, we have no problem with waiting".
 * - On the 29th of October 2018, Kimotén Tilinviso Giatokak (KTG) declined the invitation to participate as a guest this edition, and requested to be removed from the waiting list. Their reason behind the action was that "we have no interest in Zendari Song Contest anymore".
 * - Konismir failed to accept or decline the invitation to participate in the contest as a guest, and as a result, was not included in this edition.
 * - Liberland failed to accept or decline the invitation to participate in the contest as a guest, and as a result, was not included in this edition.
 * - It was revealed on the 20th of November 2018, that the partially recognized country of Menaphos had attempted to join Zendari Song Contest, but was promptly declined because they were only recognized by five countries, and because they had no national broadcaster. They later requested to be placed on the waiting list, but were declined.
 * - The country's broadcaster, NeoTV, declined the opportunity to participate due to political instability. They did state, however, that they would like to debut in the near future when the problems subside.
 * - On the 29th of October 2018, Television of Orontonia (TOO) declined the invitation to participate as a guest this edition, with the reason that "we are currently not interested to participate in Zendari Song Contest".
 * - On the 29th of October 2018, Sangviniska Television och Radio (STR) declined the invitation to participate as a guest this edition. They gave no reason behind the declined invitation.
 * - On the 30th of October 2018, the delegation of Schymanland declined the invitation to participate as a guest this edition. No statement was given.
 * - The management team was missing contact information for Tseldora, and could not invite them to the contest.
 * - The management team was missing contact information for Yarumayo, and could not invite them to the contest.
 * - After a scandal regarding the behaviour of the Vendese delegation, it was determined that Vendujo would no longer be able to take part in Zendari Song Contest.