Wonderful Song Contest 61

Wonderful Song Contest 61 was the sixty-first edition of the Wonderful Song Contest.The contest took place in Malmö after the Swedish victory in the 60th edition. A total of 66 countries competed in Wonderful Song Contest 60. The 60th edition was win by and their song "24 Hours" by gnes, which got a total of 254 points.Prequalified countries for this edition are: , , , ,  and. They are directly qualified to the final, while the other competing countries are split into two semifinals. Country from Scandinavia have won for the last time in edition 10, which is 50 editions! Contest didn't take place in Scandinavia for 4 years!

Information


On 24 December 2021 it was announced that Malmö will serve as the host city of the Wonderful Song Contest 61.

Host City
Malmö (/ˈmælmoʊ, ˈmɑːlmɜː/, Swedish: [ˈmâlmøː] (listen); Danish: Malmø [ˈmælmˌøˀ]) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a population of 316,588 (municipal total 350,647 in 2021). The Malmö Metropolitan Region is home to over 700,000 people, and the Öresund region, which includes Malmö as well as Copenhagen, is home to 4 million people. Malmö is considered a gamma-level global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.

Malmö was one of the earliest and most industrialised towns in Scandinavia, but it struggled to adapt to post-industrialism. Since the 2000 completion of the Öresund Bridge, Malmö has undergone a major transformation, producing new architectural developments, supporting new biotech and IT companies, and attracting students through Malmö University and other higher education facilities. Over time, Malmö's demographics have changed and by the turn of the 2020s almost half the municipal population had a foreign background. The city contains many historic buildings and parks, and is also a commercial centre for the western part of Skåne County. It is also home to Malmö FF, the Swedish football club with the most national championships and the only Nordic club to have reached the European Cup final.

Malmö has a mild climate for the latitude and, normally, average high temperatures remain above freezing in winter, with prolonged snow cover being rare.

Malmö is currently Swedens fastest growing city and the population increased with 3,783 inhabitants during 2020. The earliest written mention of Malmö as a city dates from 1275. It is thought to have been founded shortly before that date, as a fortified quay or ferry berth of the Archbishop of Lund, some 20 kilometres (12 miles) to the north-east. Malmö was for centuries Denmark's second-biggest city. Its original name was Malmhaug (with alternate spellings), meaning "Gravel pile" or "Ore Hill". An alternate story stems from a more gruesome tale that suggests that a maiden was once ground up in a mill on what is now the town square. The name would originate from 'Mal Mö', which translates to 'Ground up maiden.' A millstone that was placed in 1538 can still be found on the town square today.

In the 15th century, Malmö became one of Denmark's largest and most visited cities, reaching a population of approximately 5,000 inhabitants. It became the most important city around the Øresund, with the German Hanseatic League frequenting it as a marketplace, and was notable for its flourishing herring fishery. In 1437, King Eric of Pomerania (King of Denmark from 1396 to 1439) granted the city's arms: argent with a griffin gules, based on Eric's arms from Pomerania. The griffin's head as a symbol of Malmö extended to the entire province of Skåne from 1660.

In 1434, a new citadel was constructed at the beach south of the town. This fortress, known today as Malmöhus, did not take its current form until the mid-16th century. Several other fortifications were constructed, making Malmö Sweden's most fortified city, but only Malmöhus remains.

Malmö in 1580: Malmö Castle can be seen at far left, Sankt Petri Church's tower at centre

Lutheran teachings spread during the 16th century Protestant Reformation, and Malmö became one of the first cities in Scandinavia to fully convert (1527–1529) to this Protestant denomination.

In the 17th century, Malmö and the Skåneland region came under control of Sweden following the Treaty of Roskilde with Denmark, signed in 1658. Fighting continued, however; in June 1677, 14,000 Danish troops laid siege to Malmö for a month, but were unable to defeat the Swedish troops holding it.

By the dawn of the 18th century, Malmö had about 2,300 inhabitants. However, owing to the wars of Charles XII of Sweden (reigned 1697–1718) and to bubonic plague epidemics, the population dropped to 1,500 by 1727. The population did not grow much until the modern harbour was constructed in 1775. The city started to expand and the population in 1800 was 4,000. 15 years later, it had increased to 6,000.

Södergatan in 1913

In 1840, Frans Henrik Kockum founded the workshop from which the Kockums shipyard eventually developed as one of the largest shipyards in the world. The Southern Main Line was built between 1856 and 1864; this enabled Malmö to become a centre of manufacture, with major textile and mechanical industries. In 1870, Malmö overtook Norrköping to become Sweden's third-most populous city, and by 1900 Malmö had strengthened this position with 60,000 inhabitants. Malmö continued to grow through the first half of the 20th century. The population had swiftly increased to 100,000 by 1915 and to 200,000 by 1952. Further redevelopment of the now disused south-western harbour followed; a city architecture exposition (Bo01) was held in the area in 2001, and its buildings and villas form the core of a new city district. Designed with attractive waterfront vistas, it was intended to be and has been successful in attracting the urban middle-class.

Since 1974, the Kockums Crane had been a landmark in Malmö and a symbol of the city's manufacturing industry, but in 2002 it was disassembled and moved to South Korea. In 2005, Malmö gained a new landmark with completion of Turning Torso, the tallest skyscraper in Scandinavia. Although the transformation from a city with its economic base in manufacturing has returned growth to Malmö, the new types of jobs have largely benefited the middle and upper classes.

In its 2015 and 2017 reports, Police in Sweden placed the Rosengård and the Södra Sofielund/Seved district in the most severe category of urban areas with high crime rates.

Malmö is currently growing fast and detailed work is being planned near the Malmö Central Station, in a disctrict called Nyhamnen. Nyhamnen will provide 9,000 new housings, two larger buildings for offices and courts. It is expected to be complete around 2040-2050.

Bidding phase
Only one main venue was announced as possible venue for the competition to be held. It has a capacity of 20,000 and several big concerts and sport events take place here.
 * The host city had to be near a major airport.
 * 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.

Presenter
On 24 December 2021 it was announced that Måns Zelmerlöw and Petra Mede will be presenters of the Wonderful Song Contest 61.

Måns Petter Albert Sahlén Zelmerlöw ( pronounced [ˈmɔnːs ˈsɛ̂lmɛˌɭøːv]; born 13 June 1986) is a Swedish pop singer, songwriter and television presenter. He took part in Idol 2005, eventually finishing fifth, won the first season of Let's Dance, and scored a hit with his 2007 song "Cara Mia", which was his entry in that year's Melodifestivalen. Zelmerlöw was the host of Allsång på Skansen from 2011 to 2013. He participated in Melodifestivalen in 2007, 2009 and won in 2015. Zelmerlöw represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "Heroes", winning the contest with 365 points. Zelmerlöw and Petra Mede co-hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 held in Stockholm. Born in Lund, Måns Zelmerlöw is the son of Birgitta Sahlén, a professor at Lund University, and surgeon Sven-Olof Zelmerlöw. Zelmerlöw studied music in high school in Lund and was part of a school choir project. In 2002, he played one of the brothers in the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Slagthuset in Malmö. On 1 March 2019 Zelmerlöw and Swedish singer Dotter released the song Walk With Me.

Zara Maria Larsson (/ˈzɑːrə ˈlɑːrsən/, Swedish: [ˈsɑ̂ːra ˈlɑ̌ːʂɔn] (listen); born 16 December 1997) is a Swedish singer. In 2008, at the age of 10, she won the second season of the talent show Talang, the Swedish version of the Got Talent format. Since then she has received recognition with singles including "Lush Life" (2015), "Never Forget You" (2015), "Girls Like" (2016) featuring Tinie Tempah and "Ain't My Fault" (2016). She later featured on Clean Bandit's single, "Symphony" (2017), topping the charts in the UK and Sweden. Her third studio album in 2021 was preceded by the international hit "Ruin My Life" (2018).

Earlier in 2012, Larsson had signed with the record label TEN Music Group and subsequently released her debut extended play Introducing in January 2013. The EP was supported by Larsson's first original single, "Uncover", which topped the music charts in Scandinavia and was certified 6x platinum in Sweden.

Following her early success in Scandinavia and the release of her debut album, 1 (2014), Larsson signed a three-year contract with Epic Records in the United States. In 2016, Larsson performed at the opening and closing ceremonies for UEFA Euro in France. Larsson's second studio album, So Good, was released in March 2017. The album was supported by eight singles, including "Lush Life", "Never Forget You", and "Ain't My Fault", all of which reached number one in Sweden. She would later be featured on Clean Bandit's single, "Symphony", which topped the charts in the UK and Sweden. Her third studio album, Poster Girl (2021), was preceded by the international hit "Ruin My Life" (2018) debuting in the Top 10 in Sweden, Ireland and the UK while receiving a Gold certification or higher in ten countries. Zara Maria Larsson was born at Karolinska University Hospital in Solna, Stockholm, to Agnetha and Anders Larsson. In an interview with Svenska Dagbladet, she said that she was born "dead" due to a lack of oxygen from nuchal cord. Larsson grew up in Tallkrogen in Enskede, south of Stockholm. Her mother is a nurse and her father is an officer. She has a sister, Hanna, who is three years younger and is a singer and member of the band Lennix.

She has cited Carola Häggkvist, Whitney Houston, and Elvis Presley as early inspirations.

Her first primary school was the Gubbängsskolan; she transferred to the Royal Swedish Ballet School in third grade. She attended the secondary school Kulturama, an art school in Stockholm.

Provisitation list of Participants

 * Countries are in Prequalification Round next edition
 * Countries qualified to the grand final or semifinal
 * Country have won current edition
 * Country have finished on second place current edition
 * Country have finished on third place current edition
 * Country have finished on last place current editions final
 * Country have been disqualified from current editions final or semifinal
 * Country have in the final qualified to the semifinals or final

All Songs
All countries had to present their songs until 1st January 2022 at 20:00 CEST.
 * Official Spotify Playlist of All Songs

First Semifinal
The deadline to vote in semifinals is 13 January 2022 at 22:00 CET. , and  have to vote in this semifinal.


 * Recap of the First Semifinal
 * Results of the First Semifinal

First Semifinal
The deadline to vote in semifinals is 21 January 2022 at 22:00 CET. , and  have to vote in this semifinal.


 * Recap of the Second Semifinal
 * [ Results of the Second Semifinal]

Grand Final
The deadline to vote in semifinals is 30 January 2022 at 22:00 CET. All countries participating in this edition have to vote!


 * [ Recap of the Grand final]
 * [ Results of the Grand final]