Wonderful Song Contest 61

Wonderful Song Contest 60 was the sixtieth edition of the Wonderful Song Contest.The contest took place in Skopje after the North Macedonian victory in the 59th edition. A total of 52 countries competed in Wonderful Song Contest 59. The 59th edition was win by and their song "Magnet" by Antonia Gigovska, which got a total of 284 points.Prequalified countries for this edition are:, , ,  ,  and. They are directly qualified to the final, while the other competing countries are split into four quarter-finals. ,, , , , , . , , , , , , and have returned back to the contest. have won this edition with song "24 Hours" by Agnes with 254 points. Prequalified countries for next edition are:, , , , and.

Information


On 05 November 2021 it was announced that Skopje will serve as the host city of the Wonderful Song Contest 60.

Host City
Skopje (/ˈskɒpji, -jeɪ/ SKOP-yee, -⁠yay, US also /ˈskoʊp-/ SKOHP-; Macedonian: Скопје [ˈskɔpjɛ] (listen); Albanian: Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre.

The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; remains of Neolithic settlements have been found within the old Kale Fortress that overlooks the modern city centre. Originally a Paeonian city, Scupi became the capital of Dardania in the second century BC. On the eve of the 1st century AD, the settlement was seized by the Romans and became a military camp. When the Roman Empire was divided into eastern and western halves in 395 AD, Scupi came under Byzantine rule from Constantinople. During much of the early medieval period, the town was contested between the Byzantines and the Bulgarian Empire, whose capital it was between 972 and 992.

From 1282, the town was part of the Serbian Empire, and acted as its capital city from 1346 to 1371. In 1392, Skopje was conquered by the Ottoman Turks, who called it Üsküb (اسکوب); this name was also in use in English for a time. The town stayed under Ottoman control for over 500 years, serving as the capital of the pashasanjak of Üsküp and later the Vilayet of Kosovo. In 1912, it was annexed by the Kingdom of Serbia during the Balkan Wars. During the First World War the city was seized by the Kingdom of Bulgaria, and, after the war, it became part of the newly formed Kingdom of Yugoslavia as the capital of Vardarska Banovina. In the Second World War the city was again captured by Bulgaria and in 1945 became the capital of SR Macedonia, a federated state within the Yugoslavia. The city developed rapidly, but this was interrupted in 1963 when it was hit by a disastrous earthquake.

Skopje is on the upper course of the Vardar River, and is on a major north–south Balkan route between Belgrade and Athens. It is a centre for metal-processing, chemical, timber, textile, leather, and printing industries. Industrial development of the city has been accompanied by development of the trade, logistics, and banking sectors, as well as an emphasis on the fields of transportation, culture and sport. According to the last official count from 2002, Skopje had a population of 428,988 inhabitants in its urban area and 506,926 in ten municipalities that form the city and, beside Skopje, include many other less urbanized and rural settlements some of which are 20 kilometres away from the city itself or even border the neighbouring Kosovo. Skopje is in the north of the country, in the centre of the Balkan peninsula, and halfway between Belgrade and Athens. The city was built in the Skopje valley, oriented on a west–east axis, along the course of the Vardar river, which flows into the Aegean Sea in Greece. The valley is approximately 20 kilometres (12 miles) wide and it is limited by several mountain ranges to the north and south. These ranges limit the urban expansion of Skopje, which spreads along the Vardar and the Serava, a small river which comes from the North. In its administrative boundaries, the City of Skopje stretches for more than 33 kilometres (21 miles), but it is only 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) wide.

Landscape of the Skopje valley, near Bardovci.

Skopje is approximately 245 m above sea level and covers 571.46 km2. The urbanized area only covers 337 km2, with a density of 65 inhabitants per hectare. Skopje, in its administrative limits, encompasses many villages and other settlements, including Dračevo, Gorno Nerezi and Bardovci. According to the 2002 census, the City of Skopje itself comprised 428,988 inhabitants and 506,926 within administrative limits.

The City of Skopje reaches the Kosovo border to the north-east. Clockwise, it is also bordered by the municipalities of Čučer-Sandevo, Lipkovo, Aračinovo, Ilinden, Studeničani, Sopište, Želino and Jegunovce.

The urban morphology of Skopje was deeply impacted by the 26 July 1963 earthquake, which destroyed 80% of the city, and by the reconstruction that followed. For instance, neighbourhoods were rebuilt in such a way that the demographic density remains low to limit the impact of potential future earthquakes.

Reconstruction following the 1963 earthquake was mainly conducted by the Polish architect Adolf Ciborowski, who had already planned the reconstruction of Warsaw after World War II. Ciborowski divided the city in blocks dedicated to specific activities. The banks of the Vardar river became natural areas and parks, areas between the main boulevards were built with highrise housing and shopping centres, and the suburbs were left to individual housing and industry. Reconstruction had to be quick to relocate families and to relaunch the local economy. To stimulate economic development, the number of thoroughfares was increased and future urban extension was anticipated.

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 5 November 2021 it was announced that Elena Risteska and Katarina Ivanovska will be presenters of the Wonderful Song Contest 59.

Elena Risteska (Елена Ристеска; born April 27, 1986 in Skopje, SR Macedonia, SFR Yugoslavia) is a Macedonian singer and song-writer. She represented FYR Macedonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 in Athens with the song "Ninanajna", and finished in 12th place, the highest ever finish for FYR Macedonia. Risteska is also an occasional songwriter, writing for artists such as 4Play, Lambe Alabakovski and Aleksandra Pileva.

She took part in the second season of Serbian version of Your Face Sounds Familiar (Tvoje Lice Zvuči Poznato) where she had interesting tasks such as Christina Aguilera, Jessie J, Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears etc. She won as Jennifer Lopez in the 5th episode performing her song Booty.

Risteska was born in Skopje on April 27, 1986, in SFR Yugoslavia (today FYR Macedonia) to parents Acko and Desa. She showed an interest in the arts at an early age, inheriting her musical interest from her mother but also pursuing other hobbies and interests. In 1994, she joined the KUD "Kočo Racin", which was a club for folk dance and songs. Elena took part in school activities such as singing in the "Young Imitators" show and becoming a member of the drama club.

In 1996, Risteska made her television debut during the Mak-Karaoke Show performing the song "Flamingo" on the commercial channel A1. The same year she started studying the English and French languages. She started to sing in the school choir and went to Bulgaria for her first tour with the folk dance club. In 1998, she took part in many competitions and won many local, national, and international awards in drawing. In 2000, Risteska toured Bulgaria with the folk dance club again.

Katarina Ivanovska (Macedonian: Катарина Ивановска; born 18 August 1988) is a Macedonian model and actress. She began her modeling career in 2004, appearing at Milan Fashion Week after winning the Look Models International model search in Macedonia. In December, 2004, she appeared in a pictorial for Elle magazine and has also appeared in Citizen K, Stiletto and the Italian and Russian Vogue. She has been featured on the covers of Diva and Máxima magazines and in advertisements for D&G in 2006. She is considered the most successful Macedonian model. In 2010, Ivanovska appeared in Serbian Elle magazine. In 2011 she signed a contract for advertising Victoria's Secret products.

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 12th October 2021 at 20:00 CEST.
 * [ Official Spotify Playlist of All Songs]