Wonderful Song Contest 48

Wonderful Song Contest 48 will be the forty-eight edition of the Wonderful Song Contest. The contest took place in Kyiv after the Ukrainian victory in the 47th edition. A total of 38 countries competed in Wonderful Song Contest 47. The 47th edition was win by and their song "Nestrymna" by KLER, which got a total of 154  points. Prequalified countries for this edition are:, , , , , , , ,  , , and. They are directly qualified to the final, while the other competing countries are split into semi-final. ,is returning for this edition, while have debuted and, , ,  and  are withdrawing from the contest. The Semi Final allocation draw took place on 27 October 2020 at the WBU headquarters in Prague.

Information


On 27 Ocotber 2020 it was announced that Kyiv will serve as the host city of the Wonderful Song Contest 48.

Host City
Kyiv or Kiev (Ukrainian: Київ, romanized: Kyiv; Russian: Киев, romanized: Kiyev) is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. Its population in July 2015 was 2,887,974 (though higher estimated numbers have been cited in the press), making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe.

Kyiv is an important industrial, scientific, educational and cultural center of Eastern Europe. It is home to many high-tech industries, higher education institutions, and historical landmarks. The city has an extensive system of public transport and infrastructure, including the Kyiv Metro.

The city's name is said to derive from the name of Kyi, one of its four legendary founders. During its history, Kyiv, one of the oldest cities in Eastern Europe, passed through several stages of prominence and obscurity. The city probably existed as a commercial center as early as the 5th century. A Slavic settlement on the great trade route between Scandinavia and Constantinople, Kyiv was a tributary of the Khazars, until its capture by the Varangians (Vikings) in the mid-9th century. Under Varangian rule, the city became a capital of the Kievan Rus', the first East Slavic state. Completely destroyed during the Mongol invasions in 1240, the city lost most of its influence for the centuries to come. It was a provincial capital of marginal importance in the outskirts of the territories controlled by its powerful neighbours, first Lithuania, then Poland and Russia.

The city prospered again during the Russian Empire's Industrial Revolution in the late 19th century. In 1918, after the Ukrainian People's Republic declared independence from Soviet Russia, Kyiv became its capital. From 1921 onwards Kyiv was a city of Soviet Ukraine, which was proclaimed by the Red Army, and, from 1934, Kyiv was its capital. The city was almost completely ruined during World War II but quickly recovered in the postwar years, remaining the Soviet Union's third-largest city.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union and Ukrainian independence in 1991, Kyiv remained Ukraine's capital and experienced a steady influx of ethnic Ukrainian migrants from other regions of the country. During the country's transformation to a market economy and electoral democracy, Kyiv has continued to be Ukraine's largest and wealthiest city. Its armament-dependent industrial output fell after the Soviet collapse, adversely affecting science and technology, but new sectors of the economy such as services and finance facilitated Kyiv's growth in salaries and investment, as well as providing continuous funding for the development of housing and urban infrastructure. Kyiv emerged as the most pro-Western region of Ukraine; parties advocating tighter integration with the European Union dominate during elections.

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 27 October 2020 it was announced that KAZKA will be host Wonderful Song Contest 48.

Kazka (stylized in all caps; Ukrainian: Казка, transl.  Fairy tale) is a Ukrainian band that performs pop with elements of electro-folk. Since its creation in 2017, vocalist Oleksandra Zaritska, sopilka player Dmytro Mazuriak and multi-instrumentalist Mykyta Budash have become a "breakthrough of the year".

The group's producer and manager is Yuriy Nikitin and the company Mamamusic. Kazka emerged on March 1, 2017 with their debut release "Sviata" (Свята, transl.  Holy), which immediately became a hit[citation needed] in Ukraine. Initially, the band consisted of vocalist Oleksandra Zaritska and multi-instrumentalist Nikita Budash (guitar, keyboard), who also works on arrangement and sound engineering. "Sviata" was also the band's debut video. Serhii Tkachenko directed the video, which is a minimalist work in red shades, featuring the band members and a number of ancient Slavic symbols (Dazhbog, the Star of the Virgin Lada, Zervan, Koliada, the Star of Herest, Bilobog and others). On April 27, 2018, the band’s debut album Karma (Карма) was released online. The album has ten tracks, three of which were previously released: "Sviata", "Dyva", "Sama" (Сама, transl.  Alone), "Movchaty" (Мовчати, transl.  To Keep Quiet) (a cover of a song by Skryabin and Iryna Bilyk), and six new tracks. The band presented the album live at their first solo show at Kyiv's Atlas Club on June 1. The single "Sviata" was named "Best Pop Band Song" and the band was recognised as "Best Debut" by national radio station Kraina FM. For the first time ever, a Ukrainian-speaking band entered the Global Shazam Top 10. Kazka achieved an absolute record among Ukrainian artists in terms of the number of views and made it to the Top 100 best videos on YouTube. The musicians have been repeatedly awarded with the title "Breakthrough of the Year" and, for the song "Plakala" (Плакала, transl.  She Cried), they received the "Hit of the Year" award and featured in the rating of Ukraine's most popular tracks according to Apple Music. The band has topped the charts in numerous countries, including Ukraine, Latvia, Bulgaria, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Belarus, Russia, Colombia, and others.[citation needed] In the summer, Kazka participated in various Ukrainian festivals such as BeLive in Kyiv, Impulse in Kharkiv, and MRPL City in Mariupol. In the autumn, the band launched their national Karma Tour in support of the album. Drummer Ievhen Kostyts and a trio of chorists (Vasylyna Tkachuk, Daryna Salii and Yaryna Sizyk) joined them on the tour. In winter 2018 the band announced an upcoming tour of the United States and Europe in 2019.