Wonderful Song Contest 71

Wonderful Song Contest 71 will be the seventy first edition of the Wonderful Song Contest. The contest took place in Tokio after the Japanesse victory in the 70th edition. A total of 50 countries competed in Wonderful Song Contest 70. The 70th edition was won by and their song "Hold the Girl" by Rina Sawayama, which got a total of 513 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. The Semi Final allocation draw took place on TBA 2023 at the WBU headquarters in Prague.

Information


On TBA 2022 it was announced that Tokio will serve as the host city of the Wonderful Song Contest 71.

Host City
Tokyo is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area (13,452 square kilometers or 5,194 square miles) is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 million residents as of 2018; the city proper has a population of 13.99 million people. Located at the head of Tokyo Bay, the prefecture forms part of the Kantō region on the central coast of Honshu, Japan's largest island. Tokyo serves as Japan's economic center and is the seat of both the Japanese government and the Emperor of Japan.

Originally a fishing village named Edo, the city became politically prominent in 1603, when it became the seat of the Tokugawa shogunate. By the mid-18th century, Edo was one of the most populous cities in the world with a population of over one million people. Following the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the imperial capital in Kyoto was moved to Edo, which was renamed "Tokyo" (lit. 'Eastern Capital'). Tokyo was devastated by the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, and again by Allied bombing raids during World War II. Beginning in the 1950s, the city underwent rapid reconstruction and expansion efforts, going on to lead the Japanese economic miracle. Since 1943, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has administered the prefecture's 23 special wards (formerly Tokyo City), various commuter towns and suburbs in its western area, and two outlying island chains known as the Tokyo Islands.

Tokyo is the second-largest urban economy worldwide by gross domestic product after New York City, and is categorized as an Alpha+ city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. It is also Japan's leading business hub as part of an industrial region that includes the cities of Yokohama, Kawasaki, and Chiba. As of 2021, Tokyo is home to 37 companies of the Fortune Global 500.[10] In 2020, the city ranked fourth on the Global Financial Centres Index, behind only New York City, London, and Shanghai.[11] Tokyo is home to the world's tallest tower, Tokyo Skytree,[12] and the world's largest underground floodwater diversion facility, the Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel (located in Kasukabe, Saitama, a suburb of Tokyo).[13] The Tokyo Metro Ginza Line, opened in 1927, is the oldest underground metro line in East Asia.[14] Recognized as one of the most livable cities in the world, Tokyo was tied fourth with Wellington in the 2021 Global Livability Ranking.[15]

The city has hosted multiple international events, including the 1964 Summer Olympics and 1964 Summer Paralympics, the 2020 Summer Olympics and 2020 Summer Paralympics (postponed; held in 2021), and three summits of the G7 (in 1979, 1986, and 1993). Tokyo is an international research and development hub and is likewise represented by several major universities, most notably the University of Tokyo. Tokyo Station is the central hub for Japan's high-speed railway network, the Shinkansen; Shinjuku Station in Tokyo is also the world's busiest train station. Notable special wards of Tokyo include: Chiyoda, the site of the National Diet Building and the Tokyo Imperial Palace; Shinjuku, the city's administrative center; and Shibuya, a commercial, cultural, and business hub.

Architecture in Tokyo has largely been shaped by Tokyo's history. Twice in recent history has the metropolis been left in ruins: first in the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake and later after extensive firebombing in World War II.[85] Because of this, Tokyo's urban landscape consists mainly of modern and contemporary architecture, and older buildings are scarce.[85] Tokyo features many internationally famous forms of modern architecture including Tokyo International Forum, Asahi Beer Hall, Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower, NTT Docomo Yoyogi Building and Rainbow Bridge. Tokyo also features two distinctive towers: Tokyo Tower and Tokyo Skytree, the latter of which is the tallest tower in both Japan and the world, and the second tallest structure in the world after the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.[12] Mori Building Co started work on Tokyo's new tallest building which is set to be finished in March 2023. The project will cost 580 billion yen ($5.5 billion). Tokyo also contains numerous parks and gardens. There are four national parks in Tokyo Prefecture, including the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, which includes all of the Izu Islands.

Tokyo has many museums. In Ueno Park, there is the Tokyo National Museum, the country's largest museum and specializing in traditional Japanese art; the National Museum of Western Art and Ueno Zoo. Other museums include the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Odaiba; the Edo-Tokyo Museum in Sumida, across the Sumida River from the center of Tokyo; the Nezu Museum in Aoyama; and the National Diet Library, National Archives, and the National Museum of Modern Art, which are near the Imperial Palace.

Tokyo has many theaters for performing arts. These include national and private theaters for traditional forms of Japanese drama. Noteworthy are the National Noh Theatre for noh and the Kabuki-za for Kabuki. Symphony orchestras and other musical organizations perform modern and traditional music. The New National Theater Tokyo in Shibuya is the national center for the performing arts, including opera, ballet, contemporary dance and drama. Tokyo also hosts modern Japanese and international pop, and rock music at venues ranging in size from intimate clubs to internationally known areas such as the Nippon Budokan.

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(s)
On 28 December 2022 it was announced that Kyaru Pamyu Pamyu, Rina Sawayama and Tayce will be presenters of the Wonderful Song Contest 71.

Kiriko Takemura known professionally as Kyary Pamyu Pamyu is a Japanese tarento, singer, and model. Her public image is associated with Japan's kawaii and decora culture, centered in the Harajuku neighborhood of Tokyo. Kyary's music is produced by musician Yasutaka Nakata of electronic music duo Capsule. Her 2011 single "PONPONPON" reached the top ten on Japan's Oricon music chart; the 2012 singles "Candy Candy" and "Fashion Monster" followed this success. Kyary has since released five full-length albums: Pamyu Pamyu Revolution (2012), Nanda Collection (2013), Pika Pika Fantajin (2014), Japamyu (2018), and Candy Racer (2021). Though most of her success as a recording artist has been in Asia, she has also gained popularity in Western countries due in part to Internet videos which have gone viral. Media outlets have referred to Kyary as a "Fashion Monster", and she has been photographed for magazines such as Dazed & Confused. In 2013, she signed a distribution deal with Sire Records to release her material in the United States. As of February 2020, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu has sold over 970,000 physical albums and singles in Japan according to Oricon as well as over 2.25 million downloads of her singles.

Rina Sawayama is a Japanese–British singer-songwriter, actress and model. Born in Niigata, Japan, she emigrated to London with her parents at age five. She is known for her musical versatility and has been labelled a "musical chameleon". In 2017, she self-released her debut extended play, Rina. After signing to Dirty Hit in 2020, she released her debut studio album, Sawayama, to widespread critical acclaim. Her second studio album Hold the Girl was released on 16 September 2022. Outside her music career, Sawayama has modelled for several fashion campaigns, and is set to make her film acting debut in John Wick: Chapter 4. Sawayama was born on 16 August 1990 in Niigata, Japan. She lived there until the age of five, when her family decided to move to London, where she was raised and currently resides. She holds an indefinite leave to remain (ILR) visa in the UK. According to Sawayama, the family's original plan was to return to Japan when she turned ten, but they ultimately chose to stay in London. Due to her inability to communicate in English, Sawayama struggled to understand her teachers and peers. She eventually connected with others through pop music. At the age of sixteen, she began posting music covers on Myspace and during sixth form she formed a hip hop group called Lazy Lion. Sawayama attended Magdalene College, Cambridge where she studied politics, psychology and sociology. She graduated from the university with a degree in political science.

Tayce Szura-Radix is a Welsh drag queen and model from Newport, Wales. She is best known for competing in the second series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK, where she was placed as a runner-up. Tayce has professionally fulfilled her career as a drag queen since 2017 and started her career performing in Revolution Newport, a vodka bar. Tayce cites performers such as Beyoncé, Ciara, and Jennifer Lopez as her inspiration when in drag. In January 2020, Tayce attended the first ever RuPaul's DragCon UK and performed alongside Shea Couleé and Ore-Ho on the main stage. In December 2020, Tayce was announced as one of twelve contestants competing on the second series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK. Tayce won the main challenge in Episode 5 "The RuRuvision Song Contest" (alongside A'Whora, Bimini Bon-Boulash and Lawrence Chaney) winning a RuPeter badge, however, she was in the bottom 2 four times as well as winning her first three lip-syncs and sending home Cherry Valentine, Sister Sister and A'Whora. Her fourth lip-sync against Ellie Diamond was declared a "double-shantay" with both queens advancing to the finale, and neither being eliminated. Tayce is the first ever queen on RuPaul's Drag Race UK series to survive four lip-syncs and win three of them, and was dubbed by fans as a "lip-sync assassin".[5] She made it top 3 of RuPaul's Drag Race UK, but lost the Lip-Sync For The Crown to Lawrence Chaney placing as joint runner-up alongside Bimini Bon-Boulash. Tayce frequently performs at nightclubs, predominantly in London. In March 2021, Tayce, alongside fellow RuPaul's Drag Race UK finalists, was photographed and interviewed for The Guardian and later British Vogue. In May 2021, she was a featured performer at Drive Time Drag, a first of its kind in the UK drag drive-in show. Tayce embarked on a sold out UK Tour alongside A'Whora, Bimini Bon-Boulash and Lawrence Chaney for the United Kingdolls Tour with promoter Klub Kids in July 2021, and in February 2022 Tayce embarked on the RuPaul's Drag Race UK: The Official Tour alongside the entire cast of the second series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK, in association with World of Wonder and promoter Voss Events.



All Songs
All countries had to present their songs until 2nd November 2022 at 22:00 CEST.