Mystical Song Contest 4

The Mystical Song Contest #3 (also known as MSC 3) was the second edition of the Mystical Song Contest. It took place in  Zagreb, 🇭🇷 Croatia after Zsa Zsa & Vanna won in Amsterdam,  The Netherlands.

It was confirmed that 50 countries will participate in the 3rd edition. No countries debuted and no countries withdrew.

The top 6 of last edition 🇭🇷 Croatia, 🇨🇾 Cyprus, 🇮🇪 Ireland, 🇱🇹 Lithuania, 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan were automatically pre qualified for the Grand Final of this edition. The 44 others participating countries were split into 2 semi finals.

The running orders were made by the supervisor of the contest ESC Thømås.

Zagreb
Zagreb (/ˈzɑːɡrɛb, ˈzæɡrɛb, zɑːˈɡrɛb/; Croatian pronunciation: [zǎːɡreb] (listen)) is the capital and the largest city of Croatia. It is located in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately 122 m (400 ft) above sea level. The estimated population of the city in 2018 was 820,678. The population of the Zagreb urban agglomeration is about 1.2 million, approximately a quarter of the total population of Croatia.

Zagreb is a city with a rich history dating from the Roman times to the present day. The oldest settlement located in the vicinity of the city was the Roman Andautonia, in today's Ščitarjevo. The name "Zagreb" is recorded in 1134, in reference to the foundation of the settlement at Kaptol in 1094. Zagreb became a free royal town in 1242. In 1851 Zagreb had its first mayor, Janko Kamauf.

Zagreb has special status as a Croatian administrative division and is a consolidated city-county (but separated from Zagreb County), and is administratively subdivided into 17 city districts. Most of them are at a low elevation along the river Sava valley, whereas northern and northeastern city districts, such as Podsljeme and Sesvete districts are situated in the foothills of the Medvednica mountain, making the city's geographical image rather diverse. The city extends over 30 kilometres (19 miles) east-west and around 20 kilometres (12 miles) north-south.

The transport connections, concentration of industry, scientific, and research institutions and industrial tradition underlie its leading economic position in Croatia. Zagreb is the seat of the central government, administrative bodies, and almost all government ministries. Almost all of the largest Croatian companies, media, and scientific institutions have their headquarters in the city

Host of the show
On May 25, 2018 it was announced that Severina will be the host of the Mystical Song Contest 3.

Severina Kojić (née Vučković, born 21 April 1972), known professionally as Severina, is a Croatian singer-songwriter and actress. In 2006, the Croatian weekly Nacional listed her among the 100 most influential Croats, calling her "the only bona fide Croatian celebrity".

She represented Croatia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, held in Athens, Greece, with the song Moja Štikla, finishing 12th.

She won the award "Zlatna ptica" for the best selling artist of the decade in Croatia. In 2015, she was the most googled person in Croatia and Slovenia.

Severina's style can be described as pop with various folk and cabaret influences. As a child, she took smaller parts in theatre and opera productions in her native Split. During the 1980s, having won numerous awards at local festivals, she launched her professional career at an early age, which ultimately resulted in her moving to Zagreb in 1989 to expand her career further.

In December 2010 Severina met wealthy Serbian businessman Milan Popović at his birthday celebration, where she was hired to perform. They soon began dating, and in August 2011 she announced that she was pregnant with her first child. On 21 February 2012, she gave birth to a boy named Aleksandar in Split. During the period she lived between Belgrade, Vršac and Zagreb. In October 2012, Severina announced that she and Popović have separated and that she has moved back to Zagreb.

Debuting/Withdrawing
On June 5, 2018 it was announced that 2 countries won't participate in the 4th edition.


 * 🇧🇬 Bulgaria : The broadcaster BNT had confirmed that due to bad results in the contest in the first 3 editions (3 non qualifications in a row) and financial problems the country won't be present in the 4th edition of the contest. However, the Bulgarian broadcaster said it would only be temporary. The last participation of the country was in the 2nd edition.


 * 🇩🇰 Denmark : DR the Danish broadcaster, had claimed that the country won't compete in the 4th edition due to bad results in the 3 first editions. The last participation of the country was in the 2nd edition.

However on June 5, 2018 it was announced that 2 countries will replace Bulgaria and Denmark in the 4th edition.


 * 🇯🇵 Japan : NHK had stated that the country was invited by the MBU to join the contest as a guest country, the broadcaster had accepted the invitation.
 * 🇯🇵 Mexico : Televisa had stated that the country was invited by the MBU to join the contest as a guest country, the broadcaster had accepted the invitation.

Returning Artists
No returning artists for the 3rd edition.

Semi Finals
On May 25, 2018 the supervisor of the contest ESC Thømås had revealed the running order of both semi finals.

The big 6 members were assigned to a semi final where they had to vote.

A total of 22 countries competed in each semi final and 10 countries qualified in both.