Mystical Song Contest 31

The Mystical Song Contest #31 (also known as MSC 31) is the thirty-first edition of the Mystical Song Contest. It takes place in Belgrade, 🇷🇸 Sebria after Andjela Keleman won in Tirana, 🇦🇱 Albania.

It was confirmed that 48 countries will participate in the 31st edition. ' Kosovo and 🇸🇰 Slovakia returned while 🇲🇹 Malta and ' Vietnam withdrew.

The top 6 of last edition 🇷🇸 Serbia, 🇸🇮 Slovenia, 🇮🇱 Israel, 🇦🇹 Austria, 🇩🇪 Germany and 🇸🇬 Singapore were automatically pre qualified for the Grand Final of this edition. The 42 others participating countries were split into 2 semi finals.

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

Belgrade
Belgrade (/ˈbɛlɡreɪd/ BEL-grayd; Serbian: Beograd / Београд, lit. 'White City', pronounced [beǒɡrad] (listen); names in other languages) is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. The urban area of Belgrade has a population of 1.23 million, while nearly 1.7 million people live within the administrative limits of the City of Belgrade (which encompasses almost all of its metropolitan area), a quarter of the total population of Serbia.

One of the most important prehistoric cultures of Europe, the Vinča culture, evolved within the Belgrade area in the 6th millennium BC. In antiquity, Thraco-Dacians inhabited the region and, after 279 BC, Celts settled the city, naming it Singidūn. It was conquered by the Romans under the reign of Augustus and awarded Roman city rights in the mid-2nd century. It was settled by the Slavs in the 520s, and changed hands several times between the Byzantine Empire, the Frankish Empire, the Bulgarian Empire, and the Kingdom of Hungary before it became the seat of the Serbian king Stefan Dragutin in 1284. In 1521, Belgrade was conquered by the Ottoman Empire and became the seat of the Sanjak of Smederevo. It frequently passed from Ottoman to Habsburg rule, which saw the destruction of most of the city during the Austro-Ottoman wars. Belgrade was again named the capital of Serbia in 1841. Northern Belgrade remained the southernmost Habsburg post until 1918, when it was attached to the city, due to former Austro-Hungarian territories becoming the part of the new Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes after World War I. In a fatally strategic position, the city has been battled over in 115 wars and razed 44 times. Belgrade was the capital of Yugoslavia from its creation in 1918 to its dissolution in 2006.

Being Serbia's primate city, Belgrade has special administrative status within Serbia. It is the seat of the central government, administrative bodies, and government ministries, as well as home of almost all of the largest Serbian companies, media, and scientific institutions. Belgrade is classified as a Beta-Global City.

Host of the show
On February 15, 2020 it was announced that Emina Jahovic will be the host of the Mystical Song Contest 31.

Emina Jahović ( pronounced [emǐːna jâːhovit͡ɕ], Serbian Cyrillic: Емина Јаховић; born 15 January 1982) is a Serbian singer-songwriter, model and actress. Born and raised in Novi Pazar, she rose to prominence through music festivals. Jahović released her debut album in 2002, but acquired commercial success with her third record Vila in 2008. Arguably one of the most popular pop performers in the Slavic-speaking territories in the Balkans, she has been referred to as 'Pop princeza' (Pop Princess).

She made her television debut in 2010 starring in Lale Devri as Lale Taşkıran Ilgaz. In 2013, she was a judge on the X Factor Adria. Jahović has also released her own perfume called Closer in 2014 and has her own cosmetic brand Yaemina.

Apart from her native Serbo-Croatian, Jahović speaks English and Turkish fluently. She also speaks a bit of Bulgarian, and Slovenian.

Having been married on 13 January 2008 in Hôtel Les Ottomans à Istanbul to the famous Turkish singer Mustafa Sandal whom she met in July 2004 in Bodrum, Muğla, she has two sons and lives between Belgrade and Istanbul. The couple's first child, Yaman, was born by Caesarean section in Istanbul on 8 August 2008. On 26 July 2011, the Sandals announced that they were expecting their second child in the winter. On 21 February 2012, Emina Sandal gave birth at the American Hospital to a baby boy, Yavuz. The couple's children speak both Turkish and Serbian. However, the pair divorced in 2018, citing personal disagreements.

Due to the marriage, Jahović acquired Turkish citizenship in 2012.

Her sister-in-law was Dina Džanković, the Istanbul-based interior architect and fashion designer who is the last beauty queen to have the title of Miss Serbia and Montenegro.

On 19 February 2010, Emina Jahović competed in Tri pa jedan za Oslo, the then new version of Evropesma and Beovizija and the national selection for Serbia's representative at the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest, in which 10 artists took part in preliminary auditions. These 10 artists subsequently were reduced to three by a RTS committee on 25 January 2010 and Jahović, as well as Milan Stanković and Oliver Katić, was among the three final artists nominated to represent the country in the competition in Norway. Emina's entry "Ti kvariigro" (Ти квариигро) was composed by Goran Bregović and written by Marina Tucaković.

Each year Jahović has been consistently mentioned among the front-runners to represent the country in the Eurovision Song Contest.

Debuting/Withdrawing
On February 15, 2020 it was announced that 2 countries won't participate in the 31st edition.


 * 🇲🇹 Malta : Malta being a guest during the 30th edition, the country had to withdraw. The last participation of the country was in the 30th edition.
 * Vietnam : The country withdrew due to bad results. The last participation of the country was in the 30th edition.

Returning Artists
Here is the list of the returning artists for the 31st edition.

Semi Finals
On February 16, 2020 the supervisor of the contest ESC Thømås has revealed the running order of both semi finals.

The big 6 members are assigned to a semi final where they have to vote.

A total of 21 countries compete in each semi final and 10 countries qualify in both.

Semi Final 1
In this semi final 🇸🇮 Slovenia, 🇦🇹 Austria and 🇩🇪 Germany have to vote.

Semi Final 2
In this semi final 🇷🇸 Serbia, 🇮🇱 Israel and 🇸🇬 Singapore have to vote.

Grand Final
On TBA, 2020 the supervisor of the contest ESC Thømås will reveal the running order of the Grand Final.