Mystical Song Contest 38

The Mystical Song Contest #38 (also known as MSC 38) was the thirty-eighth edition of the Mystical Song Contest. It took place in Tel Aviv, 🇮🇱 Israel after Emily Kuper won in Minsk, 🇧🇾 Belarus.

It was confirmed that 48 countries participated in the 38th edition. No debutted, Bosnia & Herzegovina withdrew while 🇧🇬 Bulgaria returned.

The top 6 of last edition 🇮🇱 Israel, 🇦🇱 Albania, 🇸🇪 Sweden, 🇮🇪 Ireland, 🇧🇪 Belgium and 🇨🇦 Canada were automatically pre qualified for the Grand Final of this edition. The 42 other countries that participated were split into 2 semi finals.

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

Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo (Hebrew: תֵּל־אָבִיב–יָפוֹ – Tel Aviv-Yafo [tel aˈviv ˈjafo]; Arabic: تَلّ أَبِيب - يَافَا‎ – Tall ʾAbīb - Yāfā), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a population of 451,523, it is the economic and technological center of the country. If East Jerusalem is considered part of Israel, Tel Aviv is the country's second most populous city after Jerusalem; if not, Tel Aviv is the most populous city before West Jerusalem.

Tel Aviv is governed by the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality, headed by Mayor Ron Huldai, and is home to many foreign embassies. It is a global city and is ranked 25th in the Global Financial Centres Index. Tel Aviv has the third- or fourth-largest economy and the largest economy per capita in the Middle East. The city has the 31st highest cost of living in the world. Tel Aviv receives over 2.5 million international visitors annually. A "party capital" in the Middle East, it has a lively nightlife and 24-hour culture. Tel Aviv has been called The World's Vegan Food Capital, as it possesses the highest per capita population of vegans in the world, with many vegan eateries throughout the city. Tel Aviv is home to Tel Aviv University, the largest university in the country with more than 30,000 students.

The city was founded in 1909 by the Yishuv (Jewish residents) as a modern housing estate on the outskirts of the ancient port city of Jaffa, then part of the Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem within the Ottoman Empire. It was at first called 'Ahuzat Bayit' (lit. "House Estate" or "Homestead"), the name of the association which established the neighbourhood. Its name was changed the following year to 'Tel Aviv', after the biblical name Tel Abib adopted by Nahum Sokolow as the title for his Hebrew translation of Theodor Herzl's 1902 novel Altneuland ("Old New Land"). Other Jewish suburbs of Jaffa established before Tel Aviv eventually became part of Tel Aviv, the oldest among them being Neve Tzedek (est. 1886). Tel Aviv was given "township" status within the Jaffa Municipality in 1921, and became independent from Jaffa in 1934. After the 1947–1949 Palestine war Tel Aviv began the municipal annexation of parts of Jaffa, fully unified with Jaffa under the name "Tel Aviv" in April 1950, and was renamed to "Tel Aviv-Yafo" in August 1950.

Immigration by mostly Jewish refugees meant that the growth of Tel Aviv soon outpaced that of Jaffa, which had a majority Arab population at the time. Tel Aviv and Jaffa were later merged into a single municipality in 1950, two years after the Israeli Declaration of Independence, which was proclaimed in the city. Tel Aviv's White City, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003, comprises the world's largest concentration of International Style buildings, including Bauhaus and other related modernist architectural styles.

Tel Aviv is the Hebrew title of Theodor Herzl's Altneuland ("Old New Land"), translated from German by Nahum Sokolow. Sokolow had adopted the name of a Mesopotamian site near the city of Babylon mentioned in Ezekiel: "Then I came to them of the captivity at Tel Aviv, that lived by the river Chebar, and to where they lived; and I sat there overwhelmed among them seven days." The name was chosen in 1910 from several suggestions, including "Herzliya". It was found fitting as it embraced the idea of a renaissance in the ancient Jewish homeland. Aviv is Hebrew for "spring", symbolizing renewal, and tel is a man-made mound accumulating layers of civilization built one over the other and symbolizing the ancient.

Although founded in 1909 as a small settlement on the sand dunes north of Jaffa, Tel Aviv was envisaged as a future city from the start. Its founders hoped that in contrast to what they perceived as the squalid and unsanitary conditions of neighbouring Arab towns, Tel Aviv was to be a clean and modern city, inspired by the European cities of Warsaw and Odessa. The marketing pamphlets advocating for its establishment stated:

Host of the show
On June 25, 2020 it was announced that Noa Kirel was the host of the Mystical Song Contest 38.

Noa Kirel (Hebrew: נועה קירל‎, born on April 10, 2001) is an Israeli singer, actress, and television host. She has won the MTV Europe Music Awards for best Israeli act between 2017 - 2019.

Noya Kirel was born in Ra'anana, Israel, to Israeli-born parents of both Ashkenazi Jewish (Austrian-Jewish) and Sephardic Jewish (Moroccan-Jewish) descent. She is the youngest child of Amir and Ilana Kirel. She has two older brothers. Her father is the CEO of Glassco Glass, an imported-glass business headquartered in the Barkan industrial zone.

Her first name was Noya at birth, but after being diagnosed with a serious kidney illness when she was three months old, a rabbi suggested to her parents to alter it to Noa, so she would be able to move ('noa' also means movement in Hebrew) as she grew. The rabbi also predicted that she would become a dancer.

In 2020, she was enlisted to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), and serves in a military band.

Kirel raised to fame when she appeared in the "Pushers" documentary series from HOT, Which tracks parents who push their children to success in different areas, and featured Kirel and her father, who was financially supporting her entertainment career development. Kirel is managed in Israel by the agent Roberto Ben-Shoshan and co-managed by Sharona Nomder (Morse Artists) internationally.

In 2015 she performed her first song on YouTube named "Medabrim". Following his success, that year she released another song called "Killer. The provocative video clip for the song caused a stir due to Kirel's young age. She released additional songs, which were featured on YouTube and played on various Israeli radio stations, including the songs - "Yesh Be Ahava", which was the first song to enter the Galgalatz playlist, "Rak Ata", "Hatzi Meshuga", "Bye Lahofesh" and "Ten Li Siman". At the end of 2016, she won the award for "Singer of the Year" at the children's elected ceremony. On February 26, 2017, Kirel began hosting the "Lipstar" musical program on the kidZ channel, alongside Sagi Breitner. In May 2017, she released a song called "Makon Leshinuy" which she sang in a duet with Avior Melasa who even wrote and composed the song. Kirel released several other songs during the year which were all marketing singles: "Lirkod", "Kimeat Meforsemet", "Wow", "Mi Yiten Li Et Ha'Koach". On June 22, she starred in the teen movie "Nearly Famous", alongside Omer Dror. In the same year she also appeared in the theater production "The Three Musketeers" alongside Omer Dror. On August 28, Kirel released a single which she performed with Agam Bohbut, a cover version of Danny Sanderson's song; "Etzel Ha'Doda ve Ha'Dod", as part of a campaign for Bezeq. In November 2017, she represented Israel at the "MTV Europe Music Awards", in the "International Artist" category.

On January 1, 2018, began starring in the television series "Kfula", In the roles of Noa Kirel (herself) and Kitty Popper (Libby Omer); A blogger who writes anything that happens to her famous self. The series airs on the KidZ channel on yes and HOT. On February 18, she began participating in Israel's Got Talent as a judge. On March 25, 2018, she released the single "Megibor Le'Oyev". On May 1 of that year, the series "Shilton Ha'Tzlalim" has aired, where she plays the role of Basemet. On August 9, a theater production "Kfula show" starring Kirel and the stars of the Kfula series has opened in Menora Mivtachim Arena. On August 20, the theme song for the #Freestyle Festigel production, was released. In early September 2018, a full-length movie came out to promote the show. The show itself runs from November 13, 2018 to January 8, 2019. On September 5, Kirl featured in the song "Cinderella", of The Ultras. On September 20, Kirel collaborated with "Ma Kashur Trio" and Itai Levy, on a new cover version of Aric Sinai's "Siba Tova" song, "Hine Ze Ba", for a HOT campaign. In October, Kirel was selected for the second time to represent Israel at the MTV Europe Music Awards, but was unable to attend the ceremony in Spain due to a tight schedule. That month, Kirel began to be the new cosmetic company "Keff" presenter. On November 2nd, she released the song "Zikaron Yashan" in collaboration with the singer Jonathan Mergui, as part of the festigal. On November 11, the cast of the 2018 Festigel, including Kirel, released the original song "Tinshom" with a video clip. On November 23, she participated in a tribute show in memory of Amir Fryszer Guttman called "As if there is no tomorrow" alongside many artists. In December 2018, Kirel led a campaign with the KidZ Channel and the sraeli National Road Safety Authority for wearing a helmet while cycling. In May 2020 she participated in a Yes (Israel) commercial.

In June 2020, it was officially announced that Noa has signed a contract with the American label, Atlantic Records, being the first Israeli artist to do so.

Debuting/Withdrawing
No countries withdrew or debuted.

Returning Artists
Here is the list of the returning artists for the 38th edition.

Semi Finals
On June 25, 2020 the supervisor of the contest ESC Thømås 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 competed in each semi final and 10 countries qualified in both.

Semi Final 1
In this semi final 🇮🇱 Israel, 🇸🇪 Sweden and 🇧🇪 Belgium had to vote.

Semi Final 2
In this semi final 🇦🇱 Albania, 🇮🇪 Ireland and 🇨🇦 Canada had to vote.

Grand Final
On July 8, 2020 the supervisor of the contest ESC Thømås revealed the running order of the Grand Final.