Mystical Song Contest 61

The Mystical Song Contest #61 (also known as MSC 61) was the sixty-first edition of the Mystical Song Contest. It took place in Berlin, 🇩🇪 Germany after Serpentin won in Sumgait, 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan.

It was confirmed that 52 countries participated in the 61st edition. No one debuted while 🇮🇩 Indonesia withdrew and 🇦🇷 Argentina, 🇧🇬 Bulgaria, 🇮🇸 Iceland, 🇱🇻 Latvia, 🇲🇽 Mexico, 🇲🇦 Morocco, 🇸🇮 Slovenia, 🇿🇦 South Africa and 🇹🇷 Turkey returned.

The top 6 of last edition 🇩🇪 Germany, 🇰🇷 South Korea, 🇵🇹 Portugal, 🇳🇿 New Zealand, 🇮🇹 Italy and 🇸🇪 Sweden were automatically pre qualified for the Grand Final of this edition. The 46 others participating countries were split into 2 semi final.

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

Berlin
Berlin (/bɜːrˈlɪn/ bur-LIN, German: [bɛʁˈliːn] (listen)) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constituent states, Berlin is surrounded by the State of Brandenburg and contiguous with Potsdam, Brandenburg's capital. Berlin's urban area, which has a population of around 4.5 million, is the second most populous urban area in Germany after the Ruhr. The Berlin-Brandenburg capital region has around 6.2 million inhabitants and is Germany's third-largest metropolitan region after the Rhine-Ruhr and Rhine-Main regions. There was an unsuccessful attempt to unify both states in 1996, and despite remaining separate, the two states cooperate on many matters to this day.

Berlin straddles the banks of the Spree, which flows into the Havel (a tributary of the Elbe) in the western borough of Spandau. Among the city's main topographical features are the many lakes in the western and southeastern boroughs formed by the Spree, Havel and Dahme, the largest of which is Lake Müggelsee. Due to its location in the European Plain, Berlin is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. About one-third of the city's area is composed of forests, parks, gardens, rivers, canals and lakes. The city lies in the Central German dialect area, the Berlin dialect being a variant of the Lusatian-New Marchian dialects.

First documented in the 13th century and at the crossing of two important historic trade routes, Berlin became the capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg (1417–1701), the Kingdom of Prussia (1701–1918), the German Empire (1871–1918), the Weimar Republic (1919–1933), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). Berlin in the 1920s was the third-largest municipality in the world. After World War II and its subsequent occupation by the victorious countries, the city was divided; West Berlin became a de facto exclave of West Germany, surrounded by the Berlin Wall (from August 1961 to November 1989) and East German territory. East Berlin was declared capital of East Germany, while Bonn became the West German capital. Following German reunification in 1990, Berlin once again became the capital of all of Germany.

Berlin is a world city of culture, politics, media and science. Its economy is based on high-tech firms and the service sector, encompassing a diverse range of creative industries, research facilities, media corporations and convention venues. Berlin serves as a continental hub for air and rail traffic and has a highly complex public transportation network. The metropolis is a popular tourist destination. Significant industries also include IT, pharmaceuticals, biomedical engineering, clean tech, biotechnology, construction and electronics.

Berlin is home to world-renowned universities such as the Humboldt University, the Technical University, the Free University, the University of the Arts, ESMT Berlin, the Hertie School, and Bard College Berlin. Its Zoological Garden is the most visited zoo in Europe and one of the most popular worldwide. With Babelsberg being the world's first large-scale movie studio complex, Berlin is an increasingly popular location for international film productions. The city is well known for its festivals, diverse architecture, nightlife, contemporary arts and a very high quality of living. Since the 2000s Berlin has seen the emergence of a cosmopolitan entrepreneurial scene.

Berlin contains three World Heritage Sites: Museum Island; the Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin; and the Berlin Modernism Housing Estates. Other landmarks include the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag building, Potsdamer Platz, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, the Berlin Wall Memorial, the East Side Gallery, the Berlin Victory Column, Berlin Cathedral and the Berlin Television Tower, the tallest structure in Germany. Berlin has numerous museums, galleries, libraries, orchestras, and sporting events. These include the Old National Gallery, the Bode Museum, the Pergamon Museum, the German Historical Museum, the Jewish Museum Berlin, the Natural History Museum, the Humboldt Forum, the Berlin State Library, the Berlin State Opera, the Berlin Philharmonic and the Berlin Marathon.

Host of the show
On July 11, 2022 it was announced that Anke Engelke will be the host of Mystical Song Contest 61.

Anke Christina Fischer (née Engelke; born 21 December 1965) is a German comedian, actress, voice actress and television presenter.

Born in Montreal, Canada, Engelke moved to Cologne, Germany in 1971 with her German parents. Early on, she exhibited singing talent, and was discovered in 1978 by Georg Bossert at a performance of her school's choir.

From 1994 to 2000, Engelke was married to the keyboardist Andreas Grimm with whom she has a daughter. She was married to musician Claus Fischer from 2005 to 2015, with whom she has two sons.

From 1979 to 1986, she was the presenter of the daily children's television show broadcast from the Funkausstellung (a German radio exhibition, held every other year in Berlin), and the weekly children and youth's sports magazine show Pfiff. From 1978 to 1980, she hosted the show Moment mal (Wait a minute) on RTL. SWF3 first brought her on board in 1986 as an editor; later on, she was the presenter there until 1998. She has sung with Fred Kellner und die famosen Soul Sisters since 1989. Since 1993, she has been part of the SWF3-Comedy-Ensemble Gagtory.

From 1996 to 2000, she was part of Die Wochenshow on Sat.1, a rather famous comedy TV show in Germany at that time, alongside Bastian Pastewka, Ingolf Lück and Marco Rima.

In 2003, Engelke and Olli Dittrich were awarded the Grimme-Preis for the improv show Blind Date 2 – Taxi nach Schweinau.

In December 2003, Engelke provided the voice of the fish Dory in the German dubbing of the computer-animated film Finding Nemo, which is voiced by Ellen DeGeneres in the English original. She also provided the voice of Jane Porter in the German dubbing of the Disney movie Tarzan, who is voiced by Minnie Driver in the original version.

Engelke can also be seen in the successful sketch comedy show Ladykracher on Sat.1. On 17 May 2004, when the very successful Die Harald Schmidt Show left Sat.1, Engelke took over its timeslot with Anke Late Night, which was cancelled due to low ratings a few months later on 21 October 2004.

Engelke is the German voice of Marge Simpson on The Simpsons since her predecessor Elisabeth Volkmann died in the summer of 2006. Elisabeth Volkmann was Marge's German voice for 15 years until her death. Engelke's first episode was "My Fair Laddy", which aired in Germany on 21 January 2007.

Engelke performing in 2008

In December 2009, she hosted the European Film Awards ceremony, a role she would repeat in 2010, 2011 and 2012.

In May 2011, she hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 in Düsseldorf alongside Stefan Raab and Judith Rakers.

The following year, Engelke served as the spokesperson for Germany at the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 held in Baku, Azerbaijan. Before presenting the votes, she also gave a live statement on the human-rights issues in the hosting country, saying: "Tonight nobody could vote for their own country. But it is good to be able to vote. And it is good to have a choice. Good luck on your journey, Azerbaijan. Europe is watching you." She was the only spokesperson to articulately address human rights during the event. She had also served as one of Germany's national juries for the contest during that year.

In February 2013, her involvement with the Eurovision Song Contest continued as she hosted Unser Song für Malmö, the German national final.

Debuting/Withdrawing
No countries withdrew or debuted.

Returning Artists
Here is the list of the returning artists for the 61st edition.

Semi Finals
On July 11, 2022 the supervisor of the contest ESC Thømås 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 23 countries competed in each semi final and 10 countries qualified in both.

Semi Final 1
In this semi final 🇳🇿 New Zealand, 🇮🇹 Italy and 🇸🇪 Sweden had to vote.

Semi Final 2
In this semi final 🇩🇪 Germany, 🇰🇷 South Korea and 🇵🇹 Portugal had to vote.

Grand Final
On July 28, 2022 the supervisor of the contest ESC Thømås revealed the running order of the Grand Final.