Mystical Song Contest 20

The Mystical Song Contest #20 (also known as MSC 20) was the twentieth edition of the Mystical Song Contest. It took place in Bucharest, 🇷🇴 Romania after Cardinale won in Vilnius, 🇱🇹 Lithuania.

The 20th edition was a special edition where contestants had to send an entry which already competed for their country from editions 1-19. The previous Big 6 members can't send their song of edition 19.

It was confirmed that 42 countries participated in the 20th edition. No one returned or withdrew.

The top 6 of last edition 🇷🇴 Romania, 🇮🇳 India, 🇭🇺 Hungary, 🇬🇷 Greece, 🇦🇹 Austria and 🇲🇰 North Macedonia were automatically pre qualified for the Grand Final of this edition. The 36 other countries that participated were split into 2 semi finals.

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

Bucharest
Bucharest ( UK: /ˌbuːkəˈrɛst/ BOO-kə-REST, US: /ˈbuːkərɛst/ -⁠rest; Romanian: București [bukuˈreʃtʲ] (listen)) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, at 44°25′57″N 26°06′14″ECoordinates: 44°25′57″N 26°06′14″E, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than 60 km (37.3 mi) north of the Danube River and the Bulgarian border.

Bucharest was first mentioned in documents in 1459. It became the capital of Romania in 1862 and is the centre of Romanian media, culture, and art. Its architecture is a mix of historical (neo-classical and Art Nouveau), interbellum (Bauhaus, and art deco), communist era and modern. In the period between the two World Wars, the city's elegant architecture and the sophistication of its elite earned Bucharest the nickname of 'Paris of the East' (Romanian: Parisul Estului) or 'Little Paris' (Romanian: Micul Paris). Although buildings and districts in the historic city centre were heavily damaged or destroyed by war, earthquakes, and Nicolae Ceaușescu's program of systematization, many survived and have been renovated. In recent years, the city has been experiencing an economic and cultural boom. It is one of the fastest-growing high-tech cities in Europe, according to Financial Times, CBRE, TechCrunch and others. UiPath, a global startup founded in Bucharest, has reached $7 billion in valuation. Since 2019, Bucharest hosts the largest high tech summit in Southeast Europe (Romania Blockchain Summit).

In 2016, the historical city centre was listed as 'endangered' by the World Monuments Watch. In 2017, Bucharest was the European city with the highest growth of tourists who stay over night, according to the Mastercard Global Index of Urban Destinations. As for the past two consecutive years, 2018 and 2019, Bucharest ranked as the European destination with the highest potential for development according to the same study.

According to the 2011 census, 1,883,425 inhabitants live within the city limits, a decrease from the 2002 census. Adding the satellite towns around the urban area, the proposed metropolitan area of Bucharest would have a population of 2.27 million people. According to Eurostat, Bucharest has a functional urban area of 2,412,530 residents (as of 2015). Bucharest is the sixth largest city in the European Union by population within city limits, after London, Berlin, Madrid, Rome, and Paris.

Economically, Bucharest is the most prosperous city in Romania. The city has a number of large convention facilities, educational institutes, cultural venues, traditional 'shopping arcades' and recreational areas.

The city proper is administratively known as the 'Municipality of Bucharest' (Municipiul București), and has the same administrative level as that of a national county, being further subdivided into six sectors, each governed by a local mayor.

Host of the show
On May 7, 2019 it was announced that Bella Santiago was the host of Mystical Song Contest 20.

Resciebelle Bella Barrios Santiago (born 1 December 1989) is a Filipino-Romanian singer. Santiago first received recognition in Romania in 2016, after becoming a finalist on season six of Românii au talent, Romania's version of Got Talent. She later received widespread attention after winning season eight of X Factor Romania in 2018.

Santiago has attempted to represent Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest on two occasions. She placed fourth in Selecția Națională 2018 with the song Auzi cum bate, a collaboration with Romanian band Jukebox, and competed in Selecția Națională 2019 as a solo artist with the song Army of Love, placing third.

Santiago was born in Dasmariñas, Philippines, and began singing at age 12. She was raised by her grandmother, after her father died when she was a year old and her mother left the Philippines to earn money for the family. At age 15, she began performing at local bars in Manila, and later participated in the Filipino televised singing competitions Pinoy Pop Superstar and Tawag ng Tanghalan. Prior to relocating to Romania, Santiago had worked in Malaysia and Taiwan.

Santiago moved to Bucharest in 2016, in order to be with her Romanian boyfriend Nicolae Ionuț Grigorie. They had previously met while both were living in Malaysia. Santiago and Grigorie married in December 2018. Santiago has one daughter from a previous relationship; neither her nor her daughter are in contact with the father.

Later in 2018, Santiago auditioned for season eight of X Factor Romania. She advanced past her initial audition, and was mentored by Romanian singer Delia Matache during the course of the show. Santiago ultimately was crowned the winner of the competition on 23 December 2018. In January 2019, Romanian singer Dan Bittman announced his withdrawal from Selecția Națională 2019 due to scheduling conflicts, and the Romanian broadcaster Romanian Television (TVR) announced that two wildcard entries would replace him in the competition. A week later, Santiago was announced as one of the two wildcards with the song Army of Love. Santiago competed in the first semi-final on 27 January 2019, advancing to the final after winning the jury vote. She competed in the final on 17 February 2019, and placed third behind Ester Peony.

Santiago competed in the 14th season of Te cunosc de undeva! (translation: I know you from somewhere!), the Romanian version of the talent show, Your Face Sounds Familiar.. She won the season, gaining 87 points in the finale.

Debuting/Withdrawing
On May 7, 2019 it was announced that no countries withdrew/debuted in the 20th edition.

Returning Artists
As edition 20 was a special edition with songs and artists which already took part in the contest, all the countries had a returning artist.

Semi Finals
On May 10, 2019 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 18 countries competed in each semi final and 10 countries qualified in both.

Semi Final 1
In this semi final 🇮🇳 India, 🇬🇷 Greece and 🇦🇹 Austria had to vote.

Semi Final 2
In this semi final 🇷🇴 Romania, 🇭🇺 Hungary and 🇲🇰 North Macedonia had to vote.

Grand Final
On May 17, 2019 the supervisor of the contest ESC Thømås revealed the running order of the grand final.