Mystical Song Contest 8

The Mystical Song Contest #8 (also known as MSC 8) was the eighth edition of the Mystical Song Contest. It took place in Glasgow, 🇬🇧 United Kingdom after Alan Walker & Au/Ra won in London, 🇬🇧 United Kingdom.

It was confirmed that 50 countries participated in the 8th edition. 🇲🇰 North Macedonia returned while 🇧🇾 Belarus, 🇮🇸 Iceland, 🇯🇴 Jordan, 🇱🇻 Latvia,         🇲🇨 Monaco, 🇸🇬 Singapore and 🇸🇰 Slovakia withdrew.

The top 6 of last edition 🇬🇧 United Kingdom, Kosovo, 🇨🇦 Canada, 🇮🇪 Ireland, 🇭🇷 Croatia and 🇰🇵 North Korea were automatically pre qualified for the Grand Final of this edition. The 44 other countries that participated were split into 2 semi finals.

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

Glasgow
Glasgow (/ˈɡlæzɡoʊ/, also UK: /ˈɡlɑːzɡoʊ, ˈɡlɑːsɡoʊ/, US: /ˈɡlæsɡoʊ, ˈɡlæskoʊ/; Scots: Glesga [ˈɡlezɡə]; Scottish Gaelic: Glaschu [ˈkl̪ˠas̪əxu]) is the most populous city in Scotland, and the third most populous city in the United Kingdom, as of the 2017 estimated city population of 621,020. Historically part of Lanarkshire, the city now forms the Glasgow City council area, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland; the local authority is Glasgow City Council. Glasgow is situated on the River Clyde in the country's West Central Lowlands. It is the fifth most visited city in the UK.

Inhabitants of the city are referred to as Glaswegians or, informally, as Weegies. Glasgow is also known for the Glasgow patter, a distinct dialect of the Scots language that is noted for being difficult to understand by those from outside the city.

Glasgow grew from a small rural settlement on the River Clyde to become the largest seaport in Scotland, and tenth largest by tonnage in Britain. Expanding from the medieval bishopric and royal burgh, and the later establishment of the University of Glasgow in the fifteenth century, it became a major centre of the Scottish Enlightenment in the eighteenth century. From the eighteenth century onwards, the city also grew as one of Great Britain's main hubs of transatlantic trade with North America and the West Indies.

With the onset of the Industrial Revolution, the population and economy of Glasgow and the surrounding region expanded rapidly to become one of the world's pre-eminent centres of chemicals, textiles and engineering; most notably in the shipbuilding and marine engineering industry, which produced many innovative and famous vessels. Glasgow was the Second City of the British Empire for much of the Victorian era and Edwardian period, although many cities argue the title was theirs.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Glasgow's population grew rapidly, reaching a peak of 1,127,825 people in 1938. Comprehensive urban renewal projects in the 1960s resulted in large-scale relocation of people to designated new towns, such as Cumbernauld, Livingston, East Kilbride and peripheral suburbs, followed by successive boundary changes. This process reduced the population of the City of Glasgow council area to an estimated 615,070, with 1,209,143 people living in the Greater Glasgow urban area. The wider metropolitan area is home to over 1,800,000 people, equating to around 33% of Scotland's population. The city has one of the highest densities of any locality in Scotland at 4,023/km2.

Glasgow hosted the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the first European Championships in 2018; and is also well known in the sporting world for football (particularly the Old Firm rivalry between Celtic and Rangers), rugby, athletics, tennis, golf and swimming.

Today, Glasgow has a diverse architectural scene, one of the key factors leading visitors to the city. From the city centre sprawling with grand Victorian buildings, to the many glass and metal edifices in the International Financial Services District to the serpentine terraces of blonde and red sandstone in the fashionable west end and the imposing mansions which make up Pollokshields, on the south side. The banks of the River Clyde are also dotted with a plethora of futuristic-looking buildings which include Glasgow Science Centre, the SSE Hydro and the SEC Armadillo.

Host of the show
On September 5, 2018 it was announced that Lucie Jones was again the host, this time for Mystical Song Contest 8.

Lucie Bethan Jones (born 20 March 1991) is a Welsh singer, actress, and model. Jones first came to prominence while competing on series 6 of The X Factor UK in 2009, where she finished eighth. She represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song Never Give Up on You, finishing with 111 points in 15th place, the country's best result since 2011.

Jones was born in Pentyrch, a small village outside of Cardiff. In 2007, she attended the World Scout Jamboree as a Scout, and was the main performer singing Jambo, the theme song of the jamboree. Lucie was also a part of Cardiff's own Scout and Guide Gang Show.

Jones auditioned for series 6 of The X Factor UK with the song I Will Always Love You. She advanced to the live shows, and was mentored by Dannii Minogue. Jones was eliminated in week five, during the final showdown against John & Edward after the result went to deadlock with Louis Walsh and Simon Cowell voting to eliminate Jones while Minogue and Cheryl Cole voted to send home John & Edward. After her elimination, 1,113 viewers complained about Cowell sending the result to deadlock rather than sending home John & Edward in a majority vote.

After being eliminated from The X Factor, Jones was signed to Select Model Management, and began a modelling career. In May 2010, Jones was signed by Cameron Mackintosh to play Cosette in the West End production of Les Misérables. In September 2010, she was revealed to be the face of Wonderbra's Full Effects campaign. In 2010, she appeared in The Sarah Jane Adventures episode, Lost in Time: Part Two. Jones played the role of Meat in the 2013 arena tour of We Will Rock You. Jones also played the role of Victoria in the musical American Psycho at the Almeida Theatre in December 2013.

In February 2015, Jones appeared as Melody Carver in ITV's Midsomer Murders, in the episode The Ballad of Midsomer County. In April 2015, Jones played the role of Emma in the showcase performance of Like Me, at The Waterloo East Theatre. In March 2015, she was cast as Molly in the Chinese tour of Ghost the Musical. In April 2016, she played the lead role of Elle Woods in Legally Blonde at Curve Leicester. In 2016, she was cast as Maureen Johnson in the UK tour of Rent. Jones appeared in a summer run as Holly in the UK Tour of The Wedding Singer from 20 June to 19 July 2017. Between September 2017 and June 2018 she reprised her role as Elle Woods in a UK tour of Legally Blonde.

Jones made her debut as Jenna in Waitress on Thursday 16th May 2019. Following a brief break, she returned to Waitress in mid-June to play Jenna indefinitely.

In January 2017, Jones was confirmed to be competing in Eurovision: You Decide, the United Kingdom's national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2017. Her song, Never Give Up on You, was co-written by Eurovision Song Contest 2013 winner Emmelie de Forest. On 27 January 2017, Jones won the televised show, and was confirmed to be representing the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017, in Kiev.

Jones's performance was shown in excerpt at the first semi-final of the Eurovision and, following this, betting odds went on to surge. At the Grand Final Jones performed eighteenth in the running order and then, in the second half of the final, went on to score 111 points through combined voting from the jury vote and the popular vote. Jones also managed to score 12 points from the Australia professional Jury. An article in the International Business Times stated that she blamed Brexit for the disappointing result.

Debuting/Withdrawing
On September 5, 2018 it was announced that 7 countries won't participate in the 8th edition.


 * 🇧🇾 Belarus : BRTC stated that the country won't participate due to only non qualifications since edition 1. The last participation of the country was in the 7th edition.
 * 🇮🇸 Iceland : RUV stated that the country won't participate without any more information. The last participation of the country was in the 7th edition.


 * 🇯🇴 Jordan : JRTV stated that the country won't participate since Jordan was only a guest country in the 7th edition. The last participation of the country was in the 7th edition.
 * 🇱🇻 Latvia : LTV announced that Latvia won't participate due to financial problems. The last participation of the country was in the 7th edition.
 * 🇲🇨 Monaco : TMC stated that the country won't participate since Monaco was only a guest country in the 7th edition. The last participation of the country was in the 7th edition.
 * 🇸🇬 Singapore : MediaCorp TV stated that the country won't participate since Singapore was only a guest country in the 7th edition. The last participation of the country was in the 7th edition.
 * 🇸🇰 Slovakia : RTVS stated that the country won't participate since Slovakia was only a guest country in the 7th edition. The last participation of the country was in the 7th edition.

Returning Artists
Here is the list of the returning artists for the 8th edition.

Semi Finals
On September 7, 2018 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 22 countries competed in each semi final and 10 countries qualified in both.

Semi Final 1
In this semi final Kosovo, 🇨🇦 Canada and 🇮🇪 Ireland had to vote.

Semi Final 2
In this semi final 🇬🇧 United Kingdom, 🇭🇷 Croatia and 🇰🇵 North Korea have to vote.

Grand Final
On September 15, 2018 the supervisor of the contest ESC Thømås revealed the running order of the grand final.