Mystical Song Contest 3

The Mystical Song Contest #3 (also known as MSC 3) was the third edition of the Mystical Song Contest. It took place in Zagreb, 🇭🇷 Croatia after Zsa Zsa & Vanna won in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

It was confirmed that 50 countries participated in the 3rd edition. No countries debuted or withdrew.

The top 6 of last edition 🇭🇷 Croatia, 🇨🇾 Cyprus, 🇮🇪 Ireland, 🇱🇹 Lithuania, 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan were automatically pre qualified for the Grand Final of this edition. The 44 others participating countries were split into 2 semi finals.

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

Zagreb
Zagreb (/ˈzɑːɡrɛb, ˈzæɡrɛb, zɑːˈɡrɛb/; Croatian pronunciation: [zǎːɡreb] (listen)) is the capital and the largest city of Croatia. It is located in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately 122 m (400 ft) above sea level. The estimated population of the city in 2018 was 820,678. The population of the Zagreb urban agglomeration is about 1.2 million, approximately a quarter of the total population of Croatia.

Zagreb is a city with a rich history dating from the Roman times to the present day. The oldest settlement located in the vicinity of the city was the Roman Andautonia, in today's Ščitarjevo. The name "Zagreb" is recorded in 1134, in reference to the foundation of the settlement at Kaptol in 1094. Zagreb became a free royal town in 1242. In 1851 Zagreb had its first mayor, Janko Kamauf.

Zagreb has special status as a Croatian administrative division and is a consolidated city-county (but separated from Zagreb County), and is administratively subdivided into 17 city districts. Most of them are at a low elevation along the river Sava valley, whereas northern and northeastern city districts, such as Podsljeme and Sesvete districts are situated in the foothills of the Medvednica mountain, making the city's geographical image rather diverse. The city extends over 30 kilometres (19 miles) east-west and around 20 kilometres (12 miles) north-south.

The transport connections, concentration of industry, scientific, and research institutions and industrial tradition underlie its leading economic position in Croatia. Zagreb is the seat of the central government, administrative bodies, and almost all government ministries. Almost all of the largest Croatian companies, media, and scientific institutions have their headquarters in the city

Host of the show
On May 25, 2018 it was announced that Severina was the host of the Mystical Song Contest 3.

Severina Kojić (née Vučković, born 21 April 1972), known professionally as Severina, is a Croatian singer-songwriter and actress. In 2006, the Croatian weekly Nacional listed her among the 100 most influential Croats, calling her "the only bona fide Croatian celebrity".

She represented Croatia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, held in Athens, Greece, with the song Moja Štikla, finishing 12th.

She won the award "Zlatna ptica" for the best selling artist of the decade in Croatia. In 2015, she was the most googled person in Croatia and Slovenia.

Severina's style can be described as pop with various folk and cabaret influences. As a child, she took smaller parts in theatre and opera productions in her native Split. During the 1980s, having won numerous awards at local festivals, she launched her professional career at an early age, which ultimately resulted in her moving to Zagreb in 1989 to expand her career further.

In December 2010 Severina met wealthy Serbian businessman Milan Popović at his birthday celebration, where she was hired to perform. They soon began dating, and in August 2011 she announced that she was pregnant with her first child. On 21 February 2012, she gave birth to a boy named Aleksandar in Split. During the period she lived between Belgrade, Vršac and Zagreb. In October 2012, Severina announced that she and Popović have separated and that she has moved back to Zagreb.

At the same time it was announced she had her son baptized in a Catholic church in Rijeka. Several months later the couple reunited until separating for good in August 2013. Since then the couple have been embroiled in custody disputes, with Popović claiming he was not allowed access to see their son, a claim Severina denied. On 22 October 2015 Severina married Serbian footballer Igor Kojić.

In 2003 Severina landed her first theatre role at the Croatian National Theatre in Rijeka (HNK Rijeka) and played the title role in the rock opera Karolina Riječka (English: Caroline of Rijeka). Two years later she produced and acted in the monodrama Čekajući svog čovika (Waiting for my Man) at the Kerempuh theatre in Zagreb. In 2007 she was cast for one of the main roles in HNK Rijeka's musical Gospoda Glembajevi (The Glembays; based upon Miroslav Krleža's 1929 play). Although the decision to cast Severina was met with criticism by some commentators who questioned her acting credentials, the musical premiered in March 2007 with considerable success. Severina also starred in a 2006 Bosnian film Duhovi Sarajeva set in Sarajevo. In 2007 she made a 5-minute cameo appearance playing herself in the Slovenian film Petelinji zajtrk (Rooster's Breakfast), one of the most successful Slovenian films in recent decades.

Returning Artists
Here is the list of the returning artists for the 3rd edition.

Semi Finals
On May 25, 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 🇨🇾 Cyprus, 🇮🇪 Ireland and 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan had to vote.

Semi Final 2
In this semi final 🇭🇷 Croatia, 🇱🇹 Lithuania and 🇬🇧 United Kingdom had to vote.

Grand Final
On June 1, 2018 the supervisor of the contest ESC Thømås revealed the running order of the Grand Final.