Mystical Song Contest 11

The Mystical Song Contest #11 (also known as MSC 11) was the eleventh edition of the Mystical Song Contest. It took place in Pyongyang, 🇰🇵 North Korea after Momoland won in Valletta, 🇲🇹 Malta.

It was confirmed that 50 countries participated in the 11th edition. 🇵🇭 The Philippines, 🇿🇦 South Africa and Vietnam debuted. 🇮🇳 India and 🇯🇲 Jamaica returned while 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan, 🇮🇸 Iceland, 🇱🇮 Liechtenstein, 🇱🇹 Lithuania and 🇸🇲 San Marino withdrew.

The top 6 of last edition 🇰🇵 North Korea, 🇲🇽 Mexico, 🇬🇷 Greece, 🇨🇦 Canada, 🇷🇴 Romania and 🇨🇿 Czech Republic 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.

Pyongyang
Pyongyang, P'yŏngyang or Pyeongyang ( US: /ˌpjɒŋˈjæŋ/, UK: /ˌpjʌŋˈjɑːŋ/, Korean: [pʰjʌŋ.jaŋ]), is the capital and largest city of North Korea. Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about 109 kilometres (68 mi) upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 population census, it has a population of 3,255,288. Pyongyang is a directly-administered city (직할시; 直轄市; 'chikhalsi') with equal status to North Korean provinces.

Pyongyang is considered one of the oldest cities in Korea. It was the capital of two ancient Korean kingdoms, including Gojoseon and Goguryeo, and served as the secondary capital of Goryeo. Much of the city was destroyed during the First Sino-Japanese War, but it was revived under Japanese rule and became an industrial center. Following the establishment of North Korea in 1948, Pyongyang became its de facto capital. The city was again devastated during the Korean War, but was quickly rebuilt after the war with Soviet assistance.

Pyongyang is the political, industrial and transport center of North Korea. It is home to North Korea's major government institutions, as well as the ruling Workers' Party of Korea.

The city's other historic names include Kisong, Hwangsong, Rakrang, Sŏgyong, Sodo, Hogyong, Changan,and Heijō (during Japanese rule in Korea). There are several variants. During the early 20th century, Pyongyang came to be known among missionaries as being the Jerusalem of the East, due to its historical status as a stronghold of Christianity, namely Protestantism, especially during the Pyongyang revival of 1907.

After Kim Il-sung's death in 1994, some members of Kim Jong-il's faction proposed changing the name of Pyongyang to Kim Il-sung City (Korean: 김일성시; Hanja: 金日成市), but others suggested that North Korea should begin calling Seoul Kim Il-sung City instead and grant Pyongyang the moniker Kim Jong-il City, and in the end neither proposal was implemented.

The Russian transliteration Пхёнья́н was adapted into Polish and Romanian as Phenian, among other variants in the former Eastern bloc, including Hungarian Phenjan, Georgian Pkheniani. In Poland the hyperforeignist pronunciation /ˈfɛɲ.jan/ is more common than the original /ˈpxɛɲ.jan/.

Host of the show
On November 9, 2018 it was announced that Kim Jong Un was the host of Mystical Song Contest 11.

Kim Jong-un (officially transcribed Kim Jong Un; Korean: 김정은; Korean pronunciation: [kim.dzɔŋ.ɯn]; born 8 January 1983 or 1984) is a North Korean politician who has been the supreme leader of North Korea since 2011 and chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea since 2012. He is the second child of Kim Jong-il (1941–2011), who was North Korea's second leader from 1994 to 2011, and Ko Yong-hui (1952–2004). He is the grandson of Kim Il-sung, who was the founder and led North Korea from its establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994.

From late 2010, Kim Jong-un was viewed as heir apparent to the leadership of North Korea, and following the elder Kim's death, North Korean state television announced him as the Great Successor. Kim holds the titles of Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea (as First Secretary between 2012 and 2016), Chairman of the Central Military Commission, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission, commander-in-chief (as SAC chairman), and member of the Presidium of the Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea, the highest decision-making body in North Korea. Kim was promoted to the rank of Marshal of North Korea in the Korean People's Army on 18 July 2012, consolidating his position as the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. North Korean state media often refers to him as Marshal Kim Jong-un, the Marshal or Dear Respected.

Kim rules a dictatorship where elections are not free and fair, government critics are persecuted, media is controlled by the regime, internet access is limited by the regime, and there is no freedom of religion. His regime operates an extensive network of prisons and labor camps; the regime convicts people for political crimes and uses collective punishment whereby members of a family get punished for the crimes of one person. According to the United Nations, North Koreans live under systematic, widespread and gross human rights violations where the regime seeks to dominate every aspect of its citizens’ lives and terrorizes them from within. The regime exerts extensive control over the North Korean economy, with substantial state-controlled economic enterprises and significant restrictions on North Koreans' ability to engage in foreign economic activity. On 12 December 2013, Kim ordered the execution of his uncle Jang Song-thaek for treachery. Kim is widely believed to have ordered the assassination of his half-brother, Kim Jong-nam, in Malaysia in February 2017. On 12 June 2018, Kim and US President Donald Trump met for a summit in Singapore, the first-ever talks held between a North Korean leader and a sitting US President, to discuss the North Korean nuclear program.

Debuting/Withdrawing
On November 9, 2018 it was announced that 5 countries won't participate in the 11th edition.


 * 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan : ITV states that Azerbaijan won't participate without any more information. The last participation of the country was in the 10th edition.
 * 🇮🇸 Iceland : The Icelandic Broadcaster, RUV said that Iceland won't take part in the contest anymore until they decide to return. The last participation of the country was in the 10th edition.
 * 🇱🇮 Liechtenstein : The Broadcaster said that Liehctenstein wasn't interested by the contest anymore. The last participation of the country was in the 10th edition.
 * 🇱🇹 Lithuania : LRT stated that Lithuania will withdraw for one edition to solve the financial problems of the broadcaster. The last participation of the country was in the 10th edition.
 * 🇸🇲 San Marino : The Broadcaster said that San Marino wasn't interested by the contest anymore. The last participation of the country was in the 10th edition.

It was also announced that 3 countries will debut in the 11th edition.


 * 🇵🇭 The Philippines : North Korea invited Philippines to join the contest as a guest country.
 * 🇿🇦 South Africa : North Korea invited South Africa to join the contest as a guest country.
 * Vietnam : Vietnam gained the full MBU membership and debuted in the contest.

Returning Artists
Here is the list of the returning artists for the 11th edition.

Semi Finals
On November 9, 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 🇲🇽 Mexico, 🇨🇦 Canada and 🇨🇿 Czech Republic had to vote.

Semi Final 2
In this semi final 🇰🇵 North Korea, 🇬🇷 Greece and 🇷🇴 Romania have to vote.

Grand Final
On November 16, 2018 the supervisor of the contest ESC Thømås revealed the running order of the grand final.