Mediterraneanvision Song Contest 9

The Mediterraneanvision Song Contest 9 was the ninth edition of the Mediterraneanvision Song Contest. It took place in Beirut, Lebanon, following the country's victory at the eighth edition with the song "Almost Lover" by Shirin. Organised by the Mediterranean Broadcasting Union (MBU) and host broadcaster Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International (LBCI), the contest was held at the Indoor Olympic Stadium and consisted of two semi-finals on 28 and 30 April 2020, and the final on 20 July 2020. The three live shows were presented by Nelly Makdessy, Maya Diab and Wissam Sabbagh.

Thirty-three countries participated in the contest. Algeria, Bulgaria, Egypt, Spain and Tunisia returned after a one-edition absence and Jordan, North Macedonia and Syria after a two-edition absence. Andorra and Croatia withdrew.

The winner was Syria with the song "Human Nature", performed by ALITA. This was Syria's first victory in the contest. Algeria placed second and Libya placed third, meaning the entire top three was made up of Arab countries. Israel, San Marino and Portugal rounded out the top six and along with the top three, they would go on to become members of the "Big 6" in the next edition.

Location
The ninth edition was held in Beirut, Lebanon, following the country's victory at the eighth edition with the song "Almost Lover", performed by Shirin. The selected venue was the Indoor Olympic Stadium.

Preparations for the ninth edition began on 1 January 2020, immediately after Lebanon won the eighth edition in Thessaloniki, Greece. The Mediterranean Broadcasting Union (MBU) handed LBCI, the Lebanese participating broadcaster, a stack of documents and a USB drive with tools to begin the work needed to host the next edition.

Bidding phase
On 3 January 2020, a bidding phase began. Interested cities included Beirut and Ghazir, which put forward their bids the following day. Tripoli also showed interest in hosting the contest, however, they never officially put forward a bid. On 24 January 2018, the MBU and LBCI announced that Beirut had been selected as the host city, overcoming the bid from Ghazir. Below are the 2 cities and their bids:

Key: Host venue Shortlisted venues

Visual design
The contest's slogan, "Be Passionate", as well as the official logo and branding were revealed on 24 January 2020.

Presenter(s)
On 26 January, LBCI announced that singers Nelly Makdessy and Maya Diab and actor Wissam Sabbagh would host the three live shows.

Participating countries


0n 10 January 2020, the MBU announced that 36 countries would take part in the contest. Algeria, Bulgaria, Egypt, Spain and Tunisia would return after a one-edition absence and Jordan, North Macedonia and Syria after a two-edition absence. Andorra and Croatia withdrew.

Semi-final 1
The first semi-final took place on 28 April 2020. Fifteen countries participated in the first semi-final. Those countries plus Greece, Iraq and Malta voted in this semi-final.

Semi-final 2
The second semi-final took place on 28 April 2020. Fifteen countries participated in the first semi-final. Those countries plus Lebanon, Libya and Monaco voted in this semi-final.

Final
The final took place on 20 July 2020. Twenty-six countries participated in the final, with all thirty-six participating countries eligible to vote.

Other countries
Eligibility for potential participation in the Mediterraneanvision Song Contest requires a national broadcaster with active MBU membership that would be able to broadcast the contest. The MBU issued an invitation to participate in the contest to all active members.

Active MBU members

 * – RTVA gave no reasons as to why they withdrew.


 * – Despite initially confirming their participation, HRT confirmed their withdrawal on 25 January 2020 without citing any reasons.

Non-MBU members

 * – On 28 December 2019, the MBU announced plans to admit Palestinian broadcaster PBC as a full member starting from the 10th edition, thus not allowing Palestine to be able to debut in the 9th edition. PBC's membership application faced heavy criticism from Israel, having refused to accept their application. A final vote regarding their membership was held during the 9th edition where it was decided that Palestine would become an effective MBU member starting from the 10th edition.

Spokespersons
The spokespersons announced the 12-point score from their respective country's national jury in the following order:


 * 1)  – Katerine Duska (Presenter of the 8th edition)
 * 2)  – Ilma Karahmet (Bosnian representative in #10)
 * 3)  – Filomena Cautela
 * 4)  – Reni Tolvai
 * 5)  – Sandro
 * 6)  – Raiven
 * 7)  – Nadia Ali (Libyan representative in #4 with Sultan & Shepard & IRO)
 * 8)  – Lindsey Kevitch
 * 9)  – Louane (Monégasque representative in #10)
 * 10)  – Blas Cantó
 * 11)  – wrs
 * 12)  – Arilena Ara
 * 13)  – Faouzia (Maltese representative in #10)
 * 14)  – Tom Leeb
 * 15)  – Funda Arar
 * 16)  – Benny the Arabian Oryx
 * 17)  – Slavko Kalezić
 * 18)  – Gemma Collins
 * 19)  – Kaliopi
 * 20)  – Victoria Georgieva
 * 21)  – Yael Grobglas
 * 22)  – Kida (Kosovar representative in #2 and #4)
 * 23)  – Diana Rotaru
 * 24)  – Dr. Jean (Gibraltarian representative in #7)
 * 25)  – Elodie
 * 26)  – Nathalie Saba (Egyptian representative in #6 and #7)
 * 27)  – Miljana Kulić
 * 28)  – Marco Mengoni
 * 29)  – Stefanie Heinzmann (Swiss representative in #7)
 * 30)  – Nathan Trent
 * 31)  – Lolo Zouaï (Monégasque representative in #7)
 * 32)  – Enji Maaroufi (Would have been the Tunisian representative in #9)
 * 33)  – Liv Young
 * 34)  – Helly Luv (Iraqi representative in #8)
 * 35)  – Ella Eyre
 * 36)  – Haifa Wehbe (Would have been the Lebanese representative in #7)

Official album
Mediterraneanvision Song Contest: Beirut #9 is the official compilation album of the contest, put together by the Mediterranean Broadcasting Union and released on 1 November 2020. The album features all 36 entries including the semi-finalists that failed to qualify for the final.