Mediterraneanvision Song Contest 1

The Mediterraneanvision Song Contest 1 was the first edition of the Mediterraneanvision Song Contest. It took place in Kalamata, Greece. Organised by the Mediterranean Broadcasting Union (MBU) and host broadcaster Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT), the contest was held at the Kalamata Dance Megaron and consisted of a final on 25 January 2018. The show was presented by Sakis Rouvas.

Fifteen countries participated in the contest: Albania, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Kosovo, Lebanon, Malta, Morocco, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Spain, and Syria. Bulgaria was also originally set to participate, but ultimately decided not to participate without clearing any specific reasons.

The winner was host country Greece with the song "An Me Dis Na Kleo" performed by Helena Paparizou featuring Anastasios Rammos. Italy, Portugal, Romania, San Marino and Albania rounded out the top six, although, due to an error in the voting at the contest, Spain was placed sixth and Albania eighth – this was corrected the day after the contest.

Location
The contest was held in Kalamata, Greece, following a proposal made by the contest's creator. Greece was chosen as the host country due to the country playing host to the Mediterranean Broadcasting Union (MBU) headquarters. The selected venue was the 675-seat Kalamata Dance Megaron, which to date remains the smallest venue to host the contest.

Selection of the host city
Kalamata was chosen as the host city following a proposal made by the contest's creator, Aris Odi, to hold the contest in his birth city. The MBU was in favour of hosting the contest in Kalamata, stating that the city's position on the Mediterranean Sea would make a perfect setting for the first edition of the contest. Additionally, the small venue was chosen as opposed to a larger venue in a larger city due to it being uncertain at the time if the contest would be popular. Following the definite popularity of the contest, future host cities have hosted the contest in larger venues.

Visual design
The contest's slogan, "Ride Your Wave!", as well as the official logo and branding were revealed on 29 December 2017.

Presenter(s)
On 1 January 2018, ERT announced that Sakis Rouvas would host the contest.

Running order
Countries performed in alphabetical order. To date, this was the only edition where the running order was determined this way.

Voting
On 10 January 2018, the MBU announced that the following voting system would be used: Each country's professional jury awarded 12, 10, 8–1 points to their 10 favourite songs. International viewers then voted for their songs, and their votes are converted to points by proportional representation. This system was used until the online voting was replaced with a televote in the.

Postcards
The "postcards" are short introduction videos shown on television whilst the stage is being prepared for the next contestant to perform their entry, and are 40 seconds long. The following locations were used for each participating country's postcard:


 * – Kalamata
 * – Mykonos
 * – Acropolis, Athens
 * – Olympia
 * – Acropolis Museum, Athens
 * – Rhodes
 * – Delphi
 * – Thessaloniki
 * – Corfu
 * – Santorini
 * – Nafplio
 * – Meteora
 * – Mount Olympus National Park
 * – Patras
 * – Knossos, Heraklion

Participating countries
On 30 December 2017, the MBU announced that 15 countries would take part in the contest. Bulgaria was also originally set to participate, but Bulgarian broadcaster BNT ultimately decided not to participate without clearing any specific reasons.

12 points
Below is a summary of all 12 points received from each country's professional juries.

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.


 * – BNT was originally set to participate, but ultimately decided not to participate without clearing any specific reasons. Bulgaria didn't make their debut until the.

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


 * 1)  – TBD
 * 2)  – TBD
 * 3)  – TBD
 * 4)  – TBD
 * 5)  – Demy (Greek representative in ; co-presenter of the )
 * 6)  – TBD
 * 7)  – TBD
 * 8)  – TBD
 * 9)  – TBD
 * 10)  – TBD
 * 11)  – TBD
 * 12)  – TBD
 * 13)  – TBD
 * 14)  – TBD
 * 15)  – TBD

Incorrect amount of online voting points
After the voting, it became clear that the total amount of online voting points was different from the total amount of jury points, being 192 points less. The MBU later fixed the issue, resulting in Spain coming 8th instead of 6th, Albania coming 6th instead of 8th, Kosovo coming 12th instead of 11th, and Cyprus coming 11th instead of 12th. The MBU made certain that this issue would never happen again in future editions.

Official album
Mediterraneanvision Song Contest: Kalamata #1 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 15 entries.