FSC 122

Forum Song Contest #122
Host	Istanbul, Turkey
Date	April 2019
Entries	34
Winner	Sweden
Debuting countries	None
Returning countries	Denmark; Ireland
Withdrawing countries	Belgium; Mexico; Morocco
	FSC
	< FSC #121 FSC #123 >

We are being hosted in Turkey for the third time, and the second time in Istanbul, following the Turkish victory in FSC 121, with Faruk Sabanci and MARUV performing "For you".

We have three withdrawing countries this edition: Belgium, Mexico and Morocco. The return of Denmark and Ireland (after a long hiatus) to the contest brings the number of participants to 34, a slight decrease from recent months.

After the results were revealed, Sweden emerged as the champion, followed by returnee Ireland in second place, with Italy taking third.

The Host City[]

The host city for this FSC #122-edition is Istanbul, Turkey, formerly known as Byzantium and Constantinople. It is the most populous city in Turkey & the country's economic, cultural and historic center. Istanbul is a transcontinental city in Eurasia, straddling the Bosporus strait between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea. Its commercial and historical city center lies on the European side.

Istanbul has an active nightlife & historic taverns, a signature characteristic of the city for centuries, if not millennia. It also has many universities, Istanbul University (from 1453) being the oldest. The public transportation system is a big intricate network of metros/buses/trams/funiculars/ferries. The city has 2 international airports, the largest is Istanbul Atatürk that handles ca 62 million passengers yearly.

Istanbul has been the most popular location to film Turkish dramas & comedies. It also hosts many festivals (incl. Istanbul International Music Festival, Istanbul Biennial [a contemporary art exhibition] and Istanbul International Jazz Festival). It is also a city of sports, with 3 famous football-teams , Beşiktaş, Galatasaray & Fenerbahçe & 7 basketball teams. Istanbul has many stadiums and sports-venues.

The Venue[]

The host venue for FSC #122 April 2019 is the Vodafone Arena ( also called Vodafone Park ), an all-seater, multi-purpose stadium in the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul, Turkey. It is the home ground of the sportsclub Beşiktaş JK. The stadium was built on the site of Beşiktaş's former home BJK İnönü Stadium. It has a capacity of approximately 41.000 spectators. It houses 144 executive suites, and also 1 "1903 Lounge" which can entertain up to 1.903 spectators in total . The "1903 stand" has capacity of 636 spectators. VIP seats in the stadium are equipped with the FUNTORO Stadium & Arena solution - high definition interactive monitors which provide a live TV broadcast, advertising systems, player information etc. The new stadium also has 2.123 m2 of restaurants, 2.520 square m of terrace restaurants and a VIP parking capacity for 600 vehicles. The ground is a so-called 'smart stadium', where fans enjoy StadiumVision & high-speed WiFi technology. Music Concerts with famous popstars have been held on this arena since its opening in 2016 & they are very proud to host this edition of the FSC.

The Hosts[]

Our lovely hosts this evening are Beren Saat, Kerem Bürsin and Meryem Uzerli.

Beren Saat (born 1984) is a Turkish actress. Since the beginning of her career, she has received critical acclaim and numerous accolades for her acting. While studying at Başkent University she participated in the acting competition Türkiye'nin Yıldızları, and was discovered by Turkish director Tomris Giritlioğlu, launching her professional acting career. Saat made her acting debut with a minor part in the television series Aşkımızda Ölüm Var (2004). She was then prepared by Tomris Giritlioğlu for her first major role in Aşka Sürgün (2005–2006). She was the highest-paid Turkish actress 2008 to 2014.

Kerem Bürsin (born 1987) is a Turkish actor and model, best known for TV shows, Güneşi Beklerken (2013−2014) & Şeref Meselesi (2014−2015). Bürsin has lived in numerous countries, including Scotland, Indonesia, the UAE, Turkey, Malaysia and the US. Bürsin became known with his role as "Kerem Sayer" on Kanal D's Güneşi Beklerken, and portrayed the deformed twin of the character named "Güneş Sayer" on final episode of the series. In Çağan Irmak's movie Unutursam Fısılda he played the role of a musician named Erhan. He has received acclaim, and won the Seoul International Best Actor award.

Meryem Uzerli (born 1983) is a Turkish-German actress and model. She was born & raised in Kassel. She made her acting debut with minor parts in German productions. She is also known for her roles in German films. At end of 2010, she was chosen by Meral Okay for her first leading role by playing Hürrem Sultan in the Turkish TVseries Muhteşem Yüzyıl (2011–2013), for which she received critical acclaim & won numerous awards. In addition to her acting career, she has appeared in many advertising films and fronts many brands. In 2012 she was chosen as the Woman of the Year by GQ Turkey.

The Show[]

Nr.	Jury	Artist	Song	Rank	Points
01.	Estonia	Anna Kaneelina	Lilledes	24.	35
02.	Switzerland	Bastian Baker	All around us	26.	32
03.	Cyprus	Loucas Yiorkas	Ypokrinesai	21.	47
04.	Lithuania	Saulius Prūsaitis ir Iglė	Tu nemoki	27.	31
05.	Italy	Loredana Bertè	Maledetto Luna-Park	03.	107
06.	Canada	bülow	Two punks in love	17.	57
07.	Brazil	IZA	Dona de Mim	28.	28
08.	Hungary	Lotfi Begi x Irie Maffia	Friends	23.	42
09.	Netherlands	Kovacs	Black Spider	11.	71
10.	Denmark	Tina Dickow	Fancy	25.	34
11.	Latvia	Neon Saturdays	Get up	08.	78
12.	South Africa	Ard Matthews	Justify it	06.	82
13.	Czech Republic	Lenny	Enemy	20.	49
14.	Azerbaijan	Chingiz Mustafayev	Tenha gezen	14.	67
15.	Austria	WURST	Hit me	09.	78
16.	Portugal	Diogo Piçarra	O meu país	29.	25
17.	United States	Normani	Waves	16.	58
18.	Australia	Marét	Perfectly imperfect	34.	16
19.	Germany	Anica Russo	Get this done (5-4-3-2-1)	32.	18
20.	France	Amaury Vassili	Ce soir	13.	68
21.	Ukraine	Odyn v Kanoe	U Mene Nemaye Domu	05.	93
22.	Turkey	Ece Seçkin	Dibine Dibine	15.	62
23.	Philippines	December Avenue feat. Moira Dela Torre	Kung 'Di Rin Lang Ikaw	30.	21
24.	Sweden	Smith & Thell feat. Swedish Jam Factory	Forgive me friend	01.	139
25.	Bulgaria	Emilia	Zavinagi	10.	74
26.	Croatia	Sasa Matic & Aleksandra Prijovic	Ko si ti	07.	80
27.	Israel	Static, Ben El feat. Eden and Stephane	Yassou	18.	54
28.	Greece	Violeta Ntagkalou	Gia mia agapi zoume	22.	44
29.	Spain	Baiuca	Solpor	31.	18
30.	United Kingdom	Jonas Blue feat. Chelcee Grimes, TINI, Jhay Cortez	Wild	04.	95
31.	Romania	Madalina Paval	Tot de Dor	12.	70
32.	Malaysia	Stacy	Raja	33.	17
33.	Ireland	Dermot Kennedy	Power over me	02.	131
34.	Norway	Gåte	Fanitullen	19.	51