FSC 88

Forum Song Contest #88;
Host	Llandudno, United Kingdom
Date	June 2016
Entries	33
Winner	Germany
Debuting countries	none
Returning countries	Austria; Belgium; Italy; Spain; United States
Withdrawing countries	Bosnia and Herzegovina; Morocco; Philippines
	FSC
	< FSC #87 FSC #89 >

June 2016 saw the 88th edition of Forum Song Contest (FSC). It was held in Llandudno, Wales, after Dua Lipa scored the win for the United Kingdom in the preceding edition.

33 countries participated in this edition, two more than in the previous edition. There was a lot of movement in the participants, though. While Bosnia and Herzegovina - after their one edition return in FSC 87 -, Morocco and the Philippines did not send an entry, Austria, Belgium, Italy, Spain and the United States returned to the FSC stage.

At the end of the voting, Germany emerged as the winner with 122 points, thanks to Alvaro Soler and his song "Sofia". Soler thus joined the group of artists having won FSC more than one time, previously taking the top spot in FSC 76 for Spain. Taiwan took the second place, only one point behind Germany. Russia completed the top three.

The Host City[]

Llandudno is a seaside resort, town and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales, located on the Creuddyn peninsula, which protrudes into the Irish Sea. In the 2011 UK census, the community had a population of 20,701. The town's name is derived from its patron saint, Saint Tudno. Llandudno, "Queen of the Welsh Resorts", a title first applied as early as 1864, is now the largest seaside resort in Wales.

The Venue[]

Venue Cymru is a theatre, conference centre and arena in Llandudno, Conwy county borough, North Wales. Formerly known as the Aberconwy Centre and the North Wales Theatre and Conference Centre, it is now a large arts, conference and events venue. Venue Cymru has a theatre, conference centre, and arena.

After redevelopment, the venue hosts a new 1,550 square metres arena, capable of hosting 1,800 seated, or 2,500 standing people, increasing the overall capacity of the venue to over 5,000 people. The western extension incorporates a cafe, restaurant and a box office, as well as office space.

The Hosts[]

James Fox (born James Richard Mullett, 6 April 1976) is a Welsh pop singer, songwriter, pianist and guitarist. He represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 in Istanbul. In 2008 he wrote and recorded the Cardiff City F.C. FA Cup Final song, "Bluebirds Flying High".

Bonnie Tyler (born Gaynor Hopkins; 8 June 1951) is a Welsh singer, known for her distinctive husky voice. Tyler came to prominence with the release of her 1977 album The World Starts Tonight and its singles "Lost in France" and "More Than a Lover". Her 1978 single "It's a Heartache" reached number four on the UK Singles Chart, and number three on the US Billboard Hot 100.

In the 1980s, Tyler ventured into rock music with songwriter and producer Jim Steinman. He wrote Tyler's biggest hit "Total Eclipse of the Heart'", the lead single from her 1983 UK chart topping album Faster Than the Speed of Night. Steinman also wrote Tyler's other major 1980s hit "Holding Out for a Hero". She had success in mainland Europe during the 1990s with Dieter Bohlen, who wrote and produced her hit "Bitterblue". In 2003, Tyler re-recorded "Total Eclipse of the Heart" with singer Kareen Antonn. Their bilingual duet topped the French charts.

Her latest album Rocks and Honey was released in 2013 and features the single "Believe in Me" which she performed representing the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest 2013. Both "It's a Heartache" and "Total Eclipse of the Heart" are among the best-selling singles of all time, with sales in excess of six million each. Her work has earned her three Grammy Award nominations and three Brit Award nominations, among other accolades.

The Show[]

Nr	Jury	Artist	Song	Rank	Points
01	Taiwan	Diana Wang	Home	2.	121
02	United Kingdom	Busted	Coming Home	17.	47
03	Hungary	Ruzsa Magdolna	Tejut	11.	70
04	Ukraine	Bloom Twins	Amnesia	15.	54
05	Netherlands	Anouk	Run Away Together	4.	85
06	Austria	Leyya	Butter	33.	42*
07	Estonia	Elisa Kolk	Mis ootab ees	23.	39
08	South Africa	Jesse Clegg	Use Me	22.	39
09	Poland	Antek Smykiewicz	Pomimo Burz	26.	26
10	Sweden	Elliphant	Spoon Me (feat. Skrillex)	18.	46
11	Romania	Lora	Ne impotrivim	10.	71
12	Serbia	Pamela Ramljak & Dzenan Loncarevic	Ne Govori Mi To	12.	68
13	Italy	Francesco Gabbani	Amen	5.	84
14	Bulgaria	Deep Zone ft. Vessy Boneva	Leten kadar	29.	19
15	Japan	Superfly	Kuroi Shizuku	16.	49
16	Czech Republic	Pokac	Vymlaceny	20.	43
17	Australia	Bonnie Anderson	The Ones I Love	13.	62
18	Finland	Emma Salokoski	Kielletyja asioita	27.	22
19	Israel	Dudu Aharon	Katzefet im Tut	25.	30
20	Norway	AURORA	Winter Bird	7.	80
21	United States	Explosions in the Sky	Losing the Light	19.	45
22	Belgium	Lea Rue	Sleep	8.	73
23	Germany	Alvaro Soler	Sofia	1.	122
24	Croatia	Lidija Bacic	Prokleto dobro ljubis	24.	31
25	Mexico	Alejandra Guzman	No Puedo Parar	30.	9
26	Turkey	Mahmut Orhan & Sena Sener	Feel	6.	81
27	Latvia	Rassell, E. Grieze & S. Berezina	Ziema	21.	42
28	Denmark	Volbeat	For Evigt (feat. Johan Olsen)	14.	57
29	Spain	Vanesa Martin	Dice la Nostra Novia	32.	50*
30	Indonesia	Dipha Barus & Kallula	No One Can Stop Us	28.	20
31	Brazil	Puzzle	Godlike	9.	73
32	Russia	Sergey Lazarev	Eto vse ona	3.	90
33	Malaysia	Forteen	Dekat Tapi Jauh	31.	8