European Song Contest 2

European Song Contest 2 was the second edition of the European Song Contest. The contest took place in Zagreb, Croatia, after the win of La Lana during the first edition in Ljubljana. A total of 10 countries participated in the second edition.

Ultimately, the competition was won by Slovenia with 106 points. Later on, the country's broadcaster announced that Slovenia would host the contest for the second time during the third edition. Bulgaria and Ukraine also placed on the podium respectively.

Bidding phase
In order to compete in the bidding selection, the city would have to fulfill following criteria:
 * The host city had to be near a major airport.
 * The venue must be available for at least six weeks before the contest and one week after the conclusion of the contest
 * The venue must not be open-air, but an air-conditioned building with a capacity of at least 10,000 and a minimum ceiling height of 15 metres (49 ft), insulated for sound and light.
 * The green room must be located as close to the arena as possible (or within it), with a capacity of 300.

With the total of 5 votes (out of 10) the Zagreb Arena was decided to host the second edition of European Song Contest.

Host City
Zagreb (/ˈzɑːɡrɛb, ˈzæɡrɛb, zɑːˈɡrɛb/ ZAH-greb, ZAG-reb, zah-GREB, Croatian: [zǎːɡreb] (listen)) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slovenia at an elevation of approximately 122 m (400 ft) above sea level. In 2021 the city had a population of 769,944. The population of the Zagreb urban agglomeration is 1,071,150, approximately a quarter of the total population of Croatia.

Zagreb is a city with a rich history dating from Roman times. The oldest settlement in the vicinity of the city was the Roman Andautonia, in today's Ščitarjevo. The historical record of the name "Zagreb" dates from 1134, in reference to the foundation of the settlement at Kaptol in 1094. Zagreb became a free royal city in 1242. In 1851 Janko Kamauf became Zagreb's first mayor.

Presenter
Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor (born 7 November 1996), known professionally as Lorde (/lɔːrd/ LORD), is a New Zealand singer-songwriter. Taking inspiration from aristocracy for her stage name, she is known for her unconventional musical styles and introspective songwriting. Her music is primarily electropop with elements of dream pop and indie-electro.

Lorde expressed interest in performing at local venues in her early teens. She signed with Universal Music Group (UMG) in 2009 and collaborated with producer Joel Little in 2011 to start recording music. Their first effort, an extended play (EP) titled The Love Club, was self-released in 2012 for free download on SoundCloud before UMG's commercial release in 2013. The EP's international chart-topping single "Royals" helped raise Lorde to prominence. Her debut studio album Pure Heroine was released that same year to critical and commercial success. The following year, Lorde curated the soundtrack for the 2014 film The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 and recorded several tracks, including the single "Yellow Flicker Beat".

Participants
On January 14, 2023, the RBU announced the list of 10 participants, with their songs being chosen later on in the competition. The first ever national final occured during this competition, whereas Poland decided to host the Opole Festival, which would later be a selection to the European Song Contest #2. The running order of the competition was announced on September 21, 2023. The host country Croatia, got to choose their running order position and went for number 8.

Other countries

 * Flag_of_Switzerland.svg Switzerland - the Swiss broadcaster SRF announced, that Switzerland would take part in the competition on December 1, 2022, althoutgh due to the bad perception of the contest on the West, the broadcaster decided to resign.
 * Flag_of_Slovakia.svg Slovakia - the Slovak broadcaster RTVS stated on December 14, 2022, that Slovakia considered participation in the European Song Contest, although resigned due to the lack of sponsors.

Debuting countries

 * Flag_of_Bulgaria.svg Bulgaria - the Bulgarian broadcaster BNT stated, that Bulgaria would take part in the second edition on November 1, 2022.
 * Flag_of_Germany.svg Germany - the German broadcaster ZDF stated, that Germany would take part in the competition on December 13, 2022.
 * Flag_of_Poland.svg Poland - the Polish broadcaster announced on January 3, 2022, that the annual Opole Festival would be also a way of a national selection for Poland to compete in the European Song Contest.