European Song Contest 7

European Song Contest 7 was the seventh edition of the European Song Contest held in Kyiv, Ukraine after KHAYAT's win during the sixth edition held in Luxembourg. A total of 16 countries participated in the contest, without any debuting, nor withdrawing.

Ultimately, Greece won with a new record of 164 points. Greece was represented by Evangelia with her song "Fotiá".

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 majority of votes the Palace of Sports in Kyiv was decided to host the European Song Contest 7. It received 6 (out of 16) votes.

Host City
Kyiv (/ˈkiːjɪv/ KEE-yiv, /ˈkiːv/ KEEV; Ukrainian: Київ, pronounced [ˈkɪjiu̯] (listen)) or Kiev (/ˈkiːɛv/ KEE-ev) is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe.

Kyiv is an important industrial, scientific, educational, and cultural center in Eastern Europe. It is home to many high-tech industries, higher education institutions, and historical landmarks. The city has an extensive system of public transport and infrastructure, including the Kyiv Metro.

The city's name is said to derive from the name of Kyi, one of its four legendary founders. During its history, Kyiv, one of the oldest cities in Eastern Europe, passed through several stages of prominence and obscurity. The city probably existed as a commercial center as early as the 5th century. A Slavic settlement on the great trade route between Scandinavia and Constantinople, Kyiv was a tributary of the Khazars, until its capture by the Varangians (Vikings) in the mid-9th century. Under Varangian rule, the city became a capital of Kievan Rus', the first East Slavic state. Completely destroyed during the Mongol invasions in 1240, the city lost most of its influence for the centuries to come. It was a provincial capital of marginal importance in the outskirts of the territories controlled by its powerful neighbours, first Lithuania, then Poland and ultimately Russia.

The city prospered again during the Russian Empire's Industrial Revolution in the late 19th century. In 1918, after the Ukrainian People's Republic declared independence from Russian Republic, Kyiv became its capital. From 1921 onwards, Kyiv was a city of Soviet Ukraine, which was proclaimed by the Red Army, and, from 1934, Kyiv was its capital. The city suffered significant destruction during World War II but quickly recovered in the postwar years, remaining the Soviet Union's third-largest city.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union and Ukrainian independence in 1991, Kyiv remained Ukraine's capital and experienced a steady influx of ethnic Ukrainian migrants from other regions of the country. During the country's transformation to a market economy and electoral democracy, Kyiv has continued to be Ukraine's largest and wealthiest city. Its armament-dependent industrial output fell after the Soviet collapse, adversely affecting science and technology, but new sectors of the economy such as services and finance facilitated Kyiv's growth in salaries and investment, as well as providing continuous funding for the development of housing and urban infrastructure. Kyiv emerged as the most pro-Western region of Ukraine; parties advocating tighter integration with the European Union dominate during elections.

Presenter
Ruslana Stepanivna Lyzhychko (Ukrainian: Руслана Степанівна Лижичко, Ruslana Lyzhychko; born 24 May 1973), known mononymously as Ruslana, is a World Music Award and Eurovision Song Contest winning recording artist, holding the title of People's Artist of Ukraine. She is also a former MP serving as deputy in the Ukrainian parliament (Verkhovna Rada) for the Our Ukraine Party. Ruslana was the UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in Ukraine in 2004-2005. She is recognized as the most successful Ukrainian female solo artist internationally and was included in the top 10 most influential women of 2013 by the Forbes magazine. The U.S. Secretary of State honored her with the International Women of Courage Award in March, 2014. She has been named an honorary citizen of her hometown Lviv and was nominated to receive the title Hero of Ukraine.

She is a singer, songwriter, producer, musical conductor, multi-instrumentalist, dancer, voice actress and social activist. She writes, composes and produces her own songs and music videos. Since 28 December 1995 she has been married to Oleksandr Ksenofontov, a Ukrainian record producer. Together they have run the company Luxen Studio since 1993, producing radio and film trailers. Ruslana was the first artist from the former Soviet Union to officially receive a platinum disc, her Dyki tantsi album selling more than 170,000 copies in the first 100 days after its release. This album is the best selling Ukrainian album to date, together with its English version, more than 500,000 copies being sold solely in Ukraine.

She won the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Wild Dances" receiving 280 points, which at that time was a record of points. Following her victory, she rose to fame in Europe and became one of the biggest pop stars from the Eastern part of the continent. Her winning song "Wild Dances" dominated the European charts for 97 weeks peaking at number one in Belgium for 10 consecutive weeks. Her Eurovision winning song was included on the official compilation album called The Very Best of Eurovision celebrating the 60th anniversary of the contest.

Her repertoire includes songs performed mainly in Ukrainian and English, but she also recorded cover versions in Spanish and Latin languages.

Participants
The Reggia Broadcasting Union announced the list of 16 participants, with their songs being chosen via an internal choice or by a national selection. No countries debuted and no country has withdrawn, this was a first edition where such a thing occured.

Other countries

 * Flag_of_Czech_Republic.svg Czech Republic - the Czech broadcaster ČT, announced that unfortunately the Czech Republic will not be able to compete in the seventh edition, although it's very likely they would in the eighth one.
 * Flag_of_Armenia.svg Armenia - the Armenian broadcaster ARMTV, announced that Armenia is willing to participate in the contest, when Azerbaijan will withdraw.
 * Flag_of_the_Netherlands.svg The Netherlands - the Dutch broadcaster NPO announced, that the Netherlands are no longer willing to join the Reggia Broadcasting Union.

National Selections

 * Flag_of_Poland.svg Poland - Opole Festival
 * Flag_of_Luxembourg.svg Luxembourg - Luxembourg Decides

Returning Artists
For the first time in history, an artist who already participated was performing again.


 * Flag_of_Croatia.svg Croatia - Lorde (Croatia - European Song Contest 4)

Results
The running order for the Grande Finale was announced shortly before the contest, Ukraine, as the host, got to choose their starting position and decided it would be number 13. The system wasn't changed since the ffith edition.