AwlaVision Song Contest 9

AwlaVision Song Contest 9, often referred to as ASC#9, was the ninth edition of AwlaVision Song Contest, held in Antwerp, Belgium. The edition started the 6th August 2016, and ended the 26th August 2016.

30 countries took part in this edition. Israel debuted in this edition. No one withdraw from ASC. Ireland and Moldova returned to the competition. Diogo Piçarra from Portugal won the contest with the song "Dialeto" receiving a total of 199 points, 27 points ahead the runner-up, Greece. Scotland finished in third place with 161 points. The host country, Belgium achieved a 15th place with 41 points. The last place was for Russia, that got only 12 points.

Organisation
After Belgium's victory in AwlaVision Song Contest 8, VRT, RTBF and ABU had to decide where to organise the contest this time. The main projects were from Antwerps (Sportpaleis), Brusells (Forest National), Hasselt (Ethias Arena) and Liège (Country Hall Ethias). Finally, VRT, RTBF and ABU chose Antwerp as the host city of ASC9.

VRT and RTBF decided to use popular and professionals people as presenters. Finally Natalia Druyts and Roberto Bellarosa were selected.

Antwerps Sportpaleis
The  Antwerps Sportpaleis is an arena in Antwerp, Belgium. It is a multipurpose hall where concerts, sporting events, festivals and fairs are organized. The arena was built for sport, especially track cycling, but there is now little sport there, an exception being the Diamond Games tennis. It is the largest indoor venue in Europe. According to Billboard Magazine, the Sportpaleis is the second most visited event hall in the world, second only to Madison Square Garden. The Sportpaleis is known for performances by both Dutch-speaking and international artists. It also hosts the Nekka-Nacht, the Proximus Diamond Games tennis tournament for women and Pop Poll De Luxe, organised by the magazine HUMO.

The main building is 88 metres wide and 132 metres long and has a roof spanning 11.600 m². Under the stands, there is a wooden cycling track 250 meters long and 8 meters wide. The arena is elliptical and has two floors. Next to the Sportpaleis is its sister venue the Lotto Arena, a hall that can accommodate 8,000 spectators.

Building started on 11 January 1932. It lasted 21 months: on 11 September 1933, the building was completed, the largest indoor arena in Europe. The Sportpaleis was built by the Apostel-Mampaey family from Boom. They were internationally renowned velodrome builders from 1907 up until the Second World War. The velodrome builders of Boom were very much in demand. They built tracks in Gentbrugge (1911), Wilrijk ‘Garden City’ (1916), Nice and Marseille (1920), Ostend (1921-1946), Brussel-Heizel (1932) and Oudenaarde (1933). The famous ‘Kuipke’ in Ghent (1922) and the even more famous Sportpaleis in Deurne (1933). In 2008 a book "De velodroombouwers Apostel-Mampaey" was published.

Antwerp
Antwerp is a city in Belgium and the capital of Antwerp province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504, it is the most populous city proper in Belgium, and with a metropolitan population of around 1,200,000 people, it is the second-largest metropolitan region after Brussels. Antwerp is on the River Scheldt, linked to the North Sea by the river's Westerschelde estuary. It is about 40 kilometres north of Brussels, and about 15 kilometres south of the Dutch border. The Port of Antwerp is one of the biggest in the world, ranking second in Europe and within the top 20 globally. The city is also known for its diamond industry and trade. In 2020, the Globalization and World Cities Research Network rated Antwerp as a Gamma + level Global City.

Both economically and culturally, Antwerp is and has long been an important city in the Low Countries, especially before and during the Spanish Fury (1576) and throughout and after the subsequent Dutch Revolt. The Bourse of Antwerp, originally built in 1531 and re-built in 1872, was the world's first purpose-built commodity exchange. It was founded before stocks and shares existed, so was not strictly a stock exchange.

Antwerp has an oceanic climate similar to that of Southern England, while being far enough inland to build up summer warmth above 23 °C average highs for both July and August. Winters are more dominated by the maritime currents instead, with temps being heavily moderated.

This is the first time in the contest that AwlaVision Song Contest is held in Belgium.

Participants
30 countries took part in the edition.

Debuting countries
Bellow a list of all debuting countries:

Returning countries
Bellow a list of all returning countries: