AwlaVision Song Contest 45

AwlaVision Song Contest 45, often referred to as ASC#45, was the forty-fifth edition of AwlaVision Song Contest, held in Košice, Slovakia. The edition started the 03rd December 2019, and ended the 21st December 2019.

44 countries took part in this edition. No one debuted in this edition. Cyprus withdrew from ASC. No one returned to the competition. Solence from Sweden won the contest with the song "Heaven" receiving a total of 354 points, 152 points ahead the runner-up, South Africa. Netherlands finished in third place with 186 points. The host country, Slovakia achieved a 13th place with 76 points. The last place was for Spain, that got 15 points.

Organisation
After Slovakia's victory in AwlaVision Song Contest 44, RTVS and ABU had to decide where to organise the contest this time. RTVS organised a public competition for choosing the host city between all applicant cities. Some cities presented their applications and the organisation had to decide which one was the best. Finally, RTVS and ABU chose Košice as the host city of ASC45.

RTVS decided to use popular and professionals people as presenters. Finally just Kristína Peláková and Martin Rausch were selected.

Steel Aréna
The Steel Aréna is the home arena of the ice hockey club HC Košice. Its capacity is 8,300. The arena opened on February 24, 2006, and was named in honor of the general sponsor of the club, U. S. Steel Košice (a member of the United States Steel Corporation) and also in honor of Ladislav Troják, a Košice-born hockey player who was the first Slovak to win the World Championship with the Czechoslovakian national team.

Since its opening in 2006, the arena, the biggest indoor facility of Slovakia, has hosted several events for important worldwide artists, especially singers. The first one in October 2006 was the English band Deep Purple, and from that moment onwards, singers like Andrea Bocelli, Enrique Iglesias, Lenny Kravitz or Eros Ramazzotti between others have made concerts in Steel Aréna.

Košice
Košice is the largest city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary. With a population of approximately 240,000, Košice is the second largest city in Slovakia, after the capital Bratislava. Being the economic and cultural centre of eastern Slovakia, Košice is the seat of the Košice Region and Košice Self-governing Region, the Slovak Constitutional Court, three universities, various dioceses, and many museums, galleries, and theatres. In 2013 Košice was the European Capital of Culture, together with Marseille, France. Košice is an important industrial centre of Slovakia, and the U.S. Steel Košice steel mill is the largest employer in the city. The town has extensive railway connections and an international airport.

The city has a well-preserved historical centre, which is the largest among Slovak towns. There are many heritage protected buildings in Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and Art Nouveau styles with Slovakia's largest church: the St. Elisabeth Cathedral. The long main street, rimmed with aristocratic palaces, Catholic churches, and townsfolk's houses, is a thriving pedestrian zone with many boutiques, cafés, and restaurants. The city is well known as the first settlement in Europe to be granted its own coat-of-arms.

Košice has a humid continental climate, as the city lies in the north temperate zone. The city has four distinct seasons. Precipitation varies little throughout the year with abundance precipitation that falls during summer and only few during winter. The coldest month is January, with an average temperature of −2.6 °C, and the hottest month is July, with an average temperature of 19.3 °C.

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

Participants
44 countries took part in the edition.

Withdrawing countries
Bellow a list of all withdrawing countries:

First Semifinal
Jury
 * (Host)
 * (Finalist)
 * (Finalist)

Second Semifinal
Jury
 * (Finalist)
 * (Finalist)
 * (Observer Member)