AwlaVision Song Contest 34

AwlaVision Song Contest 34, often referred to as ASC#34, was the thirty-fourth edition of AwlaVision Song Contest, held in Riga, Latvia. The edition started the 01st October 2018, and ended the 27th October 2018.

43 countries took part in this edition. No one debuted in this edition. Bulgaria withdrew from ASC. Austria and Hungary returned to the competition. Kaylynn from Greece won the contest with the song "The dragging" receiving a total of 301 points, 18 points ahead the runner-up, Denmark. Cyprus finished in third place with 242 points. The host country, Latvia achieved a 9th place with 110 points. The last place was for Estonia, that got 9 points.

Organisation
After Latvia's victory in AwlaVision Song Contest 33, LTV and ABU had to decide where to organise the contest this time. LTV organised a public competition for choosing the host city between all applicant cities. Several cities presented their applications and the organisation had to decide which one was the best. Finally, LTV and ABU chose Riga as the host city of ASC34.

LTV decided to use popular and professionals people as presenters. Finally Aminata Savadogo and Justs Sirmais were selected.

Arena Riga
The Arena Riga (Latvian: Arēna Rīga) is an indoor arena in Riga, Latvia. It is primarily used for ice hockey, basketball and concerts. Arena Riga holds a maximum of 14,500 and was completed in 2006. It was built to be used as one of the venues for the 2006 IIHF World Championship, the other being Skonto Arena.

It has been home to the Kontinental Hockey League club Dinamo Riga since 2008. During the years the Arena has also hosted many well-known artists from all over the world. The arena hosted the 'D' group of Eurobasket 2015.

The Arena Riga capacity was of 13,500 people, but there was an increase of a thousand seats in September 2018 for the AwlaVision Song Contest that took place in Riga in that year. The area also includes a VIP zone for a dozen of people and some offices, restaurants and media-centre inside the Arena.

Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 637,827 inhabitants (2018), it is also the largest city in the three Baltic states, home to one third of Latvia's population and one tenth of the three Baltic states' combined population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga, at the mouth of the Daugava. Riga was founded in 1201 and is a former Hanseatic League member. Riga's historical centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, noted for its Art Nouveau/Jugendstil architecture and 19th century wooden architecture.

In 2004, the arrival of low-cost airlines resulted in cheaper flights from other European cities such as London and Berlin and consequently a substantial increase in numbers of tourists. In November 2013, the roof of a supermarket collapsed, possibly as a result of the weight of materials used in the construction of a garden on the roof. At least 54 people were killed. The Latvian President Andris Berzins described the disaster as "a large scale murder of many defenceless people". Riga was the European Capital of Culture in 2014. During the Latvia's Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2015 the 4th Eastern Partnership Summit took place in Riga.

The climate of Riga is humid continental (Köppen Dfb). The coldest months are January and February, when the average temperature is −5 °C (23 °F) but temperatures as low as −20 to −25 °C (−4 to −13 °F) can be observed almost every year on the coldest days. The proximity of the sea causes frequent autumn rains and fogs. Continuous snow cover may last eighty days. The summers in Riga are mild and rainy with the average temperature of 18 °C (64 °F), while the temperature on the hottest days can exceed 30 °C (86 °F).

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

Participants
43 countries took part in the edition.

Withdrawing countries
Bellow a list of all withdrawing countries:

Returning countries
Bellow a list of all returning countries:

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

Second Semifinal
Jury
 * (Finalist)
 * (Finalist)
 * (Finalist)