Zone Song Contest 9

Zone Song Contest 9, often referred as ZSC 9, is the ninth edition of the Zone Song Contest. This edition is located in Greece as the host country. ERT is the TV station chosen by the Greek delegation to televise and organize such important event of this dimensions for all Europe and the world after their first victory in the eighth edition with the singer Evangelia with the song "Fotiá" with 457 points in a close final vote taking the contest to Athens.

ERT selected on July 6 the hosts of the ninth edition: Dimitra Papadea (Demy) and Katerine Duska. They were chosen to present the three different shows that make up the festival. As well as the events on the Green Room and the well-known "Red Carpet" which, when held in Greece and being summer, it became the "Blue & White Carpet".

The official slogan for the edition was "Thálassa Tragoúdia" which means "Sea Songs" in English. The concept was based on small paper boats with the lyrics of the 42 participating songs sailing from the Greek seas. 42 countries, as Andorra declined to participate in this edition due to the very poor results obtained in the past editions.

Location
Greece is a country located in Southeast Europe. Its population is approximately 10.7 million as of 2018; Athens is its largest and capital city, followed by Thessaloniki. Situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, Greece is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. It shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the northeast. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of the mainland, the Ionian Sea to the west, the Cretan Sea and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean Basin and the 11th longest coastline in the world at 13,676 km (8,498 mi) in length, featuring many islands, of which 227 are inhabited. Eighty percent of Greece is mountainous, with Mount Olympus being the highest peak at 2,918 metres (9,573 ft). The country consists of nine traditional geographic regions: Macedonia, Central Greece, the Peloponnese, Thessaly, Epirus, the Aegean Islands (including the Dodecanese and Cyclades), Thrace, Crete, and the Ionian Islands.

Bidding phase
The head of the public chain ERT declared that many cities declared interest in hosting the show. But only 4 cities advanced as possible candidates to host the events.

These 4 cities are:

Key Host venue