Fantasia Contest 23

The Fantasia Contest 23 was the twenty-third edition of the Fantasia Contest. It took place in Evergreen, following Phoebe Bridgers' win in the previous edition with the song "I Know the End".

Fifty countries participated. Decoria returned, while Danskanksova, De Vramdspongeln, Glacea, Levalle and Sirenforest withdrew.

The winner was Kali Mutsa with song "HaYaKo HaYaKo" from Taslana with a total of 420 points, with a margin of 23 points. This was Taslana's first win in the Fantasia Contest and their first automatic qualification. Second place went to Flírskmasto, third place went to Lanovina, fourth place went to Glaiola, fifth place went to Alkyria. Glaiola also gained its first automatic qualification.

Of members of "Big 5", Flírskmasto gained another automatic qualification, finishing 2nd, Vradiazi placed 15th, Evergreen, Dýria and Kingdovania placed in the bottom 3, finishing 24th, pre-last and last respectively.

The 23rd edition of Fantasia Contest marked first appearances of Glaiola and Qasentria, who borh archieved their best results, finishing 4th and 11th respectively.

Format
The competition consisted of three semi-finals and a final. The countries with the highest score in each semi-final qualified to participate in the final, alongside the big five, the countries that were in the top 5 in the previous edition.

Semi-final allocation draw
The five pots were as follows:

Semi-final 1
also voted in this semi final.

Semi-final 2
and also voted in this semi final.

Semi-final 3
and also voted in this semi final.

Incidents
In the semi-final 3, Boninbourg and Ruyjin Republic both received incorrect number of points from Rest of Fantasia. Despite Ruyjin Republic finished in joint 3rd place, and Boninbourg finished 10th during Rest of Fantasia voting, Boninbourg received 7 points, while Ruyjin Republic only received 1. The mistake wasn't recovered, and Ruyjin Republic finished 13th. If the mistake would be recovered, Ruyjin Republic would have been placed 12th, while Moly-Boronia would finish in 13th place.

Other countries
To be eligible to participate in the Fantasia Contest, a country is required to be an active member of the Fantasia Broadcasting Association (FBA). The FBA issued an invitation to all active members of the FBA to participate in the contest.

Active FBA members

 * : On September 25th 2020, Sirenforest announced that they would take a one-edition break from the contest, citing scheduling issues as the main reason. A return in the next edition is planned.