Fortuna Music Contest 12

Fortuna Music Contest 12, often referred to as FMC #12, was the twelfth edition of the Fortuna Music Contest. The contest took place in Tel Aviv, Israel. It was the first time that Israel had hosted the contest, following the country's victory in the eleventh edition with the song "S'il vous plait" by Nunu & Tox1c. Organised by the host broadcaster Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation, the contest was held at the Expo Tel Aviv, and consisted of the final and a qualification round, which was hosted by Michael Aloni.

Twenty-five countries participated in the twelfth edition. Angola and Azerbaijan debuted, while Ukraine returned to the contest. Morocco, New Zealand and Philippines had to withdraw. The winner of the edition was Kazakhstan with the song "Kolenkemen bi" performed by Periishte, which scored 166 points, 48 points over the runner-up, Japan. The top five also included Denmark, Ukraine and Germany. The host nation Israel finished nineteenth.

Location
For more details on the host country, see Israel.

Host City
Tel Aviv-Yafo, often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a population of 460,613, it is the economic and technological center of the country. If East Jerusalem is considered part of Israel, Tel Aviv is the country's second most populous city after Jerusalem; if not, Tel Aviv is the most populous city ahead of West Jerusalem. Tel Aviv is governed by the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality, headed by Mayor Ron Huldai, and is home to many foreign embassies.

The city was founded in 1909 by the Yishuv (Jewish residents) as a modern housing estate on the outskirts of the ancient port city of Jaffa (Yafo in Hebrew), then part of the Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem within the Ottoman Empire. It was at first called Ahuzat Bayit (lit. "House Estate" or "Homestead"), the name of the association which established the neighbourhood. Its name was changed the following year to Tel Aviv, after the biblical name Tel Abib (lit. "Tell of Spring") adopted by Nahum Sokolow as the title for his Hebrew translation of Theodor Herzl's 1902 novel Altneuland ("Old New Land"). Other Jewish suburbs of Jaffa had been established before Tel Aviv, the oldest among them being Neve Tzedek. Tel Aviv was given township status within the Jaffa Municipality in 1921, and became independent from Jaffa in 1934.

Immigration by mostly Jewish refugees meant that the growth of Tel Aviv soon outpaced that of Jaffa, which had a majority Arab population at the time. In 1948 the Israeli Declaration of Independence was proclaimed in the city. After the 1947–1949 Palestine war Tel Aviv began the municipal annexation of parts of Jaffa, fully unified with Jaffa under the name Tel Aviv in April 1950, and was formally renamed to Tel Aviv-Yafo in August 1950. Tel Aviv's White City, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003, comprises the world's largest concentration of International Style buildings, including Bauhaus and other related modernist architectural styles. Popular attractions include Jaffa Old City, the Eretz Israel Museum, the Museum of Art, Hayarkon Park, and the city's promenade and beach.

Venue
Expo Tel Aviv, formerly the Israel Trade Fairs and Convention Center and later the Tel Aviv Convention Center, commonly referred to as Ganei HaTaarucha (lit. "Exhibition Gardens") or the Tel Aviv Fairgrounds, is a fairground complex on Rokach Boulevard in northern Tel Aviv, Israel used as a venue for concerts, exhibitions, trade fairs and conferences. Established in 1932 as Yerid HaMizrach at the site of the Levant Fair, near the Tel Aviv Port, the fairgrounds moved to their present location at 101 Rokach Boulevard (near the Yarkon Park and Tel Aviv University) in 1959. The site is directly accessible from the Ayalon Highway, Tel Aviv’s main transportation artery, as well as from the Tel Aviv University railway station.

Expo Tel Aviv hosts up to 2.5 million visitors and between 45 and 60 major events annually. The fairground has ten halls and pavilions and a large outdoor space including an amusement park known as the Luna Park. Nearby is the Drive in Arena which was built on the grounds of what was once Israel's only drive-in theater. Between 14 and 18 May, the fairground hosted the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest. It also hosted the 2022 Tel Aviv Open, Israel's first major tennis tournament since 1996. Pavilion 2 has room for up to 9,000 attendees.

Qualification Round
Six countries participated in the qualification round, with all participating and already qualified countries eligible to vote, awarding 4,2 and 1 points. Three countries qualified.

Final
Twenty-five countries participated in the final, with all twenty-eight participating and eliminated countries eligible to vote.