Fortuna Music Contest 13

Fortuna Music Contest 13, often referred to as FMC #13, was the thirteenth edition of the Fortuna Music Contest. The contest took place in Almaty, Kazakhstan. It was the first time that Kazakhstan had hosted the contest, following the country's victory in the twelfth edition with the song "Kolenkemen bi" by Periishte. Organised by the host broadcaster Qazaqstan Radio and Television Corporation, the contest was held at the Almaty Arena, and consisted of the semi-final and the final, which was hosted by Ziruza.

Thirty-two countries participated in the thirteenth edition. Hong Kong, Pakistan, Serbia, Singapore, Tunisia and Turkmenistan debuted, while Brazil, Netherlands, Norway and Romania returned to the contest. Croatia, Turkey and United Kingdom had to withdraw. The winner of the edition was South Korea with the song "Underwater" performed by Kwon Eun Bi, which scored 158 points, 8 points over the runner-up, Norway. The top five also included Netherlands, China and Israel. The host nation Kazakhstan finished tenth.

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

Host City
Almaty, formerly known as Alma-Ata, is the largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of over 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to 1936 as an autonomous republic as part of the Soviet Union, then from 1936 to 1991 as a union republic and finally from 1991 as an independent state to 1997 when the government relocated the capital to Akmola (renamed to Astana). Almaty is still the major commercial, financial, and cultural centre of Kazakhstan, as well as its most populous and most cosmopolitan city.

The city is located in the mountainous area of southern Kazakhstan near the border with Kyrgyzstan in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau at an elevation of 700–900 m, where the Large and Small Almatinka rivers run into the plain. The city, just like Astana and Shymkent, does not belong to any region and is officially a "city of state importance". The city has been part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in the area of music since November 2017. The city was the host for a 1978 international conference on Primary Health Care where the Alma Ata Declaration was adopted, marking a paradigm shift in global public health.

Venue
Almaty Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Almaty, Kazakhstan which was opened on 18 September 2016 and seats 12,000 spectators for ice hockey. Apart from hosting ice hockey matches, the arena is venue for boxing, figure skating, basketball, concerts, and other events. It is one of the venues to host the 2017 Winter Universiade. The arena is located in the north of punched Ryskulov Avenue, to the west from Momyshuly street in the Alatau District.

Returning artists
Three returning artists were present in the Fortuna Music Contest 13. Agnez Mo returned for Indonesia, last time they placed tenth in the Fortuna Music Contest 5. Leony returned for Germany, last time they placed tenth in the Fortuna Music Contest 9. Titica returned for Angola, last time they placed eighth in the Fortuna Music Contest 12.

Semi-final
Seventeen countries participated in the semi-final, with all participating and already qualified countries eligible to vote. Ten countries qualified.

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