Nedas' and Rob's Earthvision Song Contest 02

Nedas' and Rob's Earthvision Song Contest 02, often referred as NRESC 02, was the second edition of Nedas' and Rob's Earthvision Song Contest. The edition took place in Gapyeong, South Korea, following bhackstabbed's victory as South Korea, with "La Di Da" by EVERGLOW.

Organised by nedneu and declanmmx, the contest was held at the Cheongshim World Peace Center. Three live shows took place over the course of April and May, being presented by Irene from Red Velvet, Bang Chan from Stray Kids and Jisoo from BLACKPINK.

There were forty-four participants, hailing from six continents, divided into two semi-finals or as automatic qualifiers. Multiple countries debuted whilst multiple also withdrew. North Korea officially debuted after being disqualified from the first contest.

Location
Gapyeong is a county in South Korea with a population of 62,000 people, the nineteenth most populous of its kind. Known internationally for its serene natural beauty, Gapyeong is a key logistical hub due to its proximity to Seoul. Tourists to the area can expect beautiful scenery, with mountains a short distance away, and a plethora of flora and fauna living in the county.

The Cheongshim World Peace Center is a venue situated in Gapyeong-eup, with a capacity of 25,000. It is known for hosting concerts and sporting events. The venue was selected after a bidding process eliminated other cities such as Busan and Seoul.

Semi-final 1
The first semi-final took place on 10 April 2021 at 19:00 (CEST). Ninteen countries participated in the first semi-final. Those countries plus England, North Korea and Palau voted in this semi-final. The highlighted countries qualified for the final.

Semi-final 2
The second semi-final took place on 17 April 2021 at 19:00 (CEST). Ninteen countries participated in the first semi-final. Those countries plus Macau, South Korea and Sweden voted in this semi-final. The highlighted countries qualified for the final. Mexico was originally allocated to participate in the second half of the semi-final, but was replaced by Wales due to the fact that the Head of Delegation for Mexico left the server and therefore breached the rules of the contest.

Final
The final took place on 1 May 2021 at 20:00 (CEST). Twenty-six countries participated in the final, with all thirty-nine participating countries eligible to vote.

South Korean participant change
Initially, South Korea had announced GFRIEND as their entry to NRESC 02. However, images surfaced on the internet of member Sowon posing with a Nazi mannequin. Subsequently, SBS withdrew GFRIEND in order to remain aligned with the contest's idea of unity and equality. Shortly after, LOONA were revealed as the replacement with the song "Why Not?"

Heads of Delegations for Venezuela, Hong Kong and Mexico
Shortly after the list of participants were announced, the Head of Delegation for Mexico left the server and therefore breached the rules of the contest. Babaleenz was selected as a replacement and chose Wales as their participating country, submitting Déyyess with her song 'Control'.

Midway through the course of the contest, the Heads of Delegations representing Venezuela and Hong Kong, P34XH and DubbleTrubbleBoy respectively, left the server and therefore breached the rules of the contest. As a result, they were replaced; the replacements were Nicki54321 and Olaga1912. However, DubbleTrubbleBoy still played a large part in preparing the Hong Kong performance.

No Grand Final performance from Zimbabwe
It was announced that Zimbabwe will perform in the Grand Final by opening the show, but apparently they arrived to the venue an hour late due to a time confusion. Zimbabwe were one of the public's favourites and it managed to place third in the televoting and finish fourth in the final. One of the executive directors, Rob, has apologized to the Zimbabwean delegation as soon as they arrived while their response included criticism and threats in the venue.

Exploited cameras and the Korean staging leak during Hong Kong's semi-final performance
During the first semi-final, the cameras during Hong Kong's semi-final performance were hacked and leaked South Korea's staging. The broadcasting from zyetv was paused for 10 minutes. During the pause, the audience excluding special members were kicked out due to safety and security concerns. Hong Kong performed again and there were no hacking incidents after that. Hong Kong managed to qualify, placing ninth in the televoting and finished sixth overall.

Other countries
Eligibility for potential participation in the Nedas' and Rob's Earthvision Song Contest requires a national broadcaster with active ITU membership that would be able to broadcast the contest via the Earthvision network. The ITU issued an invitation to participate in the contest to all active members.

Active broadcaster members

 * mexicoflag.jpg Mexico - The Head of Delegation, Lavyko, had originally claimed Mexico with Michelle Andrade and the song "Mirror". Days after the allocation draw, Lavyko left the server and therefore breached the rules of the contest. Mexico was replaced by wales.png Wales with Déyyeess and the song "Control". Wales placed 16th out of 44 countries.
 * philippinesflag.png Philippines - The Head of Delegation, tunfiskurinn, known as declanmmx, had originally claimed the Philippines in the second edition and planned to select Olivia Rodrigo with her song "Driver's License", the song was accepted at first, but the song was rejected days later due to a disagreement with the song council team. The Philippines withdrew after the disagreement, changed their claims to macau.png Macau and sent JVNA with the song "Catch Me". Macau placed 3rd out of 44 countries, continuing the Head of Delegation's 3rd place streak since 01.