OVSC13

## OrbisVision Song Contest #13  *Music. Connected.*

 *A Celebration of Italian Classics*: A selection of Italian classical music icons and Italian pop artists from way back.
 **Grand Final:**
 *The Best of Modern Italian Music*: A selection of current and popular Italian artists such as Måneskin, BLANCO, Elodie, Mahmood and La Rappresentante di Lista.

## Participants

### Debuting

 Aruba
  Egypt
  Sierra Leone

### Returning

 China
  Cyprus
  Czechia
  Finland
  Hungary
  Iceland
  Isle of Man
  Lithuania
  Malaysia
  Mongolia
  Palau
  Portugal
  Russia
  Slovenia
 Türkiye
  Vietnam

### Withdrawing

 Andorra
  Argentina
  Brazil
  British Virgin Islands
  Cuba
  Ecuador
  Estonia
  Faroe Islands
  Indonesia
  Latvia
  Luxembourg
  Martinique
 Mexico
  Poland
  Romania
  Serbia
  Sweden
  Switzerland
  Syria
  Ukraine
  Uruguay

## Voting

### System

Each country awards a set of 1 - 7 points, followed by 8, 10 and 12 points for their top 3 favourite songs

### Winner

 Australia
 "Swallow" by Jaguar Jonze

After their win in Pyongyang, Milan, the Italian fashion capital of the world hosted the 13th OrbisVision Song Contest.

This was Italy's first time hosting as well as the fifth time the contest has been to Europe. It was also the first time it's been to a country in Southern Europe.

The show consisted of 3 shows, 2 semi-finals and a Grand Final.

42 countries have confirmed their participation.

Australia won for the first time with the song "Swallow" by Jaguar Jonze. This was their first time winning the contest and also the second time a country in Oceania won the contest. Australia also became the third country in the Southern Hemisphere to win the contest.

It was a close race to 1st place with the United Kingdom ending up in 2nd place having a margin of 2 points against the winner.

## Location

### Host city

Milan is financially the most important city in Italy, and home to the Borsa Italiana stock exchange. It is the second most populous city proper in the country, but sits at the centre of Italy's largest urban and metropolitan area.

While not considered as beautiful as some Italian cities, having been greatly destroyed by Second World War bomb raids, the city has rebuilt itself into a thriving cosmopolitan business capital.

In essence, for a tourist, what makes Milan interesting compared to other places is that the city is truly more about the lifestyle of enjoying worldly pleasures: a paradise for shopping, football, opera, and nightlife.

Milan remains the marketplace for Italian fashion – fashion aficionados, supermodels and international paparazzi descend upon the city twice a year for its spring and autumn fairs

Milan is famous for its wealth of historical and modern sights - the Duomo, one of the biggest and grandest Gothic cathedrals in the world, La Scala, one of the best established opera houses in the world, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, a glamorous 19th-century arcaded shopping gallery, the Brera art gallery, with some of the finest artistic works in Europe, the Pirelli tower, a majestic example of 1960s modernist Italian architecture, the San Siro, a huge and famed stadium, or the Castello Sforzesco, a grand medieval castle. So, you have your fair share of old and new monuments.

Plus, it contains one of the world's most famous paintings - Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper.

Milan is often described as representing "modern" Italy.

The differences between Rome and Milan are evident from several proverbs, such as an Italian saying about the differences of the two cities which roughly translates, "Rome is a voluptuous woman whose gifts are very apparent, while Milan is the shy, demure girl whose treasures are plentiful, but discovered in time." Milan is the most modern of all Italian cities, yet it still keeps most of its past history intact.

At first sight, Milan looks like a bustling and relatively stylish (with its shiny display windows and elegant shops) metropolis, with a good number of grand palaces and fine churches in the centre, but might seem like a slightly prosaic, soulless and business-oriented place.

It can be quite rainy, grey and foggy, and some of the buildings, ancient or modern, have quite a severe appearance. Whilst there are a lot of parks, Milan looks as if it has very little greenery, and apart from the very well-kept historic part, many areas are indeed quite scruffy and dirty.

However, Milan, unlike most usually historical European cities which throw the sights in your face, requires quite a lot of exploring - take it as it is, and you might enjoy its fashionable glitter and business-like modernity, but might find it not very "captivating".

    If you spend time, though, strolling through less well known areas such as the pretty Navigli, the chic Brera district, the lively University quarter, or some of the smaller churches and buildings, you'll find a forward thinking, diverse city filled in every corner with history, and with a plethora of hidden gems.

Plus, with such an established history in theatre, music, literature, sport, art and fashion, there's really not much you can miss.

Milan, as many have noticed, doesn't fully feel like a part of Italy. Despite the similarities with iconic Italian cities such as Verona or Venice, the city does have a different atmosphere.

Milan feels more like a bustling, busy, fashionable business capital - where in several cafes, lots of people only stop to have a quick espresso at the bar counter, and where tourists at times seem even more laid back than the locals.

Milan, unlike the traditionally red-terracotta roofed Italian cities, is quite grey, as many buildings are constructed using limestone or dark stones. Older buildings mainly have a sort of Austrian/Germanic neoclassical look with some slight French influences.

However, with some cycling around in old fashioned bicycles, restaurant chairs and tables outside at summer filled with locals and tourists alike, and people strolling down the pedestrian avenues, licking an ice cream or carrying some heavy shopping bags, Milan does boast some "Italian flair".

### Venue

Immediately after Italy's victory in Pyongyang, Rai became host broadcaster and appointed Milan, in the northern Lombardy region, as host city of OVSC13. The 12,700-capacity Mediolanum Forum indoor arena was chosen as the venue of the contest.

The Forum of Assago was built by Giuseppe Cabassi and his son Luca in 1990.

It had many name changes due to different sponsorships during the years.

From 1993 to 2006, it was named the FilaForum (after South Korea-based Italian sportswear brand Fila), from 2006 to 2008 it was named the DatchForum (after Italian streetwear brand Datch), and then from 2009, it gained its current name of the Mediolanum Forum after a sponsorship deal with Italian back Banca Mediolanum.

The venue is located in the big Milanofiori complex and it covers an area of 40,000 sqm. The layout of the rooms is organized on 4 superimposed levels below the stands of the central arena. There are also private panoramic rooms (called "SkyBox") on the top floor.

The Forum received the 1994 European Prize for Architecture for sports venues awarded by the Italian National Olympic Committee and the Council of Europe.

It is also one of two facilities in Italy, along with PalaLottomatica in Rome, to be part of the European Arenas Association network.

For the 2014 EuroLeague Final Four the venue has been renovated and the capacity increased from 11,500 to 12,700. It was again renovated in 2017, with new internal signs and new colours in the corridors of the rings, also including the reconstruction of the floor. The venue is the home ground of the EuroLeague and Italian Serie A professional basketball team AX Armani Exchange Milan.

The arena hosted the 1994 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships, the 2003 IIHF Continental Cup Superfinal of ice hockey (together with Lugano's Pista La Resega), WWE Raw and WWE SmackDown in 2007, and the 2009 World Amateur Boxing Championships.

Since 2011, the Forum has also been home to La Grande Sfida, the annual tennis exhibition event played every Christmas. Some matches of the 2018 FIVB Volleyball World Championship have been held at the venue.

The venue hosted some group phase matches at the FIBA EuroBasket 2021 which the country hosted alongside the Czech Republic in Prague, Georgia in Tbilisi and Germany in Berlin/Cologne.

It also hosted the MTV Europe Music Awards twice, in 1998 and in 2015. It will be the venue for the figure skating and short track speed skating events at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

## Participating countries

### Semi-final 1

The Philippines, Thailand and Armenia will vote in this semi-final. Qualifiers are marked in blue.

### Semi-final 2

Japan, Slovakia and Italy will vote in this semi-final. Qualifiers are marked in blue.