OVSC9

## 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

 Iran
 "We Don't Run From Anyone" by Delara

After their win in Tokyo, New Zealand became the first country in Oceania to host the 9th OrbisVision Song Contest, with the city of Auckland as host city. This is the second time a country in the Southern Hemisphere has hosted.

40 countries have confirmed their participation. Originally the United States and Russia were to participate, but were subsequently disqualified from participation as they didn't submit a song before the deadline ended.

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

The winner was Iran with the song "We Don't Run From Anyone" by Delara. This was the first time Iran has won, making them only the second country in Asia after Japan to win the contest and also the first country in the Middle East to win.

## Location

Auckland (Māori: *Tāmaki Makaurau*, means "Tāmaki desired by many") is New Zealand's largest city, home to 1.5 million people, nearly one-third of the country's population and more than that of the entire South Island.

It is a vibrant multicultural city, set around two big natural harbours, and ranked as one of the most liveable cities in the world. It is in the warm northern part of the North Island, on a narrow isthmus that joins the Northland peninsula to the rest of the island.

It is the main economic and travel hub and home to an international airport. It's lucky enough to have its own beautiful landscapes, waterways, and other attractions to draw tourists in. It is not New Zealand's political capital though, that honour goes to Wellington.

Auckland is called the "City of Sails" for the large number of yachts that grace the Waitemata Harbour and the Hauraki Gulf, and for the city's love of sailing.

More than 135,000 yachts and launches are registered in Auckland and several America's Cup regattas have been held here.

Auckland could also be called the "City of Volcanoes"; much of its natural character comes from being built on the Auckland Volcanic Field, which consists of about 50 volcanoes.

All of them are individually extinct (Rangitoto was the latest to erupt, in the mid to late 15th century), but the volcanic field as a whole is not.

The city also features a large number of urban beaches and parks, numerous arts and cultural institutions and events, and is home to a multitude of sporting teams.

Auckland is frequently ranked highly in international quality-of-life polls, including third in Mercer's Quality of Living Ranking (behind Vienna and Zurich).

However, Auckland is also New Zealand's most expensive city, house prices alone are double to triple those found in Wellington, Christchurch and Hamilton (the latter 130 km away).

Auckland is very multicultural, with strong immigrant cultures. Some 40 percent of Auckland's population was born overseas; in two local board areas, Puketapapa (Mount Roskill) and Howick, there are more overseas-born residents than New Zealand-born ones.

It has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world. For some Polynesian island nations, there are more expatriates living in Auckland than in their homeland.

There is also a large population of New Zealand's native Maori people, and populations of immigrants and expats from the UK, China, India, South Africa, South Korea and the Philippines, among others.

Auckland's rich cultural mix is celebrated with a wide variety of festivals and events throughout the city.

### Venue

After New Zealand's victory in Tokyo, TVNZ confirmed the city of Auckland will host the 9th edition of the OrbisVision Song Contest with the Spark Arena becoming host venue of the contest.

The Spark Arena, formerly known as the Vector Arena, is a multipurpose arena located in Quay Park, Parnell, very close to Britomart Transport Centre and The Strand Station in the city of Auckland.

It broke ground on 7th June 2004 and officially opened to the public on 24th March 2007. It's the largest indoor arena in New Zealand having a capacity of 12,000.

The arena cost 94.8 million NZ$ to build and is capable of hosting a range of events such as entertainment, live music and live sport such as netball, professional wrestling, ice hockey, basketball, BMX, MMA and boxing.

Many famous stars from New Zealand and abroad have performed in this arena such as the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Taylor Swift, Robbie Williams, Katy Perry, Pink, Bruno Mars, Celine Dion, Little Mix, Harry Styles, the Arctic Monkeys, Lady Gaga, Black Eyed Peas, The Cure, Guns N' Roses, Bob Dylan, Lorde and many more. Even the Cirque de Soleil had the honour of performing here!

## Participating countries

### Semi-final 1

Albania, North Korea and New Zealand will vote in this semi-final. Qualifiers are marked in blue.

### Semi-final 2

Mexico, Greece and Malaysia will vote in this semi-final. Qualifiers are marked in blue.

### Grand Final

1. ↑ Contains the Arabic phrase "Ya habibi" meaning "my love" sung in the chorus
2. ↑ Contains the line "There are no borders" sung in Asturian, Catalan, Basque and Spanish throughout and at the end of the song.