OVSC18

## 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
 "Quicksand" by Hatchie

After their victory in Osaka, Mongolia's capital Ulaanbaatar hosted the 18th OrbisVision Song Contest!

This was Mongolia's first time hosting and is also the sixth time the contest has been to Asia.

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

44 countries have confirmed their participation.

Australia won for only the second time in their history, becoming the second country to win more than once, with the song "Quicksand" by Hatchie. This was the third time a country in Oceania have won and the fourth time a country in the Southern Hemisphere claimed victory.

## Location

### Host city

Ulaanbaatar (*Улаанбаатар*) is the capital and the largest city in Mongolia. Ulaanbaatar is disproportionately larger than all other cities in the country: with a population of 1.34 million as of January 2016, approximately 44% of the country lives here.

It is located just east of the center of the country in the forest-steppe region close to the birthplace of Genghis Khan. Ulaanbaatar is a city where authentic Mongol culture thrives in an urban setting, which has made it a destination in its own right.

Ulaanbaatar has a city center that is clean and developed, with modern skyscrapers, hotels, and malls showcasing local and international brands. The central parts of the city are walkable and have many attractions for both visitors and locals.

The city is known for its impressive museums, old monasteries, high quality restaurants, cinemas, theaters, and proximity to scenic natural spots such as Bogd Khan Mountain which is frequented by hikers. In 2016, after extensive preparations, the city hosted the 11th Asia-Europe Meeting.

It is also the coldest capital city in the world as the city sees sub-zero temperatures for five months a year.

At the time when Ulaanbaatar was founded as Urga in 1639 by Genghisid nobles, Mongolia was actually a serious contender for power in East Asia.

The last Great Khan, Ligdan, had died in 1634, and Manchus were rising in the east — but the independent Mongols had been revitalized by a Buddhist renaissance in the 1570s, and raids under Altan Khan were carried out as far afield as Beijing.

A firmer union of the Western Oirats and Eastern Genghisids would have sufficed to fend off the Manchus. The 1640 Mongol-Oirad Code of Law united the East and West, but this union failed to last long.

What did survive from this period was the union of the Eastern Mongols cemented in 1639 with the founding of Urga.

The Mongol nobles installed one of their own, Zanabazar, the son of Tüsheet Khan Gombodorj (1594-1655) and a direct descendant of Genghis Khan, as the supreme lama of the Mongols. His residence, called Örgöö or Urga, meaning "palace-yurt", was some 250 km west of the current site of the city, near the ancient Mongol capital of Karakorum.

In 1651, the first Jebtsundamba Khutughtu, Zanabazar, returned from studies in Tibet and established seven monastic departments in Urga. The mobile monastery gradually became a mobile city, moving every few years as needed.

Urga was moved 25 times between its founding in 1639 and settling in its current location in 1778, by which time it had several thousand tents and temples and was served by trade routes from China and Russia. It was also estimated to have about 10,000 monks.

The Gandan Monastery was established in 1809 and became the center of learning for all of Mongolia, and one of the most important monasteries in Tibetan Buddhism.

The city continued to grow through the 19th century as a provincial capital of the Qing Empire and a center of religion and trade.

Russian influence in Mongolia became significant in the late 18th Century, and a two-storey Russian consulate was opened in 1865 as an upgrade from the 18th-century wooden quarters of the Russian representative.

Mongolia was, in practice, a buffer between Russia and China, with plenty of local autonomy through the Bogd Jebtsundamba and Mongolian nobles.

In 1911, the 8th Bogd Khan declared independence from China, leading to a long unstable period in the city's history including an occupation by a Chinese warlord in 1919.

However, the Chinese were kicked out by the White Russian Roman von Ungern-Sternberg, aka the "Mad Baron", in 1921.

This forced the Soviet Union to intervene and set up a puppet state in what was then known as Outer Mongolia.

The country was nominally independent but essentially a satellite state of the USSR. In 1924, the city's name changed from Urga to Ulaanbaatar ("Red Hero").

Many of the monasteries and temples were destroyed in the religious purges of the 1930s.

Following the end of the Second World War, the old ger districts were largely cleared out for Soviet-style city apartments, offices, and factories.

The Trans-Mongolian Railway was completed in 1956, connecting Ulaanbaatar to Beijing and Moscow.

Gandan Monastery was reopened during a visit by US Vice President Henry Wallace in 1944, when he asked to see a monastery.

Since the democratic revolution in 1990, the population of the city more than doubled to over a million, with thousands moving in from the countryside.

The commercial and residential real estate sectors have boomed since 2000, though large factories have closed and much of the city still lives in ger districts.

### Venue

The Steppe Arena is a 3,600-capacity indoor ice hockey arena in Ulaanbataar, Mongolia, opened on September 29th 2021 at a cost of $15 million. The project was implemented with the main investment of Achit Ikht LLC and contributions of national companies, MAK LLC, United Project Corporation LLC, and Steppe Link Holding. And Steppe Arena LLC is responsible for constructing the facility.

The project fulfills the dreams of Mongolian youths of many generations to host various international games such as indoor ice hockey, figure skating, and short track speed racing while a special platform that covers the rink allows hosting basketball, volleyball, boxing, gymnastics, wrestling, and dancing competitions.

The ice rink is built per proposed standards from the International Olympic Committee which provides the opportunity to host both international and continental games.

As Mongolia's first multi-purpose indoor ice arena, the Steppe Arena is primarily intended for winter sports such as ice hockey, figure skating, curling, and short track speed skating.

Special elastic cover could be used to overlay the ice rink so it can be used for other indoor sports such as basketball, boxing, gymnastics, taekwondo, volleyball, and wrestling tournaments as well as for concerts and cultural events.

It is also expected to be the future home venue of the Mongolian national ice hockey teams.

## Participating countries

### Semi-final 1

Zambia, Belarus and Palau will vote in this semi-final. Qualifiers are marked in blue.

### Semi-final 2

Moldova, Finland and Mongolia will vote in this semi-final. Qualifiers are marked in blue.