OVSC Christmas Special 2023

## OrbisVision Christmas Special 2023  *A time for togetherness*

### Opening act

The national anthem of Czechia, in tribute to the 14 victims of the Prague University shooting
 Mary O'Hara performing "Óró Mo Bháidin"
 The Murphys performing "Streets of Promise"
 U2 performing "Beautiful Day"

## Participants

### Debuting

 Andorra
  Austria
  Cocos Islands
  Czechia
  Denmark
  Germany
  Gibraltar
  Jamaica
  Japan
  Malaysia
  Romania

### Withdrawing

 Brazil
  China
  France
  Iceland
  Italy
  Netherlands
  New Zealand
  San Marino
  South Korea
  Sweden
  Ukraine

## 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

 Isle of Man
 "Last Christmas" by Wham!

Once again, OrbisVision had a special Christmas edition for 2023, this time hosted in the country that won the 2022 edition, Ireland, with its capital Dublin as the host city!

Although this is a special edition, this is Ireland's first time hosting an OrbisVision event and the 20th time an OVSC event has taken place in Europe.

The special edition will consist of only one final with 26 countries competing.

The winning country was the Isle of Man with the song "Last Christmas" by the pop duo Wham!

This was the Isle of Man's first time ever winning an OrbisVision event, though they are yet to win the regular contest. This was also the 19th time a European country had won and the first time a British Crown Dependency island territory had won.

## Location

### Host city

Dublin *(**Baile Átha Cliath** in Irish)* is the capital city of Ireland. Its vibrancy, nightlife and tourist attractions are world renowned and it's the most popular entry point for international visitors to Ireland.

As a city, it is disproportionately large for the size of the country with a population of over 2 million in the Greater Dublin Region (2022); nearly half of the Republic's population lives in this metropolitan area.

The central sights can be navigated by foot, with a few outlying sights, and suburbs sprawling out for miles.

The climate is mild, making Dublin a year-round destination. It's seldom freezing in winter, cool in summer and frequently has light showers.

Dublin is in a low-lying, fertile area, not boggy by Irish standards, and with good sea access.

It became the core of the Gaelic kingdom of Leinster, and the Vikings established a large settlement by what is now Dublin castle, until ejected by Brian Boru at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014.

This set a pattern that Dublin was fought for, not fought in. The Normans colonised the southwest and Leinster from the 12th century, and further out they battled with the Gaels, but Dublin sat snug within the "Pale" - the defensive palisade.

Similarly with the Tudor conquests; then the city fell swiftly to Cromwell so his atrocities were elsewhere, and King William marched in unopposed after the Battle of the Boyne.

18th century Dublin was the second largest city in the British Isles, with a tight little Protestant clique ruling the place to London's liking.

Industry and culture flourished, and the city acquired its graceful Georgian streets and squares, but Ireland was ruled as a colony. Britain's other colonies watched with great interest as the independence movement gathered pace.

"The Troubles" of the late 19th and early 20th century involved ethnic conflicts, paramilitary gangs, and savage reprisals by the authorities.

The outbreak of the First World War seemed to put a brake on this, with tens of thousands of Irishmen marching away to France and Flanders.

Surely one big push on the Somme would win this war, but while the generals were planning this, armed insurrection broke out at Easter 1916.

The rebels seized the central Post Office on O'Connell Street, read their proclamation of independence, then were bombarded until they surrendered.

Initially they attracted little sympathy or support, especially as they were backed by arch-foe Germany, but the authorities snatched defeat from a quick win by the subsequent court-martials and executions by firing squad.

Hundreds were arrested and 15 were shot. This and atrocities such as the Croke Park massacre (also called Bloody Sunday) were fatal to the legitimacy of British rule. By 1921, the Irish tricolour fluttered over a Dublin that was capital of a separate state.

Today, Dublin is a vibrant European capital city. Yet, its history and heritage is still very much valued and visible.

Its medieval streetscape is faithfully preserved around the cobbled streets of Temple Bar. Stretches of the old city walls can still be found in Wood Quay and at St Audoen's Arch too.

Just outside the city centre, you’ll even find evidence of Dublin’s monastic history at the round towers in Swords and Clondalkin.

Strolling through Dublin, you’ll also see beautiful Georgian townhouses, Edwardian facades and Victorian parks. In some of these city centre buildings, you can also spot bullet holes which date back to the 1916 Rising.

As well as its built heritage, the history of Dublin also remains in its museums.

You can discover more about the city’s vikings at the National Museum of Ireland on Kildare Street or get to grips with Dublin’s contemporary history at its Collins Barracks site.

Visitors, newcomers and native Dubliners alike are all lucky to have the city’s living, surviving history surrounding them. It’s truly one of the best reasons to live in Dublin.

### Venue

The 3Arena is an indoor amphitheatre located at North Wall Quay in the Dublin Docklands in Dublin, Ireland. The venue opened as The O2 on 16 December 2008.

It was built on the site of the former Point Theatre (famous for hosting the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994, 1995 and 1997), a smaller music venue which operated from 1988 to 2007, retaining only some of the outer facade.

The Point Theatre was branded as "The Point Depot", in recognition of its original role as a railway goods handling station. The venue was re-branded on 4 September 2014 due to the takeover of O2 Ireland by Three Ireland. The venue is among the top ten busiest music arenas by ticket sales in the world.

U2 were the first band to play in the venue, when Bono and The Edge performed "Van Diemen's Land" and "Desire" to a private audience. U2 also performed four homecoming concerts in November 2015, as part of their Innocence + Experience Tour. The full U2 stage setup could not be brought to the 3Arena due to the venue's configuration as an amphitheatre. The U2 stage was designed for a full indoor arena, but was reconfigured for the concerts in the 3Arena.

American pop star Lady Gaga performed 5 concerts at the venue on her Monster Ball Tour in 2010, becoming the first female act to sell out as many nights.

There was a controversial Guns N' Roses show in September 2010 during which the band had arrived a substantial amount of time late, then had bottles hurled at them and stopped performing. Most of the audience then left the building in disgust, but the band later returned to finish the show.

Other artists such as Rammstein, Adele, Britney Spears, Demi Lovato, Twenty One Pilots, Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera and The 1975 have performed here, just to name a few. The venue has also hosted UFC and WWE events.

Irish former footballer Katie Taylor made her Irish professional boxing debut at the arena on 20 May 2023 when she unsuccessfully challenged English pro boxer Chantelle Cameron for the undisputed super-lightweight championship.