Haarumou 2098

**Oceanivision Haarumou 2098** was the 27th annual edition held in Haarumou, Solomon Islands following Solomon Islands' victory in Levuka the previous year. This was the fifth time the Solomon Islands won the contest, tying Victoria's record, only 3 years after the fact. Victoria and the Solomon Islands are still the only two countries to win more than twice. With Solomon Islands winning, the chance for a country to win **again** is still likely, so will other countries be able to achieve another victory?

Forty-eight cities were in contention to host this year; they were narrowed down to 4 from each sector of Malaita Island. Gounatolo, Rufoki, Takwa, and Tjuni from the North Sector; Farafara, Faunikari, Fote, and Uruilangi from the Capital Sector; Bina, Kwan'ekwa, Maasupa, and Oisi'ini from the Central Sector; Apuara, Haarumou, Rokera, and Sa'a from the South Sector. These were further narrowed down to 2 from each sector: Gounatolo and Rufoki, Farafara and Uruilangi, Kwan'ekwa and Maasupa, and Haarumou and Rokera; only one city from each sector could make it to the final short-list, these cities were: Rufoki, Farafara, Kwan'ekwa, and Haarumou. From there, one city was eliminated at a time to further narrow down the choices; Rufoki was eliminated first, followed by Farafara, then finally it was between Haarumou and Kwan'ekwa with Haarumou ultimately being chosen through a narrow vote as 2098's host city.

Siam debuted this year after being an OBU member for \_ years, their decision was made early in the confirmation period. Tasmanija returned to the contest after a 2-year absence, ready to compete for awhile. Both Celebes and The Philippines chose not to participate this year, making another year without every possible country. The Philippines cited poor placements and hope to be back and better than ever next year. Celebes' broadcaster *EBT* stated that financial problems from being a newer country arose and with FIFA this year, they decided to take some time away to work through these financial problems; they hope to return next year! This year ties the record for the most participating countries with 27 delegations.

Kalimari achieved its 1st victory, replacing Fiji as the newest winner, with the song Gone Crabbing (originally "Going Crabbing"). The country gathered 112 points from the song, the highest number of points ever recorded. The Solomon Islands achieved their best non-1st place, a great placement for a host as well. Palau ended in 3rd after getting barely any points in the first half of the voting sequence. New Guinea placed 4th, a good placement for the otherwise not-so-good-at-Oceanivision country. New Zealand finished 5th, but Siam had a great debut at 6th place, almost making the top-5.

## Participants

The following countries have confirmed their participation for 2098 as of 01 January 2098:

* Brunei - Sedikit Ketakutan
* Fiji - Ta Min Kjærlighet
* Indonesia - Tidak Lengkap
* Kalimari - Gone Crabbing
* Kiribati - A Thousand Fires
* Malaysia - Lada Maksimal
* The Maldives - Käerzenhirstellung
* The Marshall Islands - Boom!
* Micronesia - Telomerene mine blir dårligere - Sunporpoise
* New Guinea\* - Amnesia
* New Kanangri - Bien Pleurer
* New Zealand - Blurry Eyes
* Northern Desert - Perdre le Contrôle
* Pacifica Islands\* - Rokker
* Palau - Wells
* Queensland - My Stone Heart
* Siam - Kniver Ut
* Singapore - Ciuman Ciuman, jatuh cinta - Kyjackal
* Solomon Islands - Fish Pants - Ninjalamby
* South Mesa - Acute Reform
* Sri Lanka - Fruit Daughter
* Tasmanija - Down, Down
* Timor\* - The World Flows
* Tonga - Oh
* Tuvalu - Rivier Vallei
* Vanuatu - Offtrack
* Victoria\* - Halvpart'en Dro

### Allocation Draw

Each country randomly draws a number, that number being their performing placement. The host draws their placement first, then the automatic qualifiers draw their placements, and finally, every other country draws theirs.

### Grand Final

All countries voted. The final took place on 27 August 2098. \*indicates an automatic qualifier

### Official Rankings

1. **Kalimari**
2. Solomon Islands
3. Palau
4. New Guinea\*
5. New Zealand
6. Siam
7. Northern Desert
8. Queensland
9. Malaysia
10. Indonesia (Tie-10th)
11. The Maldives (Tie-10th)
12. Vanuatu
13. South Mesa
14. Singapore
15. New Kanangri
16. Tonga (Tie-16th)
17. Fiji (Tie-16th)
18. Tuvalu (Tie-16th)
19. Victoria\*
20. Pacifica Islands\*
21. Kiribati (Tie-21st)
22. Tasmanija (Tie-21st)
23. Micronesia (Tie-21st)
24. Sri Lanka
25. Timor\*
26. The Marshall Islands
27. Brunei

## Withdrawing/Uncertain

* Bengal - *BNRT* applied for an OBU membership on **01 February 2096**, which was accepted on **02 March 2096** making them eligible to debut in **2099** if they so wish.
* Bengal/Kashmir - *BNKM-BU* is a joint broadcaster between 2 or more countries, so it cannot participate unless it belongs to only one country. *BNKM-BU* joining as a member allows Kashmir to broadcast the contest, but if Kashmir wants to participate, they must apply with their own separate broadcaster.
* Celebes - *EBT* confirmed on **13 October 2097** that Celebes would not participate in 2098. The broadcaster cited financial problems from being a newer country and FIFA this year as their reason for withdrawing. The country hopes to return next year!
* East African Islands - *RTV-EAI* confirmed on **01 September 2097** that the East African Islands will not debut in 2098.
* Japan - *JPBC* confirmed on **01 October 2097** that Japan will not debut in 2098.
* The Philippines - *PPRTV* confirmed on **01 October 2097** that The Philippines would not participate in 2098. The broadcaster cited poor placements as the main factor in the decision. They hope to be back and better than ever next year!
* Polynesia - *PYNR/PYTV* confirmed on **24 October 2097** that Polynesia will not debut in 2098.

## Other Countries

These countries aren't part of the OBU but are still n association with them. The list has become so long that a new page will be dedicated to it for each Continentalvision :)

* Alaska broadcasts the event and has applied to participate in the event (they are very avid fans of the contest), but have been declined by the OBU citing that the country is too distant and may disrupt voting. The OBU mentioned that it's possible for Alaska to join in the future, but only when the contest becomes more solid and the participants increase in number.
* Bangladesh broadcasts the event
* Bhutan broadcasts the event
* Bosnia and Herzegovina broadcasts the event
* California broadcasts the event
* Chile broadcasts the event
* China (Ming/Qing) broadcasts the event
* Colorado broadcasts the event
* Columbia broadcasts the event
* Congo broadcasts the event
* Costa Rica broadcasts the event
* Croatia broadcasts the event
* The Czech Republic broadcasts the event
* Finland broadcasts the event
* Hawai'i broadcasts the event
* Kamchatka broadcasts the event
* Kashmir broadcasts the event
* Kenya broadcasts the event
* Kolyma Plains broadcasts the event
* Luxembourg broadcasts the event
* Malawi broadcasts the event
* Manchuria broadcasts the event
* Mongolia broadcasts the event
* Mozambique broadcasts the event
* Nepal broadcasts the event
* Norway broadcasts the event
* Okhotsk broadcasts the event
* Olympia broadcasts the event
* Peru broadcasts the event
* Pueblo broadcasts the event
* Sao Republic broadcasts the event
* Serbia broadcasts the event
* Slovakia broadcasts the event
* Slovenia broadcasts the event
* Southern Korea broadcasts the event
* Taiwan broadcasts the event
* Tanzania broadcasts the event
* Tibet broadcasts the event
* Ukraine broadcasts the event
* Ute broadcasts the event

## Trivia

* This year's contest was held on 27 February 2023
* 2098 used a physical draw to determine the placements in the Grand Final
* 2098 continued to use computer-based randomization for voting, although country names would not be added, instead just a simple "Every Country" took each country's place
	+ Randomizations were kept somewhat anonymous to prevent pre-contest spoiling
* The order of revealing points was the normal 01-27; points were checked every 9 delegations to make sure everything was up-to-date
* Kalimari, New Guinea, and Siam obtained the most amount of points than they ever have, while New Zealand tied its best for the 3rd time
	+ Kalimari and Siam achieved their best placements
	+ {The Philippines achieved its best non-top 3 placements, while Micronesia tied its best record}
* There were some ties this year; 1 2-country tie and 2 3-country ties
* The maximum number of countries that could perform was absent at this contest. 27 out of the maximum 29 countries confirmed their participation.
	+ This tied the most ever in a single year
* This was the first time the Solomon Islands placed in the top-3 excluding 1st place