OVSC29

## OrbisVision Song Contest #29  *#UNITY*

 **Grand Final:** Six acts from the 6 continents representing the LGBTQ+ community, featuring Kylie Minogue.

## Participants

### Debuting

 São Tomé and Príncipe
  Vatican City

### Returning

 Austria
  Azerbaijan
  Belgium
  Estonia
  Greece
  Guernsey
  Indonesia
  Israel
  Italy
  Malaysia
  Mexico
  Netherlands
 Philippines
  Russia
 San Marino
  Slovakia
  Taiwan
  Thailand
  US Virgin Islands
  Vietnam

### Withdrawing

 Albania
  Andorra
  Argentina
  Barbados
  Cyprus
  Czechia
  Denmark
  France
  Georgia
  Guam
  Latvia
  Lebanon
  Liechtenstein
  Luxembourg
  North Korea
 Poland
  Portugal
  Puerto Rico
  Serbia
  Slovenia
  South Africa
  Switzerland

## 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

 Belgium
 "Empire" by Blanche

After their victory in Kyiv, the OrbisVision Song Contest returned to the Australian city of Melbourne once again!

This was Australia's third time hosting, as well the fifth time a country in Oceania hosted, and the sixth time the contest had been to a country in the Southern Hemisphere.

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

44 countries have confirmed their participation.

Belgium won the contest with the song "Empire" by Blanche, giving the country their first victory. This was also the 13th time a European country had won the contest.

## Location

### Host city

Melbourne (named *Narrm/Naarm* by the Boonwurrung and Woiwurrung peoples of the Kulin nation, the Indigenous owners of the land now known as modern-day Melbourne) is the second-largest city (although the largest in its contiguous urban area) and the cultural capital of Australia, with Victorian-era architecture, extensive shopping, museums, galleries, theatres, and large parks and gardens.

Many of its 5 million residents are both multicultural and sports-mad.

The capital of the south-eastern state of Victoria, and located at the head of Port Phillip Bay, Melbourne is a magnet for migrants from all over the world, and consistently ranks as one of the world's most livable cities.

Visitors come to attend major sporting events, and to use it as a base for exploring nearby places such as Grampians National Park, the Great Ocean Road, and Phillip Island and its penguin parade. Many UK visitors come for tours of filming locations of the soap opera 'Neighbours'.

The British settlement of Melbourne commenced in 1835 when settlers from Tasmania "purchased" land on Port Phillip Bay and the Yarra River from the local Aboriginal people.

The streets of central Melbourne were carefully laid out in 1837, with some streets 30 metres wide.

The settlement was named "Melbourne" after William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, the British Prime Minister at that time.

The first British lieutenant-governor, Charles La Trobe, arrived in 1839, his Cottage still stands and can be visited in the Kings Domain.

1851 was a landmark for Melbourne, the colony of Victoria was separated from New South Wales and very soon after, gold was discovered in Victoria, sparking a huge gold rush.

The gold rush history can be seen at the Gold Treasury Museum, housed in the Treasury Building built in 1858.

Gold was the catalyst for several decades of prosperity lasting through to the late 1880s and examples of the ornate Victorian-era structures built during this time still stand.

Throughout the gold and building booms, Melbourne managed to retain its many spacious parks and gardens that remain to this day.

In 1888, the boom collapsed and Victoria suffered through the depression of the 1890s.

In 1901, the British colonies of Australia federated and Melbourne became the temporary capital of Australia, with the Federal Parliament meeting in the Parliament House of Victoria until 1927 when the new Federal capital of Canberra was founded.

After World War II, Melbourne grew rapidly, with its mainly Anglo-Celtic population boosted by immigration from Europe, particularly from Greece and Italy.

Today Melbourne has the biggest Greek population (over 800,000) of any city outside Greece and the biggest Italian population (over 230,000) of any city outside Italy.

The significant pre-war Jewish population was also boosted after the war.

From the mid-1970s, many immigrants came from Southeast Asia, particularly Vietnam and Cambodia.

Melbourne has had a Chinese population since the gold rush of the 1850s.

Chinatown has existed from that time but the population of Chinese and other East Asians has also been boosted by immigration.

    New highrise buildings replaced many of Melbourne's interesting old structures in the construction boom of the 1970s and 80s.

Melbournians belatedly recognised the loss of their architectural heritage and steps were taken to protect what was left.

Construction of the huge Crown Casino (briefly the largest casino in the world) in the 1990s introduced glitz and gambling to the city centre.

Melbourne's development continues in the 2000s with the opening of the Melbourne Museum, Federation Square and the Docklands precinct.

Melbourne is the cultural capital of Australia, with its many art galleries, film festivals, orchestras, choral and opera productions, vibrant live music scene, and a strong food, wine and coffee culture.

People in Melbourne tend to dress up more than the northern states, partly due to the colder climate.

Many bars and clubs have strict dress regulations, such as requiring collars and dress shoes for men.

Particular cultural events to note include the Melbourne International Film Festival in August, the International Art Festival in October, and the Melbourne Comedy Festival in April.

There are also many concerts and exhibitions throughout the year.

In addition to the Melbourne Museum, there are special museums dedicated to subjects such as science, immigration, Chinese history, Jewish history, sport, racing, film and moving image, railways, police, fire brigades and banking.

Melbourne also has a strong subcultural scene appealing especially to young people, particularly in the suburbs of Carlton, Fitzroy, Collingwood and Abbotsford, where subcultural bars, cafes and art galleries are common.

Melbourne is highly tolerant of LGBT+ people, who generally live in the city with few difficulties.

While often referred to as Australia's cultural capital, Melbourne also draws much more influence from Europe in its architecture, fashion and food, and for the gay traveller it may feel like a more chilled out and refined experience after the glitz of Sydney.

Melbourne is a city of less ostentatious delights than its northern cousin, regularly voted the world's most livable city – so set some time aside to relax and explore.

### Venue

The Rod Laver Arena is a multipurpose arena located within Melbourne Park, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The arena is the main venue for the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tennis tournament of the calendar year.

Replacing the aging Kooyong Stadium, construction on the arena began in 1985.

It was undertaken by Civil & Civic was completed in 1987 at a cost of AU$94 million.

It opened on 11 January 1988 for the 1988 Australian Open.

Originally known in 1988 as the National Tennis Centre at Flinders Park, the arena has officially changed its name twice.

First in 1996, when it was known as the Centre Court, and again on 16 January 2000 to honour Rod Laver, a three-time winner of the Australian Open and one of the world's greatest tennis players.

Rod Laver Arena has a seating capacity of 14,820, with a capacity of 15,400 for sports such as basketball, when extra seats are added around the court, and up to 14,200 for concerts with floor seating.

The arena currently attracts over 1.5 million visitors per year.

The arena was the first tennis venue in the world and the first arena of any kind in Australia to have a retractable roof installed.

The idea for such a roof came about at the suggestion of John Cain, the premier of Victoria around 1980, who came up with the compromise idea after Tennis Australia requested the government to build an open air tennis facility next to a pre-existing government project to build a closed roof entertainment centre.

The Rod Laver Arena is the largest indoor arena in Australia without a permanent roof (not counting the 56,347 seat Docklands Stadium, also in Melbourne, which is classed as a stadium rather than an arena).

It is also the second largest indoor arena in Australia behind the 21,032 capacity Sydney Super Dome.

The arena's retractable roof allows competitors to continue play during rain or extreme heat.

Rod Laver Arena is equipped with the Hawk-Eye electronic system which allows tennis players to challenge the umpire's decision on calls made throughout championships.

Rod Laver Arena is the centrepiece of the National Tennis Centre at Melbourne Park, and besides tennis, the arena has hosted basketball, motorbike super-crosses, music concerts, conferences, WWE events and ballet.

It hosted gymnastics at the 2006 Commonwealth Games and even hosted the 2007 World Aquatics Championships, with a temporary pool built in the arena for the championships.

Other than for tennis, during sporting events or concerts, a section of the southern lower seating bowl is retracted to allow space for a stage or special floor level seating.

The arena has hosted the likes of AC/DC, Bob Dylan, KISS, Kylie Minogue, Robbie Williams, Avril Lavigne, Pink, Christina Aguilera, The Rolling Stones, Coldplay, Nickelback, Beyoncé, The Killers, Muse, Linkin Park, Celine Dion, Rihanna, Mary J. Blige, Black Eyed Peas, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Taylor Swift, Gorillaz, Michael Bublé, Usher, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Dolly Parton, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Black Sabbath, One Direction, Alicia Keys, Blackpink, Shania Twain, JJ Lin, Shawn Mendes, Ariana Grande, Madonna and Stray Kids.

## Participating countries

### Semi-final 1

Australia, Eswatini and Jersey will vote in this semi-final. Qualifiers are marked in blue.

### Semi-final 2

The United Kingdom, Romania and Palau will vote in this semi-final. Qualifiers are marked in blue.

### Grand Final

1. ↑  The ending has a lyric repeated in English.