OVSC11

## 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

 North Korea
 "Zimzalabim" by Red Velvet

After Iran's second victory in Tehran, it was agreed that a bidding process to find a different host for OVSC11 will take place.

The Finnish city of Tampere won the right to host the contest and so OVSC returned to Europe for the first time since Stockholm hosted the 7th edition of the contest.

This was Finland's first time hosting (despite not actually winning the contest yet), as well as the third time it's been hosted by a Nordic country and the fifth time it's been to Europe.

44 countries have confirmed their participation.

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

North Korea won for the first time with the song "Zimzalabim" by Red Velvet, making them the third Asian country after Japan and Iran to win. This was the third time in a row that an Asian country has won the contest, and also the first time a socialist country has won.

## Location

### Host city

Tampere (Swedish: Tammerfors; Latin: Tammerforsia) is the third largest city in Finland with around 236,000 inhabitants, and around 376,000 in the metropolitan area (as of 2019; second largest).

Being 170 km north of the Finnish coastal capital Helsinki, it is also the most populous inland town in the Nordic countries. The city lies on a narrow isthmus between Lake Näsijärvi, which reaches far to the north, and Lake Pyhäjärvi in the south.

In addition, there are some 200 lakes and ponds in Tampere, and around 450 in the entire region. Despite being predominantly a former heavy industry centre, today Tampere is a major hub for information technology, research, education, culture, sports and business.

In 2010, the City of Tampere came in first in an image survey comparing the largest cities in Finland. Leaving Helsinki behind, it was also found the most attractive city among Finns who plan on moving.

In August 2021 the Tampere light rail system opened, the only one in Finland outside the capital area in the modern era.

The Tammerkoski rapids, which now run in a canal through downtown Tampere, connect the two major lakes with an elevation drop of 18 metres.

As early as the 7th century people started to gather at the banks of the lakes, and in the 18th century the utilization of the rapids as a source of hydropower resulted in a population boom. Tampere was officially founded on the banks of Tammerkoski in 1775 by Gustav III of Sweden, and four years later, on 1st October 1779, Tampere was granted full city rights.

The newly founded city was soon after established as a proving ground of revolutionary economical theories by declaring a freedom of trade to the city dwellers. The status of free town enabled import and export of foreign goods without customs.

In addition, it was ordered that the citizens were allowed to freely practice any Christian faith. Due to the uncommon liberties, Tampere grew as a major market town and industrial centre in the 19th century.

During the latter half of 19th century almost half of Finland's industrial labour force was in Tampere. The town's industrial inclination in the 19th and 20th centuries gave it the nickname "Manchester of the North", Manse for short (in Finnish) that sticks to this day.

Tampere has been an industrial pioneer in Finland since the very beginning. Finland’s first paper mill started operation in 1783, and the first paper machine was engaged at the J.C. Frenckell & Son’s factory in 1842.

The cotton factory established in 1820 by James Finlayson grew to become the country’s first large-scale industrial establishment. The first electric light in the Nordic countries was also lit in Finlayson’s modern production facilities in 1882.

Finlayson grew aggressively and eventually became the largest industrial complex in the Nordic countries. The city’s engineering industry was bolstered by the manufacturer of grinding machines and water turbines Tampella, which was established on the upper reaches of the Tammerkoski rapids in 1861.

By the time of the Finnish declaration of independence in 1917, Tampere had already grown into a major industrial hub that was predominantly inhabited by factory workers.

Because of the unusually large working class, Tampere was also the worker's union stronghold. The workers' living conditions were terrible which was increasingly generating social tension in the society.

The First World War was initially profitable for industrial Tampere, but after the October Revolution in Russia, the vital eastern trade was severed. Now the Finnish society was deeply divided, and the socialists seized control of Tampere in 1918.

During the Finnish Civil War in 1918, Tampere became the Red (Social Democratic Party of Finland) stronghold. However, in April 1918 the eventually victorious White forces led by C.G.E. Mannerheim captured the town after the Battle of Tampere.

It was the largest battle in the civil war. Whites seized 11,000 prisoners, summarily executing actual and suspected leaders and locking the remaining prisoners into camps. The decisive victory quickly led to the end of one of the bloodiest civil wars the world had yet seen.

After the war, both the city and the national consensus were rebuilt, and Tampere grew rapidly. In 1927 the first of the factories stopped industrial operations, and city offices later moved into the empty buildings.

Even though the structural changes were already on their way, by the time of the Second World War, Tampere was centre of the Finnish war industry. In addition to uniforms made in textile mills, Tampella factories were manufacturing mortars and artillery.

Tampere was bombarded during 1939-40 by the Soviet air force, but the damages were not extensive. After 1960 most factories started to grind to a halt, but the buildings were kept.

Nowadays the cityscape of Tampere is characterized by charming old red-brick industrial buildings, most of them reinstated as offices, restaurants, and places of culture. Modern Tampere has come a long way from its heavy industry roots, and transformed into a hi-tech research and development powerhouse.

### Venue

After Yle's appointment as host broadcaster after winning the bidding process to find a host city, the newly-built Nokia Arena in Tampere was chosen to host the 11th OrbisVision Song Contest.

The Nokia Arena is an indoor arena which hosts ice hockey games and large cultural events. It has a capacity of 13,455 for ice hockey and 15,000 for concerts. It also have 52 executive suites.

It broke ground in 2018 and was officially opened on 3rd December 2021, at an estimated cost of €124 million. The first event held in the arena were the local matches of the SM-liiga or Finnish Elite League on 3rd and 4th December.

The arena is the home arena of the Ilves and Tappara ice hockey teams of the SM-liiga or Finnish Elite League. The NHL teams Columbus Blue Jackets and Colorado Avalanche are due to play in the Nokia Arena this November as part of the 2022 NHL Global Series, which returns after a 2-year hiatus.

The arena will feature the Casino Tampere and it currently has a luxury hotel from Lapland Hotels called Lapland Hotels Arena nearby, which opened on 18th December. The rest of this development is scheduled to be complete by 2024. The Nokia Arena was one of two arenas hosting the 2022 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship along with Helsinki's Ice Arena.

Originally named Tampere Deck Arena, it was originally to be sponsored by the UROS Group in Oulu under a ten-year sponsorship and it was to be named UROS LIVE. The naming caused a small-scale scandal in Finland due to the name's overly masculine tone, as the word *uros* means "male" in Finnish. The agreement was terminated on 28th October 2021 due to financial problems at Uros Oy, and the arena's name was changed as a result.

Nokia Corporation was chosen as the arena's new sponsor on November 19th and the arena was renamed the *Nokia Arena*.

### Bidding process

In a change to the usual hosting rules after Iran's victory in Tehran, the Iranian head of delegation and the executive supervisor of the OrbisVision Song Contest agreed to have bids submitted by other HoDs to host the contest.

The winning bid was Tampere, Finland, after it gained the most votes in a poll to choose the host city and venue.

The table below features the shortlisted venues, highlighted in red. The chosen host venue is highlighted in blue.

## Participating countries

### Semi-final 1

Finland, Romania and Niue will vote in this semi-final. Qualifiers are marked in blue.

### Semi-final 2

Iran, Malta and Poland will vote in this semi-final. Qualifiers are marked in blue.

### Grand Final

1. ↑  Contains a verse in Thai.
2. ↑  The outro features a phrase in Persian which roughly translates to "The night is long and the Qalandar awakes".