NNSC Oceania

## Participation map

**NNSC Oceania** is the first ever spin-off of the NoNonsense Song Contest. It took place in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, after the American territory won the right to host the contest. Organised by ABC7 Saipan and Oceanian members of the NoNonsense Broadcasting Union, the contest was hosted at the Oleai Sports Complex. The live show was hosted by Frank Camacho, with long-time NNSC heads of delegation Passe Partout and DentalFlan taking the role of green room hosts.

25 countries and territories across Oceania participated in the contest, including Australia and New Zealand which participate in the main contest. All countries internally selected an entry which was sent to the reference group for approval. The national juries of each country casted their votes, along with a Rest of the World jury.

The winner was New Zealand with the song "Karma" performed by Robinson. The victory followed the country's win at the NoNonsense Song Contest 7, making New Zealand the first country to win two NNSC events. New Zealand also became the first Oceanian country to win the contest. The podium was completed by American Samoa, and Fiji. Australia, Guam and Kiribati rounded up the top 6. The host nation Northern Mariana Islands finished in 12th place.

## Location

*Further information on the host country: Northern Mariana Islands*

### Host City

**Saipan** is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a commonwealth of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2017 estimates by the United States Census Bureau and the Commonwealth's Department of Commerce, Saipan's population was 47,565.

The legislative and executive branches of Commonwealth government are located in the village of Capitol Hill on the island; the judicial branch is headquartered in the village of Susupe. Since the entire island is organized as a single municipality, most publications designate Saipan as the Commonwealth's capital. As of 2015, Saipan's mayor is David M. Apatang and the governor of the Northern Mariana Islands is Ralph Torres.

### Venue

Oleai Sports Complex is a multi-use stadium in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium has a capacity of 2,000 people. The surface is grass with an athletics track around the perimeter.

The complex is run by the government of the Northern Mariana Islands. A weight room and gymnasium are located on the site, the gymnasium hosting basketball and volleyball matches. The complex was used for the 2nd Micronesia Athletics Championships in 2005 and has been used as a training facility by visiting athletics teams. The complex also hosts little league baseball competitions.

### Format

The draw to determine the running order of the final took place on 1 August 2021.

The draw determined in which slot each of the 25 acts would perform. The draw was done completely randomly in order to increase excitement throughout the show and share the different styles of music being showcased by each country.

Searches across each country were used to find worthy candidates of being part of each country's national jury. They were all required to vote during the final. A Rest of the World jury also voted, however one of the jurors' votes were used to replace Tonga's jury who did not submit votes in time.

## Participating Countries

Twenty-five countries participated in the final, and casted their votes.

## Other Countries

Eligibility for potential participation in NNSC Oceania requires a national broadcaster with active NNBU membership that would be able to broadcast the contest and territory in Oceania. Invitations to 27 countries and territories were sent, of which 25 were accepted.

### Active Members

* **Indonesia:** Indonesia were invited to the contest due to having some territory in Oceania. However they rejected the invitation, stating they would rather be involved in any Asian-based events taking place within the broadcasting union.
* **Norfolk Island:** Despite originally confirming participation in the event, the Norfolk Island broadcaster eventually withdrew as no artists showed interest in representing the territory.