OVSC27

## OrbisVision Song Contest #27

 The winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, Loreen from Sweden, performing her winning song "Tattoo"
 Moyka performing "Rear View"
 **Grand Final:**
 A-Ha, KEiiNO and Bobbysocks

## Participants

### Returning

 Andorra
  Angola
  Argentina
  Armenia
  Belgium
  Bulgaria
  Estonia
  Finland
  Israel
 Liechtenstein
  Morocco
  Portugal
  San Marino
  South Africa

### Withdrawing

 British Virgin Islands
  Czechia
  Denmark
  France
  Gibraltar
  Hungary
  Luxembourg
  Mongolia
  Netherlands
  Palau
  Poland
  Puerto Rico
  Russia
  Serbia
  Syria

## 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

 Ukraine
 "Pisnya Smilyvykh Divchat" by KAZKA

After their victory in Quebec City, the 27th OrbisVision Song Contest returned to Norway, this time in the city of Trondheim!

This was Norway's second time hosting the contest, as well as the 13th time the contest was hosted in Europe and the 6th time the contest has been to a Scandanavian country.

44 countries have confirmed their participation.

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

The contest was won for the first time by Ukraine, with the song "Pisnya Smilyvykh Divchat" by KAZKA.

This was the second time a former Soviet state won the contest and the 12th time in a row a European country claimed victory.

## Location

### Host city

**Trondheim**, formerly *Trondhjem* or *Nidaros*, is an old city in central Norway. It is a key city in Norway, its skyline dominated by the lovely cathedral and its city life dominated by the university.

Central Trondheim is beautifully located inside a large river bend where the river meets the wide Trondheimsfjord.

Trondheim is the oldest of Norway's major cities, and its rich cultural heritage can still be traced in and around the city centre.

It's a scenic city, located on the southern shore of the Trondheim fjord, which is the third longest in Norway.

Even if the size is modest, there is a lot going on in Trondheim. Music, arts, culture, alternative politics, nightlife and student life — all combine into making Trondheim one of the most exciting city centres of Northern Europe.

The city centre is roughly the area inside the meandering Nidelva. The marvellous Nidaros Cathedral, the second-largest church of Northern Europe and the only Gothic cathedral in Norway, towers over the city centre.

Legend has it that it was built over the grave of St Olav, Norway's patron saint. Regarded as a national treasure, it has been the site of the coronations of Norway's kings.

In 1958, Olav V chose to receive benediction there as did the current king, Harald V, in 1991. The cathedral has been under restoration since 1860 and as the only state church in Norway, obtains grants directly from the parliament through the state budget.

The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) is the main technical university of Norway and contributes greatly to the city's social profile and economy.

Out of Trondheim's 210,000 inhabitants (2020), 42,000 are students at NTNU (2019).

The village of Melhus, near the mouth of the Gaula river valley is part of the wider Trondheim area.

The city celebrated its 1000th anniversary in 1997 but contrary to popular belief Trondheim was not so much of a centre for the Vikings as it was founded at the end of the Viking Age. However, it was the religious centre of northern Europe during the Middle Ages and a vital hub for North Atlantic trade, giving it plenty of characteristic mansions and harbour houses.

From 1152 until the Protestant Reformation, Trondheim (or Nidaros as it was called) was the seat of the Archbishopric of Norway (present-day Norway plus Iceland, Orkney and Shetland). The ancient name Nidaros reads "mouth of river Nid".

For centuries, Trondheim was the northernmost mercantile city in Europe, giving it a special "edge-of-the-world" feeling. This also resulted in a more outgoing international culture than many other Scandinavian cities at the time. The inhabitants like to call their city the historical, religious, and technological capital of Norway.

### Venue

Trondheim Spektrum (formerly Nidarøhallen) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Trondheim, Norway. It is located on the peninsula of Øya next to the Nidelven river. It is the home arena for women's handball team Byåsen HE.

A new arena was completed in 2019 and replaced the largest multi-use hall in the same location. The eight former halls originally went by the name Nidarøhallen.

Next to the halls is the athletics facility Øya stadion and the Trondhjems Tennis Club (TTK) with four outdoor clay courts and indoor tennis hall.

Trondheim Spektrum was one of the arenas where matches were played in the preliminary rounds of the European Handball Championship in 2020 for both the men and women tournaments.

Previously, matches during the IHF World Women's Handball Championship have also been held here in both 1993 and 1999, and during the 2008 European Men's Handball Championship. It will host the 2025 World Men's Handball Championship with the country, Croatia and Denmark.

Other sporting events to be held here include the Møbelringen Cup (in 2005 and 2009) and the 2016 Northern European Gymnastics Championships.

On 15 February 2020, the final of Melodi Grand Prix 2020 took place. This was the first time that Trondheim hosted a Melodi Grand Prix final, and marked the first time since Melodi Grand Prix 1989 that the final was not arranged in Oslo.

The original halls were built in three stages. Halls A and B were designed by architects Pran & Torgersen and were opened in 1963. Further halls was added in 1971 (hall C) and 1980 (hall G), this was followed by stage 3 (halls D and E/H) in 1988 which was designed by Lien & Risan architectural office. The eighth (hall F) was added in 2000.

The original Trondheim Spektrum had a floor area of 15,000 m² spread over eight multi-use halls. The main hall had 3,400 seats and space for around 4,500 people standing.

The original also had 1,000 square meters of meeting rooms in different sizes from 80 to 480 square meters.

The facility had its own press center which consisted of two study rooms, three offices and a meeting room. A tennis club, with four outdoor courts, and a catering company also had premises within the complex.

From summer 2017, Trondheim Spektrum underwent a significant renovation and extension. In June 2017, Veidekke Entreprenør won the contract valued at 317 million kroner (excluding VAT) to build the new multi-purpose hall.

Construction work started in September 2017 and was completed in the autumn of 2019. The new venue has nine full-size handball courts and six children's mini courts. The main hall has 8,600 seats and concerts can be arranged with up to 12,000 spectators.

In June 2019, Eventim Norway was announced as the official ticketing partner. The venue opened on 4 October 2019 with a performance by John Mayer during the European leg of his 2019 concert tour, I Guess I Just Feel Like World Tour.

## Participating countries

### Semi-final 1

Norway, the United Kingdom and Liberia will vote in this semi-final. Qualifiers are marked in blue.

### Semi-final 2

South Korea, the Åland Islands and Egypt will vote in this semi-final. Qualifiers are marked in blue.