OVSC22

## 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

 New Zealand
 "Stained Glass Love" by Telenova

After their victory in Kraków, the Moroccan capital of Rabat hosted the 22nd OrbisVision Song Contest!

This was the first time Morocco has hosted the contest and the first time in OVSC's history that the contest has been to Africa. Morocco's also the first Arab World and Arabic-speaking country that has hosted the contest.

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

44 countries have confirmed their participation.

The contest was won by New Zealand for the second time in the country's history with the fan-favourite song "Stained Glass Love" by Telenova. This was the fourth time a country in Oceania claimed victory in OVSC.

## Location

### Host city

Rabat, city and capital of Morocco. One of the country’s four imperial cities and the 7th largest city, it is located on the Atlantic coast at the mouth of the Bou Regreg River, opposite the city of Salé.

    The history of Rabat is closely connected to that of Salé, the site of which was first occupied by the Roman settlement of Shella. During the 10th century, Salé was established by the Berbers, who were Sunni Muslims, to house the nonconformist Barghawāṭah Imazighen.

Rabat itself was founded in the 12th century by Abd al-Mu'min, the first Almohad ruler, as a ribat (fortified monastery) at which to quarter the troops for his holy war in Spain.

He later abandoned his efforts in Spain in order to concentrate his efforts on the conquest of North Africa.

It was the third Almohad sultan, Yaqub al-Mansur, who named the place Ribal-Al-Fath (meaning “Camp of Conquest”), from which the name of the present city is derived.

He also erected the great fortified wall within which the modern town has developed, and he began construction of an enormous mosque, of which the notable Tower of Hassan, its half-completed minaret, remains.

After 1609 the unified community of Rabat-Salé became the home of large numbers of Andalusian Moors who had been driven from Spain and, later, of the so-called Salé Rovers, the most dreaded of the Barbary pirates (also known as corsairs).

Under the French, Rabat was made the administrative capital, and, upon Moroccan independence, it was designated, together with Salé, an urban prefecture, it now embraces an area of 492 square miles (1,275 square km).

The old town, still surrounded by ramparts, lies near the coast. Within its fortifications are the medina (old Muslim town) and the *millah* (Jewish quarter).

To the north, on a cliff above the Bou Regreg, stands the 17th-century fortress of the Kasbah of the Udayas, with a splendid 12th-century Almohad gateway, an Andalusian garden, and an adjoining madrasah (religious college) that houses a museum of Moroccan art.

Southeast of the old town are a number of outstanding historical structures, including the Tower of Hassan and the foundations of its never-completed mosque, across from which is located the mausoleum of Muhammad V.

To the southwest of the old town are an archaeological museum and the city gate, Bab al-Rouah, also dating from the Almohad rule. The modern quarter of Rabat is partly enclosed by the fortified wall.

Relatively modern structures, including a royal palace built in the 1950s, Muhammad V University (founded in 1957), the national library, and various administrative buildings, are located in the city’s southern outskirts.

Various national embassies can be found throughout the modern city, and a number of international organizations have offices there.

### Venue

The Grand Theatre of Rabat is a large performing arts center in Rabat, the capital city of Morocco. The building is designed by Zaha Hadid and her architectural firm Zaha Hadid Architects.

Planning began for the project in 2010 and construction officially started on October 7, 2014. Completion of the project was scheduled for late 2019, but as of 2022, 12 years since the project was planned, the building has not opened its doors yet. The building has costed 2 billion Moroccan dirhams to build.

The building is among the last projects designed by Zaha Hadid before her passing in 2016.

The construction of the theatre is part of a wider national initiative by King Mohammed VI to promote the arts and cultural development.

The Grand Theatre is planned to be one of the centrepieces of a new 110-hectare mixed-use district on the shores of the Bou Regreg River, including malls, residential areas, a national archive, a new archaeological museum, and a business district with skyscrapers on the Salé side of the river.

The curving design of the structure is inspired by both the nearby river's winding course and by the aesthetics of Arabic calligraphy. Other elements take their cues from Islamic architecture.

The building includes an 1,800-seat interior theatre and a 7,000-seat open-air amphitheatre.

## Participating countries

### Semi-final 1

South Korea, France and Morocco will vote in this semi-final. Qualifiers are marked in blue.

### Semi-final 2

Ireland, Ukraine and Cuba will vote in this semi-final. Qualifiers are marked in blue.