Own USAvision Song Contest 2

Own USAvision Song Contest 2, often referred to as OUSC2, is the 2nd edition of Own USAvision Song Contest. It took place in Anchorage, Alaska. Organised by the Own Public Broadcasting Service and host broadcaster ARCS, the contest was held at Sullivan Arena, and consisted of two semi-finals and the final.

Thirty-eight states participated in the contest. Dekaware, Indiana, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire and Oklahoma made their debut this edition. No state returned to the contest. Meanwhile, Connecticut, Kansas, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota and Utah withdrew for various reasons.

Location
For more details on the host state, see Alaska

Host City
Anchorage (Iñupiaq: Kisaġvik, Yup'ik: Kicarvik) is a unified municipal consolidated city-borough in the U.S. state of Alaska, on the West Coast of the United States. With an estimated 288,000 residents in 2019, it is Alaska's most populous city and contains nearly 40% of the state's population; among the 50 states, only New York has a higher percentage of residents who live in its most populous city.

Venue
The George M. Sullivan Arena, commonly shortened to Sullivan Arena, is a 6,290 seat arena in Anchorage, Alaska, United States. The Sullivan Arena sits in the southwest region of Fairview, a neighborhood in Anchorage. It was home to the professional ice hockey team, the Alaska Aces of the ECHL and also the University of Alaska Anchorage Seawolves men's ice hockey team. It is the former home of the Great Alaska Shootout basketball tournament which has relocated to the Alaska Airlines Center as of 2014, and is the current home of the Alaska Fighting Championship mixed martial arts events.

Semi-final Allocation Draw
The draw to determine the allocation of the participating states into their respective semi-finals took place on 29th November 2020. The draw decided in which half of the respective semi-finals each country would perform, with the exact running order determined by the producers of the show at a later date. 16 states participated in each semi-final. From each semi-final, 10 states joined the host in the final, where a total of 26 states participated.

The semi-finalists were allocated into six pots, based on their geographical place and cultural similarities. Drawing from different pots helps in reducing the chance of so-called neighbour voting and increasing suspense in the semi-finals. Each time a country was drawn from the pot, its semi-final and half of the semi-final was determined.

The six pots were the following:

Semi-final 1
Sixteen states participated in the first semi-final. Florida, Maryland and New York also voted in this semi-final.

Semi-final 2
Sixteen states participated in the second semi-final. Alaska, Arizona and California also voted in this semi-final.

Other states
Eligibility for potential participation in the Own USAvision Song Contest requires a national broadcaster with active OUPB membership that would be able to broadcast the contest. As in every edition, an invitation to all the members has been sent in order to confirm whether they will participate or not.
 * Due to failing to vote in both semifinal and final of the previous edition, Connecticut was forced to change their broadcaster HoD, no one claimed it and was forced to withdraw.
 * The state announced that the country will be withdrawing from this edition, a return in the next edition was not ruled out.
 * The state announced that the country will be withdrawing from this edition, a return in the next edition was not ruled out.
 * During the semi-finals show, Mali was announced by Celeste Buckingham as the twentieth qualifiers with the song "Douha (Mali Mali)" by Discosure and Fatoumata Diawara. However, it was revealed by Buckingham herself that it was due to technical error of her script screen.
 * The broadcaster failed to confirm or withdraw from the upcoming edition and was fined by the OPBS.
 * The broadcaster failed to confirm or withdraw from the upcoming edition and was fined by the OPBS.
 * The state announced that the country will be withdrawing from this edition, a return in the next edition was not ruled out.
 * Despite confirming their participation, finally the broadcaster decided to withdraw.
 * Due to failing to vote in both semifinal and final of the previous edition, South Dakota was forced to change their broadcaster HoD, no one claimed it and was forced to withdraw.
 * Utah had originally confirmed their participation in the contest. However, the OPBS announced that the delegation had failed to submit a song before the deadline, thus being forced to withdraw.

More

 * Forum
 * Own Public Broadcasting Service