Own Americavision Song Contest 5

Own Americavision Song Contest 5, often referred to as OAmSC #5, is the 5th edition of Own Americavision Song Contest. The contest took place in George Town, Cayman Islands, following the country's victory in the 4th edition with the song "Pretty Head", performed by Transviolet. The contest was held at the Truman Bodden Sports Complex, and consisted of two semi-finals and the final. This is the first time that the country hosted the contest.

Thirty-three countries participated in the fifth edition. The contest saw the return of Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Greenland, Peru and Uruguay. British Virgin Islands also made their debut appearance this edition. Unfortunately, Aruba, Brazil, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Jamaica, Mexico and Saint Lucia have withdrawn from the competition. Despite originally confirming, Cuba was forced to withdraw due to not submitting an entry before the deadline.

The winner was El Salvador with the song "Wild Heart" performed by Sabi. This was country's first ever top five placement, also the first Central American country to win the competition. Canada placed second for the second time in their participation, and the podium was completed by Argentina, which achieved their best result. Guatemala and Suriname, who placed fourth and fifth respectively also achieved their best result, alongside Saint Kitts and Nevis, Curaçao and Bermuda who placed inside the top 10. Nicaragua achieved their first qualification and placed sixteenth overall. For the first time since the introduction of the semi-finals, Uruguay and Venezuela failed to qualify for the final.

Location
For more details on the host country, see Cayman Islands.

Host City
George Town is a city situated on Grand Cayman in the Cayman Islands. It serves as the capital of the Cayman Islands, in the British West Indies. As of 2019, the city had a population of 40,200 making it the largest city (by population) of all the British Overseas Territories.

George Town is the heart of the Cayman Islands financial services industry (there are close to 600 Bank and Trust companies in the Cayman Islands). The Caymanian government offices are located in the city. According to the Globalization and World Cities Research Network in 2016, George Town is classed as a Beta city.

George Town has recorded residents from more than one hundred countries. Caymanians represent 39.1% of George Town’s population. Non-Caymanians account for 60.9%. Jamaican nationals represent 18.5% of the city, while Filipinos account for 9.3%. 5.2% are Canadian. British citizens account for 3.8%; Hondurans represent 3.7%. Indian nationals represent 2.9%. Dominicans constitute for 1.9%, Cubans represent 1.3%, Nicaraguans and Colombians represent 1% each. The remaining 12.3% are nationals of various other countries.

Venue
Truman Bodden Sports Complex is a multi-use complex in George Town, Cayman Islands. It is named after Truman Bodden. The complex is separated into an outdoor, 6 lane 25 metre swimming pool, full purpose track and field and basketball/netball courts. The field surrounded by the track is used for football matches as well as other field sports.

The track stadium holds 3,000 people comfortably.

In 2008 construction commenced on a 10 lane 50 metre pool, completed with its own stadium that holds hold 2,000 people. The stadium also includes changing rooms and restrooms for both athletes and spectators. There is also a multimedia centre built as use for offices, conference rooms and a full gym. The centre was built where the existing offices and changing room are located.

Semi-final Allocation Draw
The draw to determine the allocation of the participating countries into their respective semi-finals took place on 14 February 2019. The first part of the draw determined in which semi-final the Big Six would have to vote. The second part of 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. Thirteen countries will participate in in the first semi-final and fourteen in the second semi-final. From each semi-final, ten countries will join the "Big 6" in the final, where a total of twenty-six countries will participate.

The twenty-seven 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
Thirteen countries participated in the first semi-final. Canada, Colombia and United States also voted in this semi-final.

Semi-final 2
Fourteen countries participated in the second semi-final. Cayman Islands, Guatemala and Guyana also voted in this semi-final.

Final
Twenty-six countries participated in the final, with all 33 participating countries eligible to vote.

Other countries
Eligibility for potential participation in the Own Americavision Song Contest requires a national broadcaster with active OABA membership that would be able to broadcast the contest. As in every edition, an invitation to all the members have been sent in order to confirm whether they will participate or not. The following list of countries declined stating their reasons as shown below.


 * It was confirmed that the country would not participate in the 5th edition.
 * It was announced that the country won't be returning to the contest.
 * The broadcaster missed the deadline for confirmations, thus being forced to withdraw.
 * Despite initially confirming, the country failed to present their entry within the deadline.
 * It was announced that the country will be withdrawing.
 * It was confirmed that the country would not participate in the 5th edition.
 * It was confirmed that the country would not return in the 5th edition.
 * It was announced that the country will not return.
 * It was confirmed that the country would not participate in the 5th edition.
 * The broadcaster withdrew after the previous head of the delegation resigned.
 * Panama will not return due lack of interest among the artists and lack of funding. Participation in the future isn't ruled out.
 * It was confirmed that the country would not participate in the 5th edition.
 * The country will not return due to lack of time.