Own Americavision Song Contest 14

Own Americavision Song Contest 14, often referred to as OAmSC #14, is the 14th edition of Own Americavision Song Contest. The contest took place in Toronto, Canada, following the country's victory in the 13th edition with the song "Come Through" by Priyanka feat. Lemon. It was be the second time that Canada had hosted the contest, having previously done so in the eleventh edition. Organised by the Own American Broadcasting Association and host broadcaster Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the contest was held at the Scotiabank Arena, and consisted of one quarter-final, two semi-finals and the final. The four live shows were hosted by Priyanka, Lemon and Rita Baga.

A record of fifty-two countries participated in the contest, on par with the twelth edition, which took place in Kingston, Jamaica. American Samoa, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Haiti, Martinique, Montserrat, Saint Barthélemy and Turks and Caicos Islands returned to the competition, while Anguilla, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Northern Mariana Islands and Saint Kitts and Nevis withdrew for various reasons.

Location
Further information on the host country: Canada

Host City
Toronto is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor of the Golden Horseshoe, an urban agglomeration of 9,765,188 people (as of 2021) surrounding the western end of Lake Ontario, while the Greater Toronto Area proper had a 2021 population of 6,712,341. Toronto is an international centre of business, finance, arts, and culture, and is recognized as one of the most multicultural and cosmopolitan cities in the world.

Indigenous peoples have travelled through and inhabited the Toronto area, located on a broad sloping plateau interspersed with rivers, deep ravines, and urban forest, for more than 10,000 years. After the broadly disputed Toronto Purchase, when the Mississauga surrendered the area to the British Crown, the British established the town of York in 1793 and later designated it as the capital of Upper Canada. During the War of 1812, the town was the site of the Battle of York and suffered heavy damage by American troops. York was renamed and incorporated in 1834 as the city of Toronto. It was designated as the capital of the province of Ontario in 1867 during Canadian Confederation. The city proper has since expanded past its original limits through both annexation and amalgamation to its current area of 630.2 km2.

The diverse population of Toronto reflects its current and historical role as an important destination for immigrants to Canada. More than 50 percent of residents belong to a visible minority population group, and over 200 distinct ethnic origins are represented among its inhabitants. While the majority of Torontonians speak English as their primary language, over 160 languages are spoken in the city. The mayor of Toronto is elected by direct popular vote to serve as the chief executive of the city. The Toronto City Council is a unicameral legislative body, comprising 25 councillors since the 2018 municipal election, representing geographical wards throughout the city.

Toronto is a prominent centre for music, theatre, motion picture production, and television production, and is home to the headquarters of Canada's major national broadcast networks and media outlets. Its varied cultural institutions, which include numerous museums and galleries, festivals and public events, entertainment districts, national historic sites, and sports activities, attract over 43 million tourists each year. Toronto is known for its many skyscrapers and high-rise buildings, in particular the tallest free-standing structure on land in the Western Hemisphere, the CN Tower.

The city is home to the Toronto Stock Exchange, the headquarters of Canada's five largest banks, and the headquarters of many large Canadian and multinational corporations. Its economy is highly diversified with strengths in technology, design, financial services, life sciences, education, arts, fashion, aerospace, environmental innovation, food services, and tourism. Toronto is the third-largest (and fastest growing) tech hub in North America after Silicon Valley and New York City.

Venue
Scotiabank Arena, formerly known as Air Canada Centre (ACC), is a multi-purpose indoor arena located on Bay Street in the South Core district of Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the home of the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). In addition, the minor league Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League (AHL) and the Raptors 905 of the NBA G League play occasional games at the arena. The arena was previously home to the Toronto Phantoms of the Arena Football League (AFL) and the Toronto Rock of the National Lacrosse League. Scotiabank Arena also hosts other events, such as concerts, political conventions and video game competitions.

The arena is 61,780.5 square metres in size. It is owned and operated by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd. (MLSE), the same group that owns the Leafs and the Raptors, as well as their respective development teams. In 2018, Scotiabank Arena was the 13th busiest arena in the world and the busiest in Canada. It is also the most photographed location in Canada on Instagram according to BuzzFeed. Scotiabank Arena is connected to the Toronto Union railway station, subway station and bus terminal via the PATH.

Semi-final Allocation Draw
The draw to determine the allocation of the participating countries into their respective semi-finals took place on 7 March 2022.

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. Twenty-one countries participated in every semi-final. From each semi-final, ten countries joined the "Big 6" in the final, where a total of twenty-six countries participated.

The forty-two 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:

Quarter-final
Seven countries participated in the quarter-final. Every country could vote, with the participants accounting for 50% of the results and the Rest of the World for the other 50% of the results.

Semi-final 1
Twenty-one countries participated in the first semi-final. El Salvador, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and United States also voted in this semi-final.

Semi-final 2
Twenty-one countries participated in the first semi-final. Argentina, Brazil and Canada also voted in this semi-final.

Final
Twenty-six countries will participate in the final, with all 52 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 has been sent in order to confirm whether they will participate or not.
 * The Anguillan broadcaster stated their intentions to withdraw from this edition because they did not want the nation to appear in the quarter-final. The broadcaster also announced their return next edition.
 * Costa Rica had originally confirmed their presence among this edition's "Big 6" countries. Unfortunately, the broadcaster submitted their entry one minute after the official deadline. Glori Pacheco & Maul On The Mix, with their song "Tóxico", would've represented the nation in the grand final. Following an extremely active discussion among the members of the council, it was declared, on 6 February 2022, that the entry would not be accepted. This decision shocked the fanbase, and many were the positive and negative reactions of the fans on social media. Following the incident, United States, last edition's seventh place, replaced Costa Rica in what became their first automatic qualification since the ninth edition, while Costa Rica lost their perfect participation pattern. OABA also stated that the country was still able to return with the rejected song the following edition.
 * The broadcaster had initially confirmed the presence of the country. However, it did not appear on the final list of participating countries as the Head of Delegation didn't submit a valid entry within the given deadline. The broadcaster later expressed their apologies to OABA and promised to return next edition.
 * The country initially confirmed its absence for this edition after their previous HoD had been hired by the broadcaster of Turks and Caicos Islands. A new HoD was successfully appointed and confirmed the territory's presence, but they were put on a standby list because the maximum number of participating countries had been reached. In an official announcement, the OABA stated that there was still a possibility for the nation to be present this edition. Following such announcement, OABA announced that standby list countries would only be able to take part if less than forty-eight original participants confirm, meaning that the country was invited to return next edition.
 * The Kittitian broadcaster had initially planned to take part in the Quarter-final of this edition. Unfortunately, OABA revealed that the broadcaster had been fined and excluded from competing for not sending a valid entry within the deadline. The following day, the Head of Delegation stated that they did submit a valid entry, but received no responses from OABA. It was later further revealed that the broadcaster had submitted their entry to the wrong address and OABA had not received anything. The incident is noted for sparking a notable interest among the contest's fanbase.
 * The broadcaster showed interest in returning, but was forced to sit out and put on a standby list because the maximum number of participating countries had already been reached. In an official announcement, the OABA stated that there was still a possibility for the country to make its comeback this edition. Following such announcement, OABA announced that standby list countries would only be able to take part if less than forty-eight original participants confirm, meaning that the country was invited to return next edition.