Own Asiavision Song Contest 16

Own Asiavision Song Contest 16, often referred to as OASC #16, is the 16th edition of Own Asiavision Song Contest. The contest took place in Mumbai, India, following country's victory in the 15th edition with the song "Paper House" performed by Helena. This is the first time that India hosted the contest.

Forty-two countries participated in the sixteenth edition. The contest saw the return of Iran, North Korea and Papua New Guinea. Unfortunately, Bahrain and Maldives have withdrawn from the competition. Despite originally confirming, Kuwait and New Zealand were forced to withdraw due to not submitting an entry before the deadline.

Location
For more details on the host country, see India.

Host City
Mumbai is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India and the ninth most populous agglomeration in the world, with an estimated city population of 18.4 million. Along with the neighbouring regions of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, it is one of the most populous urban regions in the world and the second most populous metropolitan area in India, with a population of 21.3 million as of 2016. Mumbai lies on the Konkan on the west coast of India and has a deep natural harbour.

In 2008, Mumbai was named an alpha world city. It is also the wealthiest city in India, and has the highest GDP of any city in South, Western, or Central Asia. Mumbai has the highest number of millionaires and billionaires among all cities in India.

Venue
The Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Indoor Stadium is an indoor sports arena, in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The facility seats 5,000 people. The stadium was established in 1957 and was foundation stone was laid by former Chief Minister of Maharashtra Yashwantrao Chavan and the facility is administered by National Sports Club of India. It includes the facilities like Tennis, Badminton, Billiards, Table Tennis, Badminton, Carrom and Wrestling.

The indoor stadium was renovated in 2005 with air conditioned indoor stadium with a seating capacity of 5000 and health club & Spa, two banquet rooms and restaurants were added.

Semi-final Allocation Draw
The draw to determine the allocation of the participating countries into their respective semi-finals took place took place on 18 September 2017. The participating countries, excluding the automatic finalists, have been split into six pots, based on voting patterns from the previous editions. The pots were calculated and are as follows:

From these pots, 18 countries were allocated to compete in the first semi-final and 18 in the second semifinal. The host country, India will vote in the second semi-final. The countries from the big five will vote as follow: Bangladesh, Japan and South Korea in the first semifinal, while China and Saudi Arabia in the second semifinal.

Semi-final 1
Eighteen countries participated in the first semi-final. Bangladesh, Japan and South Korea also voted in this semi-final.

Semi-final 2
Eighteen countries participated in the second semi-final. China, India and Saudi Arabia also voted in this semi-final.

Final
Twenty-six countries participated in the final, with all 42 participating countries eligible to vote.

Other countries


Eligibility for potential participation in the Own Asiavision Song Contest requires a national broadcaster with active OABU 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.


 * Bahrain didn't release a statement about their participation, therefore they will be withdrawing from the contest.
 * Despite their initial confirmation, it was later announced that Kuwait will not be taking part in the upcoming edition.
 * The broadcaster announced that Macau would not be returning this edition.
 * It was announced that the country would be taking a one-edition-break.
 * Despite speculation surrounding their participation, it was later reported that MNB had refused an invitation of participation.
 * New Zealand was forced to withdraw their application to participate for not submitting an entry in within deadline.
 * PBS didn't show interest in participating in the last two edition to focus on other projects within the broadcaster.