Own Asiavision Song Contest 23

Own Asiavision Song Contest 23, often referred to as OASC #23, is the 23rd edition of Own Asiavision Song Contest.It took place in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, following Munisa Rizaeva's win in the 22nd edition with the song "Bir nima de". It was the first time Uzbekistan had hosted the contest. The contest was held at the Milliy Stadium, and consisted of two semi-finals and the final. The three live shows were hosted by Rayhon.

Forty-five countries took part in the contest, equalling the record of the 14th edition. Tuvalu made their debut this edition. Bhutan, Myanmar, North Korea, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka and Tajikistan returned, while East Timor, French Polynesia, Iraq, Pakistan, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu withdrew for various reasons.

Location
Further information on the host country: Uzbekistan

Host City
Tashkent is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan, as well as the most populated city in ex-Soviet Central Asia with a population in 2018 of 2,485,900. It is located in the north-east of the country close to the border with Kazakhstan.

Before Islam influence started in the 8th century AD, Tashkent was influenced by the Sogdian and Turkic cultures in its early history. After its destruction by Genghis Khan in 1219, the city was rebuilt and profited from the Silk Road. From 18th to 19th century, the city became an independent city-state, before being re-conquered by the Khanate of Kokand. In 1865, it fell to the Russian Empire, and became the capital of Russian Turkestan. In Soviet times, Tashkent witnessed major growth and demographic changes due to forced deportations from throughout the Soviet Union. Much of the city was destroyed in the 1966 Tashkent earthquake, though it was rebuilt afterwards as a model Soviet city. It was the fourth-largest city of the Soviet Union at the time, after Moscow, Leningrad and Kiev.

Today, as the capital of an independent Uzbekistan, Tashkent retains a multi-ethnic population, with ethnic Uzbeks as the majority. In 2009, the city celebrated its 2,200 years of written history.

Venue
The Milliy Stadium is a football stadium in the city of Tashkent — the capital of Uzbekistan. Located in Chilanzar District of Tashkent, on Bunyodkor Avenue. It seats 34,000 spectators, thus becoming the second largest stadium in Uzbekistan after the Pakhtakor Stadium, which seats 35,000 spectators. It is the home arena of the FC Bunyodkor and Uzbekistan national football team.

From its opening in September 2012 until June 2018, the stadium was called "Bunyodkor Stadium". In June 2018, the stadium was renamed "Milliy", which translated from the Uzbek language means "National", that is, "National Stadium".

Semi-final Allocation Draw
The draw to determine the allocation of the participating countries into their respective semi-finals took place on 1 April 2020. 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. Nineteen countries participated in the first semi-final and twenty countries in the second semi-final. From each semi-final, ten countries joined the "Big 6" in the final, where a total of twenty-six countries participated.

The thirty-nine 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
Nineteen countries participated in the first semi-final. Laos, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan also voted in this semi-final.

Semi-final 2
Twenty countries participated in the second semi-final. Australia, Hong Kong and Indonesia also voted in this semi-final.

Final
Twenty-six countries participated in the final, with all 45 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.
 * Despite showing interest in returning in the contest, Bangladesh Television (BTV) announced that they would not return to the contest.
 * Radio-Televisão Timor Leste (RTTL) announced that the members of the delegation were moving onto other projects, and announced that they were withdrawing from the contest.
 * Tahiti Nui Television (TNTV) failed to confirm their participation within deadline and was forced to withdraw.
 * Iraqi Media Network (IMN) announced the withdrawal of the country from the contest, because of the controversy surrounding their head of the delegation and the council.
 * It was confirmed that the broadcaster had not signed up to compete in the contest.
 * Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) announced that the country would not return due to a possible change in the delegation.
 * Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation (SIBC) announced they would not return to the contest
 * Tonga Broadcasting Commission (TBC) failed to confirm or withdraw from the edition on time and were fined by the council.
 * Vanuatu Broadcasting and Television Corporation (VBTC) failed to sign up to compete in the contest within the deadline, thus was fined and forced to withdraw.