Own Americavision Song Contest 13

Own Americavision Song Contest 13, often referred to as OAmSC #13, is the 13th edition of Own Americavision Song Contest. The contest took place in Belize City, Belize, following the country's victory in the 12th edition with the song "Not Ready for Love" by TCTS feat. Maya B. It was be the first time that Belize had hosted the contest. Organised by the Own American Broadcasting Association and host broadcaster Great Belize Television, the contest was held at the Belize Civic Center, and consisted of one quarter-final, two semi-finals and the final. The four live shows were hosted by King Micah, Eva Zapico and Shereen Cutkelvin.

Forty-nine countries participated in the contest. Caribbean Netherlands and Falkland Islands made their debut this edition. El Salvador, Honduras and Uruguay returned to the competition, while American Samoa, British Virgin Islands, Haiti, Martinique, Montserrat, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Lucia and Turks and Caicos Islands withdrew for various reasons.

Location
Further information on the host country: Belize

Host City
Belize City is the largest city in Belize and was once the capital of the former British Honduras. According to the 2010 census, Belize City has a population of 57,169 people in 16,162 households. It is at the mouth of the Haulover Creek, which is a distributary of the Belize River. The Belize River empties into the Caribbean Sea eight kilometres from Belize City on the Philip Goldson Highway on the coast of the Caribbean. The city is the country's principal port and its financial and industrial hub. Cruise ships drop anchor outside the port and are tendered by local citizens. The city was almost entirely destroyed in October 1961 when Hurricane Hattie swept ashore. It was the capital of British Honduras (as Belize was then named) until the government was moved to the new capital of Belmopan in 1970.

Belize City was founded as "Belize Town" in 1638 by English lumber harvesters. It had been a small Maya city called Holzuz. Belize Town was ideal for the English as a central post because it was on the sea and a natural outlet for local rivers and creeks down which the British shipped logwood and mahogany. Belize Town also became the home of the thousands of African slaves brought in by the English (later the British, beginning in 1707) to toil in the forest industry. It was the coordination site for the 1798 Battle of St. George's Caye, won by the British against would-be invaders, and the home of the local courts and government officials up to the 1970s. For this reason, historians often say that "the capital was the colony", because the center of British control was here.

This sentiment remains true today. Even though people like Antonio Soberanis, George Price and Evan X Hyde all lobbied to take their movements outside, and other ethnic groups such as the Garifuna and Mestizos sprang up elsewhere in the country, people looked to Belize Town for guidance.

Belize City has been directly struck by two hurricanes since 1900, the 1931 hurricane and the 1961 Hurricane Hattie, and at various times areas of the city have burnt down, the most recent being fires in the 1999 and 2004. The city was also hit hard by Hurricane Richard in 2010 and by the 2016 Hurricane Earl. Fires on the Northside and Southside have burnt out great stretches of housing, but the fire department was able to quench most of these. The city is also susceptible to flooding in the rainy season.

Venue
Belize Civic Centre is a multi-million-dollar civic centre constructed from prefabricated steel sections manufactured 5,000 miles away in Dorset is set to open in the heart of Belize City. Christchurch-based REIDsteel has performed the structural design, detailing and fabrication, including the cladding and glazing, for the landmark project in the Central American country.

The Belize Civic Center includes an air-conditioned arena with a seating capacity of 4,500 for sports and entertainment. The complex also features international standard basketball and volleyball courts, practice courts, offices, media boxes, changing rooms, parking and a deck area for boats to dock. Steel construction company REIDsteel has the capability to design, manufacture, ship and erect entire steel buildings including their cladding and or glazing requirements anywhere in the UK, Europe and the world. The roof structure and all exposed steelwork were hot rolled structural steel members, to provide protection from the elements and for ease of maintenance, and all designed for hurricane wind speeds of 160 miles per hour.

A total of 750 tonnes of steelwork was required for the 39,000 sq ft complex, including a roofing system spanning 200 feet, together with all the terraces for approximately 4500 seats and all the suspended floors consisting of galvanized composite metal decking system suitable for cast-in-situ concrete.

Semi-final Allocation Draw
The draw to determine the allocation of the participating countries into their respective semi-finals took place on 18 November 2021.

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 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 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
Six 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 countries participated in the first semi-final. Belize, Chile and Puerto Rico also voted in this semi-final.

Semi-final 2
Twenty countries participated in the second semi-final. Dominica, Guam and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines also voted in this semi-final.

Final
Twenty-six countries participated in the final, with all 51 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 broadcaster announced the territory's withdrawal due to it having to take part in the Quarter-final.
 * Despite CBN hinting that the British Virgin Islands would be present in Belize and planning to contact Melanie Amaro to represent the nation for the third time, nothing was officially stated by the broadcaster and therefore it was not present on the final list of participating countries.
 * The Caymanian broadcaster failed to respond to the invitation that was sent by the OABA, thus resulting in it being fined and the British overseas territory being absent for the second consecutive time.
 * It was announced that the country would withdraw due to social and financial troubles. The broadcaster had initially confirmed Haiti's presence.
 * Shortly after the final results of the previous edition, the OABA announced that Martinique la 1ère had repeatedly failed to pay debts. The broadcaster's failure to repay their debts resulted in the nation's disqualification from the contest.
 * The Montserratian broadcaster had originally confirmed his presence, with the Head of Delegation also announcing an upcoming national selection to be held to decide their next act. Unfortunately, such national selection was never organized and the broadcaster missed the deadline for song submissions. It obviously resulted in Montserrat's first non-participation since their debut in the ninth edition.
 * Carib'inTV announced that the nation would be withdrawing due to lack of singers.
 * The Lucian broadcaster failed to respond to the invitation that was sent by the OABA, thus not being able to be among the final list of participating countries.
 * TCT announced that the territory was not interested in competing anymore, stating that their main intention was to only promote tourism in the archipelago through the contest. Following the shocking announcement, a meme stating that Turks and Caicos "lived, served cunt, promoted tourism and died" went viral on social media thanks to the fans of the contest.