Own Eurovision Song Contest 50

Own Eurovision Song Contest 50, often referred to as OESC #50, is the upcoming 50th edition of Own Eurovision Song Contest. The edition is scheduled to take place in Russia, after they won in the Own Eurovision Song Contest 49, edition held in Turku, Finland.

Forty-six countries have confirmed their participation in the competition. The 50th edition will see Egypt, Hungary, Kosovo, Latvia, Macedonia, Morocco, Poland and Serbia returning in the contest, while Albania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Malta, Lithuania, San Marino and Ukraine have decided to withdraw.

The 50th edition consists of three shows, including two semi-finals and a grand final.

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

Venue
Tatneft Arena is a multi-purpose sports and events venue located in Kazan, Russia. The capacity of the arena is 10,000 and was opened in 2005. It’s one of the biggest and most well-equipped ice palaces in Russia and Europe. The facility was inaugurated during Kazan’s 1,000th anniversary celebrations.

The venue has two fully-featured ice rinks, each having independently operating infrastructure, general use facilities (locker rooms, makeup rooms, judges rooms, etc.), press centre and medical station. The venue also features a variety of dining options including coffee bars, café and restaurant.

In July-August 2015, the Tatneft Arena Ice Palace played host to the Opening/Closing Ceremonies of the 16th FINA World Championships. The Opening Ceremony’s official show, Pilgrim, was staged at the venue on a day-to-day basis during eight days.

Bidding Phase
After Russia's victory in Turku, Finland, the head of the delegation stated that the 50th edition would be held in Russia, but the host city is yet to be decided. A total of four cities have been selected as the candidates to host the contest: Kaliningrad, Kazan, Novosibirsk and Sochi. Roston-on-Don had declared its interest in hosting the contest, but did not submit a formal bid.

The basic requirements to select a host city are the following:
 * A suitable venue that can accommodate around 10,000 spectators.
 * The Green Room should be located in the arena or as near it as possible.
 * A press centre with a specific size had to be made available at the venue.
 * A good distribution of hotel rooms, at different price categories, able to accommodate at least 2,000 delegates, accredited journalists and spectators.
 * The host city had to be near a major airport.

Host city
Kazan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. With a population of 1.243.500, it is the sixth most populous city in Russia. Kazan is one of the largest religious, economic, political, scientific, educational, cultural and sports centers in Russia. Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia, about 715 kilometres east from Moscow. The Kazan Kremlin is a World Heritage Site.

The Millennium of Kazan was celebrated in 2005.

In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the right to brand itself as the "Third Capital" of Russia. In 2009 it was chosen as the "Sports capital of Russia" and it still is referred to as such. In 2011, here was held the European Weightlifting Championships.The city hosted the 2013 Summer Universiade, 2014 World Fencing Championships, the 2015 World Aquatics Championships, and is one of the host cities for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and,for the first time in Russia, the official stage of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship under the auspices of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). Also Kazan has held the World Wushu Championships.In 2018, Kazan became one of the cities where the 2018 FIFA World Cup was held.

In 2015, 2.1 million tourists visited Kazan, a 20% increase in comparison with 2014. 1.5 million tourists visited the Kazan Kremlin in 2015, and one million visited the city's hotel and entertainment complex with an aquapark called "Kazan Riviera".

Semi-final Allocation Draw
The thirty-nine semi-finalists had been allocated into six pots, based on historical voting patterns. Drawing from different pots helps to reduce the chance of so-called "bloc voting" and increase suspense in the semi-finals.

From these pots, 19 countries will be allocated to compete in one semifinal and 20 countries in the other semifinal.

Other countries


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


 * : On 22 June 2018, the albanian broadcaster announced its withdrawal.
 * : On 22 June 2018 the broadcaster announced that Bosnia and Herzegovina will not return in the competition.
 * : On 19 June 2018 the broadcaster BNR announced its withdrawal.
 * : On 19 June 2018 It was announced by the broadcaster RIK that Cyprus will not return to the competition.
 * : On 4 March 2018 the broadcaster ERR announced its withdrawal.
 * : On 22 June 2018 the french broadcaster announced that France will not return in the competition.
 * : On 22 June 2018 the broadcaster LRT announced its withdrawal.
 * : On 4 March 2018 the broadcaster PBS announced its withdrawal.
 * : On 4 March 2018 the broadcaster SMTV announced its withdrawal.
 * : On 2 July 2018 the ukrainian broadcaster announced its withdrawal due to economic issues, a return in the next edition is very likely.
 * : On 2 July 2018 the ukrainian broadcaster announced its withdrawal due to economic issues, a return in the next edition is very likely.

Slovenia's representative
Though Slovenia have selected via a National Selection their entry "Arabia" by Joker, it was announced on June 13, 2018, that Joker has withdrew from the contest and another representative will be selected internal.

UK's representative
Though UK announced that they have selected Meadowlark, it was announced on June 14, 2018, that the band has withdrew from the competition. Another representative was selected.