Own Asiavision Song Contest 21

Own Asiavision Song Contest 21, often referred to as OASC #21, is the 21st edition of Own Asiavision Song Contest. The contest took place in Sana'a, Yemen, following the country's victory in the 20th edition with the song "Mudbira", performed by A-WA. The contest was held at the Ali Mohsen Al-Muraisi Stadium, and consisted of two semi-finals and the final. This is the first time that the country hosted the contest.

Thirty-seven countries participated in the contest, with New Caledonia and Vanuatu making their debut appearance. The contest saw the return of Kyrgyzstan, Macau, Oman, Papua New Guinea, Tajikistan and Tonga, while Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Pakistan and Qatar have withdrawn from the competition.

The winner was declared South Korea, who won the contest for the third time, with the song "Adios" performed by Everglow. South Korea became the first country to win the contest three times and so far holds the record of most victories. The second place went to French Polynesia, who managed to beat their best result from previous edition, alongside Samoa who ended up on sixth place and Kuwait on sixteenth place. The podium was completed by Fiji, followed by Vietnam and Thailand on fourth and fifth places respectively. Out of the "Big Six" countries, two managed to keep their auto-qualification streak by ending up in the top 6: French Polynesia and Vietnam. The host nation Yemen finished on the 24th place. This edition also marked the first appearance of Vanuatu in the final, while Kyrgyzstan failed to qualify for the first time.

Location
Further information on the host country: Yemen

Host City
Sana'a, also spelled Sanaa or Sana, is the largest city in Yemen and the centre of Sana'a Governorate. The city is not part of the Governorate, but forms the separate administrative district of "Amanat Al-Asemah". Under the Yemeni constitution, Sana'a is the capital of the country, although the seat of the internationally recognised government moved to Aden in the aftermath of the September 21 Revolution. Aden was declared as the temporary capital by President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi in March 2015.

Sana'a is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. At an elevation of 2,300 metres (7,500 ft), it is also one of the highest capital cities in the world, and is next to the Sarawat Mountains of Jabal An-Nabi Shu'ayb and Jabal Tiyal, considered to be the highest mountains in the country and amongst the highest in the region. Sana'a has a population of approximately 3,937,500 (2012), making it Yemen's largest city.

The Old City of Sana'a, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has a distinctive architectural character, most notably expressed in its multi-storey buildings decorated with geometric patterns. In the conflict that raged in 2015, bombs hit UNESCO sites in the old city. Located here is the Al Saleh Mosque, the largest in the city.

Venue
The Ali Mohsen al-Muraisi Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Sana'a, Yemen. It is currently used mostly for football matches and serves as the home stadium of Al-Ahli; the stadium holds 25,000 people.

Semi-final Allocation Draw
The draw to determine the allocation of the participating countries into their respective semi-finals took place on 27 September 2019. 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. Sixteen countries will participate in the first semi-final, while fifteen countries in the second semi-final. From each semi-final, ten countries will join the "Big 6" in the final, where a total of twenty-six countries will participate.

The thirty-one 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
Sixteen countries participated in the first semi-final. French Polynesia, Malaysia and Singapore also voted in this semi-final.

Semi-final 2
Fifteen countries participated in the second semi-final. Laos, Vietnam and Yemen also voted in this semi-final.

Final
Twenty-six countries participated in the final, with all 37 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.


 * Bangladesh decided to not return due to lack of motivation from the broadcaster to look for potential entries.
 * It was confirmed that the country would not return in the 21st edition.
 * It was confirmed that the country would not return in the 21st edition.
 * It was confirmed that the country would not return in the 21st edition.
 * RTHK announced a one edition break and that a return in the 22nd edition was not ruled out.
 * The broadcaster missed the deadline for confirmations, thus being forced to withdraw.
 * Iran decided to take a break without giving out more information.
 * It was confirmed that the country would not return in the 21st edition.
 * The broadcaster missed the deadline for confirmations, thus being forced to withdraw.
 * The broadcaster announced one more edition break due to the departure of the old delegation of the country.
 * KCTV declared North Korean participation highly unlikely after hosting the Second Winners Edition held in the capital Pyongyang. Also news broke out that the long-time Head of Delegation, had stepped down from his former position.
 * Pakistan withdraws for edition #21. A final decision regarding the future of the current HoD will be made before edition #22.
 * The head of the delegation announced country's withdrawal for this edition.
 * It was confirmed that the country would not return in the 21st edition.
 * The broadcaster failed to give any information about their participation.
 * The broadcaster failed to give any information about their participation.