Own Eurovision Song Contest 57

Own Eurovision Song Contest 57, often referred to as OESC #57, is the 57th edition of Own Eurovision Song Contest. The contest took place in Nicosia, Cyprus, following the country's victory in the 56th edition with the song "Throne" by Andrew Lambrou. It was the first time Cyprus had hosted the contest. Organised by the Own European Broadcasting Union and host broadcaster Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation, the contest was held at the Eleftheria Indoor Hall, and consisted of two semi-finals and the final. The three live shows were hosted by Ivi Adamou and Kara Marni.

Forty-eight countries took part in the contest. Guernsey made its debut as a guest nastion. Albania, Denmark, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Ukraine returned to the competition, while Czech Republic, Iceland, Israel and Serbia withdrew for various reasons. Serbia was initially confirmed for the contest when the list of participants was announced, but despite being an automatic qualifier for the final, the broadcasters was unable to submit an entry by the deadline and were forced to withdraw.

The winner was Belarus with the song "Kupala na Ivana" performed by Harmonic Style Project. This is the country's first victory. The podium was completed by the United Kingdom, which equalling their best result form the 55th edition and Moldova. The top six was completed by Poland, Slovenia and Guernsey. The host country Cyprus ended up on the 13th place.

Location
Further information on the host country: Cyprus

Host City
Nicosia is the largest city, capital, and seat of government of Cyprus. It is located near the centre of the Mesaoria plain, on the banks of the River Pedieos.

According to Greek mythology, Nicosia (Lefkosia in Greek) was a siren, one of the daughters of Acheloos and Melpomene and its name translates as "White State" or city of White Gods.

Nicosia is the southeasternmost of all EU member states' capitals. It has been continuously inhabited for over 4,500 years and has been the capital of Cyprus since the 10th century. The Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities of Nicosia segregated into the south and north of the city respectively in early 1964, following the fighting of the Cyprus crisis of 1963–64 that broke out in the city. This separation became a militarised border between the Republic of Cyprus and Northern Cyprus after Turkey invaded the island of Cyprus in 1974, occupying the north of the island, including northern Nicosia. Today North Nicosia is the capital of Northern Cyprus, a state recognized only by Turkey, that is considered to be occupied Cypriot territory by the international community.

Apart from its legislative and administrative functions, Nicosia has established itself as the island's financial capital and its main international business centre. In 2018, Nicosia was the 32nd richest city in the world in relative purchasing power.

Venue
Eleftheria Indoor Hall officially named Tassos Papadopoulos Eleftheria Indoor Hall is an indoor arena that is located besides Makario Stadium and Lefkotheo Indoor Hall in Engomi, Nicosia, Cyprus.

The hall is mainly used for basketball events, although it can also be used for badminton, gymnastics, karate, taekwondo, handball, squash, volleyball, judo, futsal and table tennis. It is sometimes also used for national celebrations, for the declaration of the new President of Cyprus, and for musical concerts.

The arena is named after Tassos Papadopoulos, the fifth President of the Republic of Cyprus, who was in office from February 28, 2003, to February 28, 2008. Currently, the arena has a capacity of around 6,800 seats, and it is the biggest indoor sports hall on the island of Cyprus.

Semi-final Allocation Draw
The draw to determine the allocation of the participating countries into their respective semi-finals took place on 2 October 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-one countries participated in each 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-two 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
Twenty-one countries participated in the first semi-final. Belarus, Latvia and Moldova also voted in this semi-final.

Semi-final 2
Twenty-one countries participated in the second semi-final. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus and Sweden also voted in this semi-final.

Final
Twenty-six countries participated in the final, with all 48 participating countries eligible to vote.

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 has been sent in order to confirm whether they will participate or not. The following list of countries declined to state their reasons as shown below.

Active members

 * ORF, the Austrian broadcaster confirmed country's participation, however they failed to submit an entry in time and was not present in the final list of participants.
 * The Czech broadcaster Česká televize failed to release a statement regarding their participation in this edition. However the head of delegation later announced that a return in the next edition edition was not ruled out.
 * Estonian Public Broadcasting responsible for country's participation in the contest didn't respond to the invitation that was sent by the OEBU, thus not being present in the final list of participants.
 * The head of delegation stated that the country would withdraw from the contest due to them leaving the position. A return in the next edition is not ruled out as a new HoD is expected to be hired by then.
 * Despite earlier confirming participation, Israel announced they will take a one-edition break, with a return expected in the next edition.
 * After being confirmed for the contest when the list of participants was announced, their broadcaster was unable to submit an entry by the deadline and were forced to withdraw, despite being directly qualified to the grand final.
 * The delegation responsible for country's participation in the contest didn't respond to the invitation that was sent by the OEBU, thus not being present in the final list of participants.

Associate members

 * The Åland Islander population is glad to return to the contest after being robbed of their rightful spot in the contest. The HoD is very upset the Åland Islands does not get a full membership and can not borrow from Sweden or Finland even though more populous countries like all of the countries that are allowed to borrow but in the end better something than nothing and the Åland Islands does not have a complete lack of talent.
 * The Manx broadcaster Isle of Man Television applied for OEBU membership, and wished to enter Isle of Man into the contest after an increase of interest from local artists. So far the broadcaster is just an associate broadcaster but is hopeful to enter the contest in the future.
 * The head of delegation announced their decision to join the Associate Broadcasters list, citing "high public interest" and "in desperate need of more income from TV licenses" as the main reasons.