Own Eurovision Song Contest 46

Own Eurovision Song Contest 46, often referred to as OESC #46, is the 46th edition of Own Eurovision Song Contest. It will take place in Cairo, Egypt, at the Cairo Stadium Indoor Halls Complex, following Egypt's victory at the 45th Contest with "Black Birds", performed by Nathalie Saba.

Forty-seven countries confirmed their participation in the 46th edition. The contest will see the return of Armenia, Hungary, Morocco, Slovenia and Sweden.

Unfortunately, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Faroe Islands, Greece, Iceland, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova and Portugal have decided to withdraw.

Despite originally confirming, Lithuania and Montenegro were forced to withdraw due to not submitting an entry before deadline.

The 46th edition consisted in three shows: two semifinals and a grand final. The semifinals took place on 14 January 2016 and 21 January 2016 respectively. The Grand Final took place on February, 2016.

Location
Egypt (/ˈiːdʒɪpt/ ee-jipt; Arabic: مِصر‎‎ Miṣr, Egyptian Arabic: مَصر‎‎ Maṣr, Coptic: Ⲭⲏⲙⲓ Khemi), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia by a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. Egypt is a Mediterranean country bordered by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Gulf of Aqaba to the east, the Red Sea to the east and south, Sudan to the south, and Libya to the west. Across the Gulf of Aqaba lies Jordan, and across from the Sinai Peninsula lies Saudi Arabia, although Jordan and Saudi Arabia do not share a land border with Egypt. It is the world's only contiguous Afrasian nation.

Egypt has among the longest histories of any modern country, emerging as one of the world's first nation states in the tenth millennium BC. Considered a cradle of civilisation, Ancient Egypt experienced some of the earliest developments of writing, agriculture, urbanisation, organised religion and central government. Iconic monuments such as the Giza Necropolis and its Great Sphinx, as well the ruins of Memphis, Thebes, Karnak, and the Valley of the Kings, reflect this legacy and remain a significant focus of archaeological study and popular interest worldwide. Egypt's rich cultural heritage is an integral part of its national identity, which has endured, and at times assimilated, various foreign influences, including Greek, Persian, Roman, Arab, Ottoman, and European. One of the earliest centres of Christianity, Egypt was Islamised in the seventh century and remains a predominantly Muslim country, albeit with a significant Christian minority.

With over 92 million inhabitants, Egypt is the most populous country in North Africa and the Arab world, the third-most populous in Africa (after Nigeria and Ethiopia), and the fifteenth-most populous in the world. The great majority of its people live near the banks of the Nile River, an area of about 40,000 square kilometres (15,000 sq mi), where the only arable land is found. The large regions of the Sahara desert, which constitute most of Egypt's territory, are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with most spread across the densely populated centres of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta.

Modern Egypt is considered to be a regional and middle power, with significant cultural, political, and military influence in North Africa, the Middle East and the Muslim world. Egypt's economy is one of the largest and most diversified in the Middle East, and is projected to become one of the largest in the 21st century. Egypt is a member of the United Nations, Non-Aligned Movement, Arab League, African Union, and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

This will be the first time the Own Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Egypt.

Host City
Cairo (/ˈkaɪroʊ/ kye-roh; Arabic: القاهرة‎‎ al-Qāhirah, Coptic: ⲕⲁϩⲓⲣⲏ Kahire) is the capital and largest city of Egypt. The city's metropolitan area is the largest in the Middle East and the Arab world, and 15th-largest in the world, and is associated with ancient Egypt, as the famous Giza pyramid complex and the ancient city of Memphis are located in its geographical area. Located near the Nile Delta, modern Cairo was founded in 969 CE by Jawhar al-Siqilli ("the Sicilian") of the Fatimid dynasty, but the land composing the present-day city was the site of ancient national capitals whose remnants remain visible in parts of Old Cairo. Cairo has long been a center of the region's political and cultural life, and is nicknamed "the city of a thousand minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture.

Cairo has the oldest and largest film and music industries in the Arab world, as well as the world's second-oldest institution of higher learning, Al-Azhar University. Many international media, businesses, and organizations have regional headquarters in the city; the Arab League has had its headquarters in Cairo for most of its existence.

With a population of 6.76 million spread over 453 square kilometers (175 sq mi), Cairo is by far the largest city in Egypt. An additional 10 million inhabitants live in close proximity to the city. Cairo, like many other mega-cities, suffers from high levels of pollution and traffic. Cairo's metro, one of only two in Africa (the other is in Algiers, Algeria), ranks among the fifteen busiest in the world, with over 1 billion annual passenger rides. The economy of Cairo was ranked first in the Middle East in 2005, and 43rd globally on Foreign Policy's 2010 Global Cities Index.

Bidding Phase
ERTU (Egyptian Radio and Television Union) announced the conditions under which cities and venues had announced their interest in hosting the 46th contest:
 * The host city must be able to provide a certain number of hotels and hotel rooms to be found in the vicinity of the stadium.
 * The arena must able to offer lodges adjacent to the stadium.
 * A press centre must be available at the stadium that will have a specific size.
 * ERTU must have access to the host venue at least 4–6 weeks before the broadcasts, in order to build the stage, rigging lights and all the technology.
 * The host city must be close to a major airport.

The following cities are interested in hosting the 46th contest

Venue
Cairo Stadium Indoor Halls Complex (Arabic: مجمع الصالات المغطاة باستاد القاهرة الدولي‎‎) consists of 4 Olympic-standard, multi-use indoor sporting arenas located near the Cairo International Stadium in Cairo, Egypt. The capacity of the Main Hall is 20,000 spectators. It is used for several events, like handball, volleyball, international conferences, parties and fairs.

It was built in time for the 1991 All-Africa Games.

Semi-final Allocation Draw
The semifinal allocation draw took place on January 2, 2017.

The participating countries, excluding the automatic finalists (host Egypt and the Big Five) will be split into six pots, based on voting patterns from the previous ten editions. The pots were calculated and are as follows:

From these pots, 21 countries each were allocated to compete in the first semifinal and 20 in the second semifinal. The host country, Egypt will vote in the second semi-final. The countries from the big five will vote as follow: Bulgaria with Italy and the United Kingdom in the first semifinal, while Denmark and France in the second semifinal.

Participants
Forty-seven countries confirmed their participation in the 46th edition. The contest will see the return of Armenia, Hungary, Morocco, Slovenia and Sweden.

Unfortunately, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Faroe Islands, Greece, Iceland, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova and Portugal have decided to withdraw. Despite originally confirming, Lithuania and Montenegro were forced to withdraw due to not submitting an entry before deadline.

First semifinal

 * 21 countries will take part in the first semi-final.
 * Bulgaria, Italy and United Kingdom will vote in this semi-final.
 * The ten countries in this semi-final with the highest scores according to the votes from each voting country will qualify for the Grand Final.

Second semifinal

 * 20 countries will take part in the second semi-final.
 * Denmark, Egypt and France will vote in this semi-final.
 * The ten countries in this semi-final with the highest scores according to the votes from each voting country will qualify for the Grand Final.

Other countries

 * Radio and Television of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BHRT) announced on 17 September 2016 that the country will withdraw.
 * On 13 December 2016, it was announced that Faroe Islands would be withdrawing from the contest.
 * Hellenic Broadcasting Company (ERT) confirmed that Greece will not compete in the 46th edition.
 * On 3 November 2016, RÚV announced that Iceland would not take part in the forty-sixth edition. Hovewer a return next edition is higly expected.
 * On 11 August 2016, LRT confirmed their participation and that a national selection would be an option. Therefore on 13 December 2016 Lithuania was forced to withdraw for not having an entry.
 * MKRTV announced, on 13 December 2016 that Macedonia would not participate in the contest.
 * Moldova decided to withdraw due to low interest from the broadcaster. A comeback for 47th edition was not ruled out.
 * Although RTCG was among the first broadcaster to announced their participation, the country was forced to withdraw due to not submitting an entry within deadline.
 * RTP didn't show interest in participating therefore they will be missing this edition.

Official Album
Own Eurovision Song Contest: Cairo 46 is the official compilation album of the 46th Contest, put together by the Own Eurovision Song Contest. The album will feature all 47 songs that will enter in the 46th contest, including the semi-finalists that failed to qualify in the next stage of the competition.