Own Eurovision Song Contest 20

Own Eurovision Song Contest 20, often referred to as OESC #20, is the up-coming 20th edition of Own Eurovision Song Contest. This will be the fourth special edition of the contest. The edition is dedicated to songs from the Eurovision Song Contest. Songs that won the Eurovision Song Contest were not allowed to participate.

The contest will take place in Timișoara, Romania, after Vunk and Antonia won the previous contest hosted in Budapest, Hungary with their song "Pleacă". The venue for the contest was announced on 7 June 2013, as the Dan Păltinișanu Stadium. This will be the second time the contest will take place in Romania.

Sixty countries have confirmed participation in the fourth special edition. The Own Eurovision Song Contest 20 will see Albania, Belgium, Israel, Liechtenstein, Montenegro, San Marino and Serbia returning in the competition. Algeria and Turkmenistan withdraw from the competition.

This will be for the first time when 60 countries participate in the Own Eurovision Song Contest.

Own Eurovision Song Contest 20 will see thirty countries in the Grand Final, this will be for the second time in the history of the contest, last time being in the Own Eurovision Song Contest 17 hosted in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Venue
Dan Păltinișanu Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Timişoara, Romania. It is currently used mostly for football matches by the local team, Politehnica Timişoara. The stadium is named after Politehnica Timișoara's legend Dan Păltinișanu who played 271 matches in 10 years for the club and scored very important goals, including the qualification goal in UEFA Cup against Celtic and Atlético Madrid. He is considered the best Centre back who ever played for Poli. He died in 4 March 1995 at the age of 43. The stadium has a capacity of 32,972 seats.

The original capacity was 40,000 on benches, but in 2005 when the plastic seats were installed, the capacity dropped to 32,972. The floodlighting system, with a density of 1400 Lux, has been inaugurated in 2004 in a match against Petrolul Ploieşti. Today, following two general renovations in 2002 and 2008 in order to host UEFA Champions League games, Dan Păltinișanu is one of the most modern stadium in Romania offering some state-of-the-art facilities such as: a four-star establishment with all the facilities required for the team, internet for the press-room, 30 cameras for video surveillance, electrically heated pitch, an automated irrigation system, and a modern scoreboard which was the first ever in Romania. The Romanian national football team is also a tenant. The first game played by the national team at Dan Păltinișanu was in March 1983 against Yugoslavia when the stadium's name was 1 Mai. Since then other 6 games were played, the last one in March 2010 against Israel. Currently, the president Gheorghe Chivorchian proposed to local authorities to build a new stadium with a capacity of around 50,000.

Location
Timișoara is the capital city of Timiș County, in western Romania. One of the largest Romanian cities, with a population of 303,708 inhabitants (the third most populous city in the country, as of 2011), and considered the informal capital city of the historical region of Banat, Timișoara is the main social, economic and cultural center in the western part of Romania.

Timișoara lies at an altitude of 95 m on the southeast edge of the Banat plain, part of the great Panonia plain. The rich black soil and relatively low water table make this a fertile agricultural region. Due to the hydrography projects undertaken in the 18th century, the city no longer lies on the Timiș River, but on the Bega canal. This is a relatively active seismic area, and earthquakes up to 6 on the Richter scale have been recorded.

Timișoara was first mentioned as a place in either 1212 or 1266. The territory later to be known as Banat was conquered and annexed by the Kingdom of Hungary in 1030. Timișoara grew considerably during the reign of Charles I, who, upon his visit here in 1307, ordered the construction of a royal palace. Timișoara's importance also grew thanks to its strategic location, which facilitated control over the Banat plain. John Hunyadi established a permanent military encampment here, and moved here together with his family. In 1552, a 16,000 Ottoman army conquered the city and transformed it into a capital city in the region. The local military commander, Stefan Losonczy, was captured and beheaded on July 27, 1552 after resisting the Ottoman invasion with just over 2,300 men.

During World War II, Timișoara suffered damage from both Allied and Axis bombing raids, especially during the second half of 1944. On August 23, 1944, Romania, which until then was a member of the Axis, declared war on Nazi Germany and joined the Allies. Surprised, the local Wehrmacht garrison surrendered without a fight, and German and Hungarian troops attempted to take the city by force throughout September, without success.

After the war, the People's Republic of Romania was proclaimed, and Timișoara underwent Sovietization and later, systematization. The city's population tripled between 1948 and 1992. In December 1989, Timișoara witnessed a series of mass street protests by Romanians, Hungarians and Serbs, in what was to become the Romanian Revolution of 1989.

This is the second time that the contest will take place in Romania, with the first being just two editions ago in Bucharest.

Semi-final Allocation Draw
The draw that determined the semi-final allocation took place on 9 June 2013 at the Dan Păltinișanu Stadium in Timişoara, Romania.

The participating countries, excluding the host, Romania were split into eight pots, based on voting history and geographical location. From these pots, 20 countries were allocated to compete in the first semi-final, 19 countries were allocated to compete in the second semi-final and 20 were allocated to compete in the third semi-final.

The pots are as follows:

The host country, Romania will vote in all three semi-finals.

Running Order
The running order of the Semi-Finals was revealed on June 12, 2013.

Grand Final Allocation Draw
The Grand Final Allocation Draw took place on June 19, 2013. The host country, Romania was draw to perform on the 18th position.

Participants
Sixty countries have confirmed participation in the Own Eurovision Song Contest 20 with seven countries returning and two withdrawing.

The Own Eurovision Song Contest 20 saw the return of Albania, Belgium, Israel, Liechtenstein, Montenegro, San Marino and Serbia.

Semi-Final 1

 * The nine countries in this semi-final with the highest scoring points, according to the votes from each voting country, qualifies for the Grand Final.
 * (host) will vote in this semi-final.
 * Two countries will get the ticket to the Second Chance Round.

Semi-Final 2

 * The nine countries in this semi-final with the highest scoring points, according to the votes from each voting country, qualifies for the Grand Final.
 * (host) will vote in this semi-final.
 * Two countries will get the ticket to the Second Chance Round.
 * has won a wildcard.

Semi-Final 3

 * The nine countries in this semi-final with the highest scoring points, according to the votes from each voting country, qualifies for the Grand Final.
 * (host) will vote in this semi-final.
 * Two countries will get the ticket to the Second Chance Round.
 * has won a wildcard.

Second Chance Round

 * the tenth and eleventh placed countries from each semi-final competes in the second chance.
 * two countries will get the final tickets for the Grand Final.

Finalists
The thirty finalists are:
 * the host country -
 * the top nine countries from the first semi-final.
 * the top nine countries from the second semi-final.
 * the top nine countries from the third semi-final.
 * the two winners from the Second Chance Round.

12 points
Below is a summary of the maximum 12 points each country awarded to another in the final.

Marcel Bezençon Awards
Marcel Bezençon Awards were given for the second time in this edition. The participants had to vote in several categories for the favorites. Some of the categories were: best non-qualifier, heart winner.

From 24th June to 25th June 2013 all countries voted for the best non-qualifier. The winner was Norway.