Own Eurovision Song Contest 18

Own Eurovision Song Contest 18, often referred to as OESC #18, was the 18th edition of Own Eurovision Song Contest. The contest took place in Bucharest, Romania, following Liviu Hodor and Mona's win in the 17th contest with the song "Sweet love". This is the first time Romania hosted the contest.

The three semifinals were held between 7 and 13 April 2013, with the Grand Final held between 15 and 20 April 2013. A total of fifty-eight countries announced their participation in the contest, with Azerbaijan, Egypt, Latvia and Uzbekistan  returning and Austria , Kyrgyzstan and Liechtenstein withdrawing.

The contest was won by singer Gigi Radics from Hungary with the song "Over you". The song earned a total of 211 points, winning with a margin of 27 points in front of Greece, who came second. Germany took third place. They were followed by Russia who placed fourth. Morocco achieved their first top five placing.

For the first time in the contest there were twenty-nine countries in the Grand Final. The host country, Romania make it into the first half of the leader board, receiving 140 points and took the ninth place.

Venue


The National Arena (Romanian: Arena Națională) is a football stadium in Bucharest, Romania, in the Lia Manoliu National Sports Complex. It is replacing the former National Stadium, which was completed in 1953.

It was built for the Romania national football team, therefore is hosting its games, as well as the Romanian Cup Final and the Romanian Supercup. The 2012 UEFA Europa League Final was held at the new stadium. This was the first final of a major European football club competition hosted by Romania.

The venue holds 55,611 people. 3,600 VIP seats are available, with another 126 seats allotted for the press (with a possible expansion to 548 seats). The stadium includes some 360 restrooms and a retractable roof, which can be opened or closed in 15 minutes. It is also endowed with a floodlight system and 2100 parking spaces.

The National Stadium is a Category 4 venue and as such, it hosted the UEFA Europa League 2011–12 final, as announced by UEFA at Nyon on January 29, 2009. It was required to host at least two major events beginning in July 2011, one with an attendance of 10,000 and the second with an attendance of at least 40,000

Location
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than 70 kilometres (43 mi) north of the Danube.

Bucharest was first mentioned in documents in 1459. It became the capital of Romania in 1862 and is the centre of Romanian media, culture and art. Its architecture is a mix of historical (neo-classical), interbellum (Bauhaus and Art Deco), Communist-era and modern. In the period between the two World Wars, the city's elegant architecture and the sophistication of its elite earned Bucharest the nickname of "Little Paris" (Micul Paris). Although buildings and districts in the historic city centre were heavily damaged or destroyed by war, earthquakes, and above all Ceaușescu's program of systematization, many survived. In recent years, the city has been experiencing an economic and cultural boom.

According to preliminary data from 2011 census, 1,677,985 inhabitants live within the city limits, a decrease from the figure recorded at the 2002 census. The urban area extends beyond the limits of Bucharest proper and has a population of 1.93 million people. Adding the satellite towns around the urban area, the proposed metropolitan area of Bucharest would have a population of 2.2 million people. According to Eurostat, Bucharest has a Larger Urban Zone of 2,151,880 residents. According to unofficial data, the population is more than 3 million. Bucharest is the 10th largest city in the European Union by population within city limits.

Economically, Bucharest is the most prosperous city in Romania and is one of the main industrial centres and transportation hubs of Eastern Europe. The city has big convention facilities, educational institutes, cultural venues, traditional "shopping arcades" and recreational areas.

The city proper is administratively known as "The Municipality of Bucharest" (Municipiul București), and has the same administrative level as that of a national county, being further subdivided into six sectors.

This is the first time the contest will take place in Romania.

Semi-final and Grand Final allocation draw
On March 29, 2013 the host, Romania was draw to perform number 17 in the Grand Final.

Semi-final Allocation Draw
The draw that determined the semi-final allocation was held on 4 April 2013, nineteen countries were split in one of the three semi-finals, Romania will vote in all semi-finals.

Grand Final Allocation Draw
The draw that determined the Grand Final allocation was held on 12 April 2013. Twenty-nine countries will participate in the Final.

Participants


Fifty-eight countries have confirmed participation in the Own Eurovision Song Contest 18. Azerbaijan, Egypt, Latvia and Uzbekistan decided to return. Austria, Kyrgyzstan and Liechtenstein withdrew from the competition.

Previously, Azerbaijan was represented by Nikki Jamal and Keren Viuff in the OESC #16 edition, Egypt was represented by Amr Diab in the OESC #16 edition, Latvia  by Jenny May in the OESC #16 contest and Uzbekistan was represented by Sogdiana, also in the OESC #16 contest.

Semi-Final 01
Notes
 * 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.
 * On April 10, 2013 the first nine qualifiers were announced.
 * 1. The country won a ticket to the Second Chance Round.

Semi-Final 02

 * 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.
 * The nine qualifiers were revealed on April 11, 2013.

Notes
 * 1. The country won a ticket to the Second Chance Round.

Semi-Final 03

 * 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.
 * On April 12, the nine qualifiers were revealed.
 * has won a wildcard.

Notes
 * 1. The country won a ticket to the Second Chance Round.

Second Chance Round

 * the tenth placed countries from each semi-final competes in the second chance.
 * the winner of this round will get the final ticket for the Grand Final.

Finalists
The twenty-nine 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 winner from the Second Chance Round.

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

Voting during the final
Countries revealed their votes in the following order.

and didn't vote in the final, if they would have voted, Scotland was the 27th country to vote and country number 47th to reveal their votes should have been Ukraine.