Own Asiavision Song Contest 15

Own Asiavision Song Contest 15, often referred to as OASC #15, is the 15th edition of Own Asiavision Song Contest. The contest took place in Hebron, Palestine, following country's victory in the 14th edition with the song "Kerosene" performed by Roisin El Cherif. This is the first time that Palestine hosted the contest.

Forty-three countries confirmed their participation in the 15th edition. The contest saw the return of Cambodia, Hong Kong and Iran. Tonga also made its debut appearance in this edition. Unfortunately, Kuwait, Macau, Mongolia, North Korea, Papua New Guinea and Philippines decided to withdraw.

The winner was India with the song "Paper House" by Helena which scored a record-breaking score of 194 points, winning by a margin of 12 points in front of Saudi Arabia. The podium was completed by China, which finished on the third place. Palestine, the host country placed 8th.

Location
For more details on the host country, see Palestine.

Host City
Hebron is a Palestinian city in the southern West Bank, 30 kilometres south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies 930 metres above sea level. The largest city in the West Bank, and the second largest in the Palestinian territories after Gaza, it has a population of over 215,000 Palestinians (2016), and seven hundred Jewish settlers concentrated on the outskirts of the Old City of Hebron. It includes the Cave of the Patriarchs, which Judeo-Christian and Islamic traditions all designate as the burial site of three key patriarchal/matriarchal couples. Judaism ranks Hebron the second-holiest city after Jerusalem, while some Muslims regard it as one of the four holy cities.

The city is often described as a "microcosm" of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank. The Hebron Protocol of 1997 divided the city into two sectors: H1, controlled by the Palestinian Authority, and H2, roughly 20% of the city, including 35,000 Palestinians, under Israeli military administration. All security arrangements and travel permits for local residents are coordinated between the Palestinian Authority and Israel via the military administration of the West Bank, officially named Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT). The Jewish settlers have their own governing municipal body, the Committee of the Jewish Community of Hebron.

Hebron is a busy hub of West Bank trade, generating roughly a third of the area's gross domestic product, largely due to the sale of limestone from quarries in its area. It has a local reputation for its grapes, figs, limestone, pottery workshops and glassblowing factories, and has the major dairy-product manufacturer al-Juneidi. The old city of Hebron features narrow, winding streets, flat-roofed stone houses, and old bazaars. The city is home to Hebron University and the Palestine Polytechnic University.

Venue
Dora International Stadium is an association football stadium in the city of Hebron in the West Bank. It was opened in 1965 and was renovated in 1999 and 2011. It has a capacity of 18,000 and the surface is artificial turf.

Semi-final Allocation Draw
The draw to determine the allocation of the participating countries into their respective semi-finals took place took place on 13 June 2017. The participating countries, excluding the automatic finalists, have been split into six pots, based on voting patterns from the previous editions. The pots were calculated and are as follows:

From these pots, 18 countries were allocated to compete in the first semi-final and 18 in the second semifinal. The host country, Palestine will vote in the first semi-final. The countries from the big five will vote as follow: China and Tajikistan in the first semifinal, while Malaysia, New Zealand and United Arab Emirates in the second semifinal.

Semi-final 1
Eighteen countries participated in the first semi-final. China, Palestine and Tajikistan also voted in this semi-final.

Semi-final 2
Eighteen countries participated in the second semi-final. Malaysia, New Zealand and United Arab Emirates also voted in this semi-final.

Final
Twenty-six countries participated in the final, with all 42 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.


 * Despite confirming the participation, Iran failed to submit and present their entry within the given deadline and therefore was forced to withdraw from the edition.
 * Kuwait didn't release a statement about their participation, therefore they will be withdrawing from this edition.
 * The Macanese broadcaster didn't make any announcement regarding their participation within the deadline.
 * Mongolia had originally announced their intent to participate, however they were't on the final list of participants.
 * The funding for North Korea's OASC participation is temporarily allocated to the improvement of the country's nuclear program.
 * The Papuan broadcaster decided that the nation would not be participating in Palestine due to their relations with Israel.
 * It was announced that the country would be withdrawing for one edition.