Own Eurovision Song Contest 43

Own Eurovision Song Contest 43, often referred to as OESC #43, will be the 43rd edition of the Own Eurovision Song Contest. It will take place in Jerusalem, Israel, following Israel's victory at the 42nd Contest with "Hishtagati", performed by Maya Buskila. This will be the first time the competition will take place in Israel. The contest is scheduled to consist of one quarter-final, two semi-finals and a final. On January 15, 2016 it was revealed that the Jerusalem Payis Arena will be the venue of the 43rd edition.

Fifty countries have confirmed their participation in the next edition, being the highest number of countries since the Own Eurovision Song Contest 30, edition held in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The contest will see the return of Azerbaijan, Belarus, Czech Republic, Faroe Islands, Ireland, Montenegro and Slovakia. Lebanon, Morocco and Russia have decided to withdraw. Following the high number of countries that wishes to compete in the 43rd edition, the OEBU introduced the Quarter Finals Round in which the bottom five entries from each of the two semifinals from the 42nd edition will compete, in order to qualify for the semifinals.

Location
Israel (/ˈɪzreɪəl/ or /ˈɪzriːəl/; Hebrew: יִשְׂרָאֵל‎ Yisrā'el; Arabic: إِسْرَائِيل‎ Isrāʼīl), officially the State of Israel (Hebrew: מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל‎ Medīnat Yisrā'el [mediˈnat jisʁaˈʔel]; Arabic: دولة إِسْرَائِيل‎ Dawlat Isrāʼīl [dawlat ʔisraːˈʔiːl]), is a country in the Middle East, situated at the southeastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea and the northern shore of the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea. It shares land borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan on the east, the Palestinian territories (which are claimed by the State of Palestine and are partially controlled by Israel) comprising the West Bank and Gaza Strip. to the east and west, respectively, and Egypt to the southwest. It contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area. Israel's financial and technology center is Tel Aviv, while Jerusalem is both its self-designated capital (unrecognised by the United Nations) and its most populous individual city under the country's governmental administration. Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem is internationally disputed.

On 29 November 1947, the United Nations General Assembly recommended the adoption and implementation of the Partition Plan for Mandatory Palestine. This UN plan specified borders for new Arab and Jewish states and also specified an area of Jerusalem and its environs which was to be administered by the UN under an international regime. The end of the British Mandate for Palestine was set for midnight on 14 May 1948. That day, David Ben-Gurion, the Executive Head of the Zionist Organization and president of the Jewish Agency for Palestine, declared "the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz Israel, to be known as the State of Israel," which would start to function from the termination of the mandate. The borders of the new state were not specified in the declaration. Neighboring Arab armies invaded the former Palestinian mandate on the next day and fought the Israeli forces. Israel has since fought several wars with neighboring Arab states, in the course of which it has occupied the West Bank, Sinai Peninsula (1956–57, 1967–82), part of South Lebanon (1982–2000), Gaza Strip (1967-2005; still considered occupied after 2005 disengagement) and the Golan Heights. It extended its laws to the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem, but not the West Bank. Efforts to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict have not resulted in peace. However, peace treaties between Israel and both Egypt and Jordan have successfully been signed. Israel’s occupation of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem is the world's longest military occupation in modern times.

On January 15, 2016 it was revealed that Jerusalem will be the city host of the 43rd edition. Jerusalem (/dʒəˈruːsələm/; Hebrew: יְרוּשָׁלַיִם Yerushaláyim pronounced [jeruˈʃalajim]; Arabic: القُدس‎ al-Quds pronounced [ˈaːɫ ˈquːdsˤ] ), located on a plateau in the Judean Mountains between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea, is one of the oldest cities in the world. It is considered holy to the three major Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Israelis and Palestinians both claim Jerusalem as their capital, as Israel maintains its primary governmental institutions there and the State of Palestine ultimately foresees it as its seat of power; however, neither claim is widely recognized internationally.

During its long history, Jerusalem has been destroyed at least twice, besieged 23 times, attacked 52 times, and captured and recaptured 44 times. The oldest part of the city was settled in the 4th millennium BCE. In 1538, walls were built around Jerusalem under Suleiman the Magnificent. Today those walls define the Old City, which has been traditionally divided into four quarters—known since the early 19th century as the Armenian, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim Quarters. The Old City became a World Heritage Site in 1981, and is on the List of World Heritage in Danger. Modern Jerusalem has grown far beyond the Old City's boundaries.

According to the Biblical tradition, King David conquered the city from the Jebusites and established it as the capital of the United Kingdom of Israel, and his son, King Solomon, commissioned the building of the First Temple. These foundational events, straddling the dawn of the 1st millennium BCE, assumed central symbolic importance for the Jewish people. The sobriquet of holy city (עיר הקודש, transliterated ‘ir haqodesh) was probably attached to Jerusalem in post-exilic times. The holiness of Jerusalem in Christianity, conserved in the Septuagint which Christians adopted as their own authority, was reinforced by the New Testament account of Jesus's crucifixion there. In Sunni Islam, Jerusalem is the third-holiest city, after Mecca and Medina. In Islamic tradition in 610 CE it became the first qibla, the focal point for Muslim prayer (salat), and Muhammad made his Night Journey there ten years later, ascending to heaven where he speaks to God, according to the Quran. As a result, despite having an area of only 0.9 square kilometres (0.35 sq mi), the Old City is home to many sites of seminal religious importance, among them the Temple Mount and its Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Dome of the Rock, the Garden Tomb and al-Aqsa Mosque.

Today, the status of Jerusalem remains one of the core issues in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, West Jerusalem was among the areas captured and later annexed by Israel while East Jerusalem, including the Old City, was captured and later annexed by Jordan. Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordan during the 1967 Six-Day War and subsequently annexed it. One of Israel's Basic Laws, the 1980 Jerusalem Law, refers to Jerusalem as the country's undivided capital. All branches of the Israeli government are located in Jerusalem, including the Knesset (Israel's parliament), the residences of the Prime Minister and President, and the Supreme Court. Whilst the international community rejected the annexation as illegal and treats East Jerusalem as Palestinian territory occupied by Israel, Israel has a stronger claim to sovereignty over West Jerusalem. The international community does not recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, and the city hosts no foreign embassies. Jerusalem is also home to some non-governmental Israeli institutions of national importance, such as the Hebrew University and the Israel Museum with its Shrine of the Book.

In 2011, Jerusalem had a population of 801,000, of which Jews comprised 497,000 (62%), Muslims 281,000 (35%), Christians 14,000 (around 2%) and 9,000 (1%) were not classified by religion.

Bidding Phase
IBA announced the conditions under which cities and venues had announced their interest in hosting the 43rd contest:


 * The host city had to provide a certain number of hotels and hotel rooms to be found in the vicinity of the stadium.
 * The arena had to be able to offer lodges adjacent to the stadium.
 * A press centre had to be available at the stadium that will have a specific size.
 * BBC Scotland had to 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 had to be close to a major airport.

The following cities are interested in hosting the 43rd contest

Venue
The Jerusalem Arena (Hebrew: הארנה ירושלים‎, HaArena Yerushalayim), renamed for the National Lottery Mifal HaPayis grant as Jerusalem Payis Arena (Hebrew: פיס ארנה ירושלים‎, HaPayis Arena Yerushalayim), is a multi-purpose sports arena that was built in Jerusalem by the city council and National Lottery grant of Mifal HaPayis. The arena is located in Jerusalem's Sports Quarter, in the southwestern Malha neighborhood, adjacent to Teddy Stadium. The arena seats 11,600 for basketball games and 15,654 for concerts.

The arena interior itself covers 40,000 square metres (430,000 sq ft) and, according to Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, the arena is the largest indoor space in Jerusalem. The arena is able to host professional sports, world-class concerts, international conferences, and cultural events. The arena also contains a medical sports center, club rooms, offices, and two additional halls. The entire complex includes 47,370 square metres (509,900 sq ft).

The arena is part of a number of sports facilities in the Jerusalem Sport Quarter, which include an indoor Olympic-size swimming pool, tennis courts, and an ice rink. It is also a multi-purpose site, with hotels and residences for athletes with accommodations of 240 rooms, that is able to provide facilities for exhibitions, cultural and business events. There is also an underground parking space for 1,700 cars, and a retail power center. Upon completion, the arena became the new home arena of the Israeli Basketball Premiere League club Hapoel Jerusalem B.C., as they moved into it from the smaller Malha Arena, which was their previous home arena. The arena was officially opened on 11 September 2014

Format
The competition consists of one quarter-final, two semi-finals and a final, a format which is use for the first time. The four countries with the highest scores in quarter-final will compete again in semi-final. The ten countries with the highest scores in each semi-final qualifies to the final where they join the host nation Israel and the other top six countries from last edition, known as the Big Five: Albania, England, Sweden, Iceland and Denmark. Every country will cast their votes, only in the show that they will participate and the ten songs which scores the highest overall rank receives 12 points, while the tenth-best ranked song receives 1 point. Also, countries that don't participate in the respectively show or that don't participate in the competition at all can cast their votes, the scores will be sum and added to the Rest of the World voting.

Semi-final Allocation Draw
The semifinal allocation draw took place on January 17, 2016.

The participating countries, excluding the automatic finalists (host Israel 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, 16 countries each were allocated to compete in the first semifinal and 16 in the second semifinal. The host country, Israel will vote in the first semi-final. The countries from the big five will vote as follow: England with Sweden in the first semifinal, while Albania with Denmark and Iceland in the second semifinal.



Running Order
The final running order of the competing performances at the semi-finals and the final will be decided by the producers of the show and approved by the OEBU Executive Supervisor as had been done since the first edition. The host Scotland will draw their running order position at the heads of delegations meeting.

Graphic design
On January 17, 2016, the slogan for the 43rd Contest was revealed to be "Explore!". IBA confirmed that the postcard films, used to introduce each song in the contest, would feature each artist in their respective country, to give the viewer a personal insight of each competing participant. The postcards of this edition's contest also witness the slogan "Explore!". In the postcards, each of the clips start with every contestant receiving an invitation to Poland in their home country. More specifically, the invitation is to a region in the host country. The story continues with the contestants making their way to one of the point from the country, where they have an individual task to fulfil. The tasks on the journeys vary from culture to sports, from economics to science and tradition to modern.

Presenters
On January 14, 2016, IBA announced that Shiri Maimon and Moran Atias will be the hosts of the 43rd contest. The winner of the Own Eurovision Song Contest 42, Maya Buskila was also chosen as host of the green room.

Shiri Maimon is an Israeli pop/R&B singer, TV show host and actress, who rose to fame as the runner-up in the TV show Kokhav Nolad. She represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005, where she came fourth. In June 2013 Shiri became one of the judges for the first season of The X Factor Israel. She continued her role for the second season. Maimon was born in Haifa, Israel, and raised in Kiryat Haim. She is of Sephardi Jewish descent and was born to a father of Tunisian and Greek origin and a Moroccan mother; both parents are Jewish from North African countries. She made her debut at the age of ten, at a children's song festival. She joined the Israel Defense Forces, where she sang with the Israeli Air Force Entertainment Corp. In 2001, she featured on a music video by the band Teapacks. Later, she worked a year and a half as a singer and bartender in Eilat. In 2003, she auditioned for Kokhav Nolad and ended up the first runner-up.

Moran Atias is an Israeli actress. She gained notoriety in the Italian films Gas, Oggi sposi, and Mother of Tears. She is best known for her work with Paul Haggis in the 2008 TV series Crash and the 2013 film Third Person. She currently stars on the FX television series Tyrant. Atias was born in the city of Haifa in northern Israel, to Israeli-born parents of Jewish Moroccan descent. She appeared on the youth television programme Out of Focus at age 15, although her plan to serve in the Israeli Defense Forces was frustrated by a diagnosis of meningitis at age 17. She pursued modelling, instead, in Germany and then Italy, where she was discovered and became a model for Roberto Cavalli. In Italy, she was spokeswoman for 2005–06 for the City of Milan in their campaigns against graffiti and animal cruelty in the city.

Rehearsals
All 50 countries will have 30 minutes on their rehearsals. This will begin starting with the first half of the First Semi-Final then the second half. All 4 days start at 12:00, with the Press Meet & Greet section starting later at 14:25.

The Big 5 countries, plus host Israel will have their first rehearsals after the semifinalists's first rehearsals. Second rehearsals for all 46 countries will be shorter at 20 minutes. This starts at 10:20 with all 20 countries from the First Semi-Final and the next day for all 20 countries from the Second Semi-Final. Press conferences will begin at 11:20. Poland and the Big 6 countries will have their 2nd rehearsals the next day after second semifinalist's rehearsals, starting at 10:00 with the press conferences at 11:00.

The full confirmed running order was announced later after the Second Semi-Final has ended.

Participants
The submissions for the Own Eurovision Song Contest 43 started on January 17, 2016. The OEBU announced that the deadline for submissions is set on January 24, 2016.

Fifty countries have confirmed there participation in the following edition. The 43rd edition will see the return of Azerbaijan, Belarus, Czech Republic, Faroe Islands, Ireland, Montenegro and Slovakia. Unfortunately, the following countries have confirmed their withdrawal, respectively Lebanon, Morocco and Russia.

The first country to return is Azerbaijan, which last participated in the Own Eurovision Song Contest 39, edition held in Paris, France. Seyran Babayev with her single "My plaything lady" represented the competition, the song was draw to perform last in the second semifinal, where unfortunately failed to qualify for the Grand Final.

Belarus is the second country to return in the competition. The nation last participated in the Own Eurovision Song Contest 41, edition held in Katowice, Poland. Belarus was draw to perform in the second semifinal on the 13th postion, the country failed to qualify for the final with Julia Parshuta with her song "Most wanted".

Third country on the list of returning is the Czech Republic, which last participated in the Katowice, Poland.Markéta Irglová with her "The leading bird" participated in the first semifinal, performing in the 8th position, where it didn't manage to reach the Grand Final.

Also coming back in the 43rd edition is the Faroe Islands. On November 25, 2015 the HoD of the Faroe Islands, announced that the country will take an edition break, returning in the Own Eurovision Song Contest 43 edition. The country last participated in Katowice at the Own Eurovision Song Contest 41 and it came 14th in the Grand Final with "Love is a battlefield" by Sada Vidoo.

Ireland, didn't participated since the Own Eurovision Song Contest 40, edition held in Nuremberg, Germany, due to lack of interest. HomeTown with their single "Cry for help" placed 15th in the Grand Final.

Montenegro last participated in the Own Eurovision Song Contest 39, edition held in Paris, France with Andrea Demirović and her song "Šta će mi dani". The song was draw to be performed on the 8th position in the second semifinal, where it didn't manage to reach the grand final.

Last on the list is Slovakia, a country that has not participated in the competition since the Own Eurovision Song Contest 40, edition held in Nuremberg, Germany. Peter Bič Project represented back then the country with the song "Thinking about you", where it didn't manage to qualify for the final.

Returning artists
Previous acts returned in the competition. Former winner, Funda Kılıç, former winner of the Own Eurovision Song Contest 4, edition held in Košice, Slovakia, back then she won the for Belgium, this time it returned for Turkey.

Quarter-final

 * The four countries with the highest scoring points, according to the votes from each voting country, qualifies for the Semifinals.

First semifinal

 * 20 countries will take part in the first semi-final
 * England.png England, Israel.png Israel and Sweden.png Sweden will vote in this semi-final
 * The ten countries in this semi-final with the highest scoring points, according to the votes from each voting country, qualifies for the Grand Final

Second semifinal

 * 20 countries will take part in the second semi-final
 * Albania.png Albania, Denmark.png Denmark and Iceland.png Iceland will vote in this semi-final
 * The ten countries in this semi-final with the highest scoring points, according to the votes from each voting country, qualifies for the Grand Final

Grand Final
The twenty-six finalists are:
 * the Big 6 countries.
 * the top ten countries from the first semi-final.
 * the top ten countries from the second semi-final.

12 points awarded in the quarter final
(Coming soon)

12 points awarded in the first semifinal
(Coming soon)

12 points awarded in the second semifinal
(Coming soon)

12 points awarded in the grand final
(Coming soon)

Voting Ceremony

 * 1) Flag of Croatia.svg.png Ivan Dečak
 * 2) Flag of Wales.svg.png Bonnie Tyler
 * 3) Flag of Montenegro.svg.png Marija Vujović
 * 4) Flag of Serbia.svg.png Nevena Božović
 * 5) Flag of Scotland.svg.png Sandi Thom
 * 6) Flag of Switzerland.svg.png Xenia Tchoumitcheva
 * 7) Flag of Israel.svg.png Avishai Rosen
 * 8) Flag of Ukraine.svg.png Verka Serduchka
 * 9) Flag of France.svg.png Shy'm
 * 10) Flag of Greece.svg.png Apostolia Zoi
 * 11) Flag of Spain.svg.png Barei
 * 12) Flag of Hungary.svg.png Hien
 * 13) Flag of Azerbaijan.svg.png Leyla Aliyeva
 * 14) Flag of Malta.svg.png Ella Eyre
 * 15) Flag of Kazakhstan.svg.png Eugen Bauder
 * 16) Flag of Slovenia.svg.png Žan Košir
 * 17) Flag of Belgium.png Barbara Opsomer
 * 18) Flag of England.svg.png Mel Giedroyc
 * 19) Flag of Algeria.svg.png Leïla Lanova
 * 20) Flag of Kosovo.svg.png Labinot Gashi
 * 21) Flag of Turkey.svg.png Onur Büyüktopçu
 * 22) Flag of Portugal.svg.png Marisa Liz
 * 23) Flag of Romania.svg.png Claudia Pavel
 * 24) Flag of Albania.svg.png Ardian Bujupi
 * 25) Flag of Norway.svg.png Lene Egeli
 * 26) Flag of Bulgaria.svg.png Aziz
 * 27) Flag of Italy.svg.png Francesca Michelin
 * 28) Flag of Poland.svg.png Natalia Szroeder
 * 29) Flag of Uzbekistan.svg.png Shahzoda
 * 30) Flag of Faroe Islands.svg.png Bára Silvansdóttir
 * 31) Flag of Estonia.svg.png Ott Lepland
 * 32) Flag of the Czech Republic.svg.png Marta & Václav
 * 33) Flag of Lithuania.svg.png Vaidas Baumila
 * 34) Flag of the Netherlands.svg.png Patty Brard
 * 35) Flag of Iceland.svg.png Greta Salóme
 * 36) Flag of Finland.svg.png Krista Siegfrids
 * 37) Flag of Georgia.svg.png Nina Sublatti
 * 38) Flag of Moldova.svg.png Aliona Moon
 * 39) Flag of Armenia.svg.png Sirusho
 * 40) Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg.png Maya Sar
 * 41) Flag of Cyprus.svg.png Polina Christodoulou
 * 42) Flag of Macedonia.svg.png Tamara Todevska
 * 43) Flag of Ireland.svg.png Kasey Smith
 * 44) Flag of Slovakia.svg.png Lina Mayer
 * 45) Flag of Sweden.svg.png Samir & Viktor
 * 46) Flag of Denmark.svg.png Medina
 * 47) Flag of Belarus.svg.png Teo
 * 48) Flag of Northern Ireland.svg.png Leah McFall
 * 49) Flag of Germany.svg.png Elyas M'Barek
 * 50) Flag of Austria.svg.png Marla Blumenblatt
 * 51) Flag of Earth.svg.png Shiri Maimon

Other countries

 * After hiring a new head of delegation, he was fired shortly after by ERTU due to some internal conflicts. The broadcaster is now looking for a new one. The country was forced the skip one more edition for not having a permanent HoD.
 * After finding a new HoD, the country decided to wait one more edition before returning at Own Eurovision Song Contest 44.
 * Lebanon confirmed that they won't be present in the competition shortly after the Grand Final results, due to their political conflicts with Israel.
 * The country withdraw stating bad results as a reason.
 * Few days before the deadline for confirmation, the country announced their withdrawal without a reason given.

Official Album
Own Eurovision Song Contest: Jerusalem 43 is the official compilation album of the 43rd Contest, put together by the Own Eurovision Song Contest. The album will feature all 50 songs that will enter in the 43rd contest, including the quarter-finalists and the semi-finalists that failed to qualify in the next stage of the competition.

The album was released on January 25, 2016.