Own Eurovision Song Contest 48

Own Eurovision Song Contest 48, often referred to as OESC #48, is the upcoming 48th edition of Own Eurovision Song Contest. It will take place in Odessa, Ukraine, following country's first victory at the 47th Contest with the song "Osen'", performed by Tayanna.

Forty-six countries have confirmed their participation in the competition. The 48th edition will see Armenia, the Faroe Islands, Finland, Hungary, Lebanon, Montenegro, Serbia, Sweden and Switzerland returning in the competition, while Austria, Belarus, Georgia, Iceland, Macedonia, Malta and Portugal decided to withdraw.

Venue
The Chernomorets Stadium is a football stadium built in 2011 in Odesa, Ukraine. The stadium has a capacity of 34,164 and is the home of FC Chornomorets Odesa. The stadium was constructed on the site of the old Soviet multi-use Central Stadium of the Black Sea Shipping Company (ChMP), which was demolished in 2009.

The venue was considered to be one of the stadiums of UEFA Euro 2012 but failed to be nominated as such.

The former ChMP stadium was built on the same site in 1935, and it was originally named as the Kosior Memorial Stadium after the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Ukrainian SSR. After Stanislav Kosior was repressed in the 1930s, the name was changed to Shevchenko Park Stadium. After World War II, the stadium was passed to the ownership of the republican Ministry of Food and received name as the Central Stadium Kharchovyk. At the end of the 1950s, it was renamed as Avanhard Stadium after the Ukrainian Sport Society of industrial workers. In 1959, the stadium was renamed to the Central Stadium of the Black Sea Shipping Company or alternatively Central Stadium Chornomorets.

ChMP could hold 34,362 people. It hosted the Ukrainian Super Cup from 2004 until 2007. At the end of 2008 it was closed and, in 2009, it was demolished.

Host country
For more details on the host country, see Ukraine.

Ukraine is a sovereign state in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the east, northeast, and south, Belarus to the northwest, Poland and Slovakia to the west, Hungary, Romania, and Moldova to the southwest, and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south and southeast, respectively. Ukraine is currently in territorial dispute with Russia over the Crimean Peninsula which Russia annexed in 2014 but which Ukraine and most of the international community recognise as Ukrainian. Including Crimea, Ukraine has an area of 603,628 km2 (233,062 sq mi), making it the largest country entirely within Europe and the 46th largest country in the world. It has a population of about 42.5 million, making it the 32nd most populous country in the world.

Host city
For more details on the host city, see Odessa.

Odessa is the third most populous city of Ukraine and a major tourism center, seaport and transportation hub located on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. Odessa is also an administrative center of the Odessa Oblast and a multiethnic cultural center. Odessa is sometimes called the "pearl of the Black Sea," the "South Capital" (under the Russian Empire and Soviet Union), and "Southern Palmyra.

Bidding Phase
NTU announced the conditions under which cities and venues had announced their interest in hosting the 48th 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.
 * NTU 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 were interested in hosting the 48th edition:

Participants
Forty-six countries have confirmed their participation in the competition. The 48th edition will see Armenia, the Faroe Islands, Finland, Hungary, Lebanon, Montenegro, Serbia, Sweden and Switzerland returning in the competition, while Austria, Belarus, Georgia, Iceland, Macedonia, Malta and Portugal decided to withdraw.

Semi-final Allocation Draw
The draw to determine the allocation of the participating countries into their respective semi-finals took place took place on 31 July 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, 20 countries were allocated to compete in each semifinal. The host country, Ukraine voted in the first semi-final. The countries from the big five voted as follows: Russia and United Kingdom in the first semifinal, while Croatia with Egypt and Morocco in the second semifinal.

First semifinal
Twenty countries will participate in the first semi-final. Russia, Ukraine and United Kingdom will vote in this semi-final.

Second semifinal
Twenty countries will participate in the second semi-final. Croatia, Egypt and Morocco will vote in this semi-final.

Other countries


Eligibility for potential participation in the Own Eurovision Song Contest requires a national broadcaster with active OEBU 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.


 * Albania will continue to sit out of the competition, but a return next edition is not out of the question.
 * The previous head of delegation decided to resign from his position, therefore the country was forced to withdraw.
 * BRTC announced the withdrawal of the country due to poor results in the latest editions.
 * After withdrawing for the forty-seventh edition, the country stated that a return this edition is very likely. However, BNR announced that it will not return.
 * It was announced by the Georgian broadcaster that the the country would withdraw from the edition due to financial issues.
 * RÚV decided to withdraw from the forty-eighth edition due to lack of interest.
 * Macedonian broadcaster stated no interest in participating this edition due to their poor results.
 * Malta had originally confirmed their participation in the contest but failed to submit and present their entry within the given deadline.
 * Montenegro hasn't participated in the contest since the forty-fourth edition. The specific reason behind the withdrawal has never been confirmed. However, the country might return next edition.
 * It was revealed that the country would withdraw from the forty-eighth edition.