Own Asiavision Song Contest 28

Own Asiavision Song Contest 28, often referred to as OASC #28, is the 28th edition of Own Asiavision Song Contest. The contest took place in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, following the country's victory in the 27th edition with the song "Nedoslavyanka" by Manizha. It was the first time that Tajikistan had hosted the contest. Organised by the Own Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union and host broadcaster Televizioni Tojikiston, the contest was held at the Dushanbe Stadium, and consisted of one quarter-final, two semi-finals and the final. The three live shows were hosted by Firuza Hafizova.

Fifty-one countries participated in the contest. Cook Islands, Marshall Islands and Niue made their debut this edition. Afghanistan, Kiribati, Macau and Tuvalu returned to the competition, while Christmas Island, Iran, Pakistan and Solomon Islands withdrew for various reasons.

Location
Further information on the host country: Tajikistan

Host City
Dushanbe is the capital and largest city of Tajikistan. As of January 2020, Dushanbe had a population of 863,400 and that population was largely Tajik. Until 1929, the city was known in Russian as Dyushambe, and from 1929 to 1961 as Stalinabad, after Joseph Stalin. Dushanbe is located in the Gissar Valley, bounded by the Gissar Range in the north and east and the Babatag, Aktau, Rangontau and Karatau mountains in the south, and has an elevation of 750–930 m. The city is divided into four districts, all named after historical figures: Ismail Samani, Avicenna, Ferdowsi, and Shah Mansur.

Dushanbe's modern culture had its beginnings in the 1920s, where Soviet music, opera, theater, sculpture, film, and sports all began. Music, primarily shashmaqam before the Soviet invasion, took off in the city due to Russian influence and local opera houses and symphonies. Tajik figures such as Sadriddin Ayni contributed greatly to the development of Dushanbe's literature, which went through many changes during and after the Soviet period. Theater and film both saw their beginnings in the 1930s and were heavily influenced by Soviet trends. The architecture of Dushanbe, once neoclassical, transitioned to a minimalist and eventually modern style. The city is a center for newspapers, radio stations, and television of the country, with almost 200 newspapers and more than a dozen television studios operating in 1999.

Much of Dushanbe's education system dates from Soviet times and has a legacy of state control; today the largest university in Dushanbe, the Tajik National University, is funded by the government. Dushanbe International Airport is the primary airport serving the city. Other forms of transport include the trolleybus system dating from 1955, the small rail system, and the roads that traverse the city. Dushanbe's electricity is primarily hydroelectric, produced by the Nurek Dam, and the aging water system dates from 1932. Tajikistan's healthcare system is concentrated in Dushanbe, meaning that the major hospitals of the country are in the city. The city makes up 20% of Tajikistan's GDP and has large industrial, financial, retail, and tourism sectors. Parks and main sights of the city include Victory Park, Rudaki Park, the Tajikistan National Museum, the Dushanbe Flagpole, and the Tajikistan National Museum of Antiquities.

Venue
The Dushanbe Stadium is a football stadium in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, which opened in 2021. The venue has a capacity of 30,000 spectators. The object was built on an area of more than 9 hectares, where modern conditions were created for various sports and cultural events. The area of the football field are 105 x 68 meters. The stadium consists of four stands, which are placed on two tiers.

There are also auxiliary facilities, such as an elevator, an electrical substation, a fire extinguishing pool and parking for 2,000 cars on the stadium territory. For the guests were build separate rooms for a total of 448 places, playgrounds for walks at a height of more than 9 meters and other supporting facilities.

Visual design
The theme for the contest, was unveiled on 9 October 2021, with its visual design featuring imagery of stylized Tajik ornaments. The main logo used the ornaments to form geometric shape in the form of a diamond, as well as being surrounded by maroon coloured silk. Tajikistan and has been linked by a long history, culture and religion. Since ancient times, the silk production and processing traditions of Tajikistan have been shaping the Central Asian region making the country an integral part of the “Great Silk Road”.

Merchandise
Own Asiavision Song Contest 28 saw the most money being spent on merchandise for the contest than any other contest before. TVT stated they had came in contact with very good producers to be able to afford the high quality merch to be sold across Asia and beyond. Items including, OASC 28 styled dresses, handbags, chocolate, perfume, badges, rubber wristbands and more were created to spread the hype of the contest in Tajikistan.

Moreover, TVT managed to get in contact with Own Contest renowned model ‘Ana X’ (Now called ‘Ana Tajikistania’) to present the outfits designed for the 28th edition. Ana is well known to the Own World, as she has previously been contracted to model outfits from Own Asiavision Song Contest 27 in Fiji, as well as B in Burkina Faso. TVT stated that "the notion of our design for OASC 28 is at the heart of our Own Asiavision values: it is all-inclusive and all about countries around Asia, and beyond, joining together to celebrate both our common ground and our unique differences, as well as some great music."

Semi-final Allocation Draw
The draw to determine the allocation of the participating countries into their respective semi-finals took place on 14 November 2021. The first part of the draw determined in which semi-final the Big Six would have to vote. The second part of the draw decided in which half of the respective semi-finals each country would perform, with the exact running order determined by the producers of the show at a later date. Twenty countries participated in each semi-final. From each semi-final, ten countries joined the "Big 6" in the final, where a total of twenty-six countries participated.

The forty semi-finalists were allocated into six pots, based on their geographical place and cultural similarities. Drawing from different pots helps in reducing the chance of so-called neighbour voting and increasing suspense in the semi-finals. Each time a country was drawn from the pot, its semi-final and half of the semi-final was determined.

The six pots were the following:

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 has been sent in order to confirm whether they will participate or not.

Active members

 * The Indonesian broadcaster TVRI made an official statement that they are not planning to return this edition as they are still recovering after the "Free West Papua" propaganda in the Vanuatuan entry from the 27th edition.
 * The nation decided to take a break as a new head of delegation was just appointed. An attempt at entry was made, but after the broadcaster contacted Donya to represent the country for the fourth time, she filled a restraining order against the Iranian broadcaster.
 * The delegation responsible for the country's participation in the contest didn't respond to the invitation that was sent by the OABU, therefore the country would not be present this edition.
 * After initially announcing their return to the competition, the country was forced to withdraw for the second edition in a row. According to the official statement by the OABU executive supervisor, the broadcaster had several attempts to submit entries that didn't comply with the contest's rules. As soon as an eligible entry was found, the deadline had already passed and the country was forced to sit out one more edition.

Associate members

 * Despite a great placement last edition, 6RCI announced that Christmas Island would withdraw due to time constraints.
 * The North Korean government is opposed to the country's return in the contest due to their music "not being appreciated enough".
 * The broadcaster initially showed interest in returning to the contest but due to a busy schedule, they announced a break for an undetermined amount of time.
 * The broadcaster announced the country's withdrawal due to a series of underwhelming results and not wanting to compete in the quarter-final.

Bhutanese entry
Two days after BBS announced that Natalia (Wangmo) Gordienko would represent Bhutan in Tajikistan with the song "High Heels", the OABU ruled that the song did not comply with the contest's rules, and not eligible to compete due to Natalia not being Bhutanese. Several countries showed their support due to the effort from the broadcaster to finally qualify and fulfill Natalia's dream to sing on the stage, while some disagreed mainly because the lack of connection of the artist with the country. Despite bribes and attempts from the Samoan broadcaster to launch a movement in support of Natalia's participation, OABU still disqualified the entry. One week later, Bhutan managed to submit a new artist and an eligible song, with Natalia still being present as backing vocalist.