Own Eurovision Song Contest 8

Own Eurovision Song Contest 8, often referred to as OESC #08, is the 8th edition of Own Eurovision Song Contest. The Grand Final took place on 19 August 2012 at the Telenor Arena in Oslo, Norway.

The contest was won by Sweden with the song "Release Me" performed by Agnes, which received a total amount of 172 points winning by a margin of 17 points. Second place went to Romania, third to Scotland, fourth to Andorra, and Ireland taking the 5th.

Forty-four countries participated in the contest.Kazakhstan, Latvia and Åland Islands made their debut in the contest. Armenia, Azerbaijan, Finland, Iceland, Montenegro and Portugal returned to the competition, while Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Faroe Islands, Monaco, Northern Ireland, Poland and Ukraine have announced their withdrawal.

Location
Further information on the host country: Norway

Host City
Oslo is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. As of 23 November 2020, the municipality of Oslo had a population of 697,549, while the population of the city's greater urban area was 1,019,513, as of 4 November 2019. The metropolitan area had an estimated population of 1.71 million.

Oslo is the economic and governmental centre of Norway. The city is also a hub of Norwegian trade, banking, industry and shipping. It is an important centre for maritime industries and maritime trade in Europe. The city is home to many companies within the maritime sector, some of which are among the world's largest shipping companies, shipbrokers and maritime insurance brokers. Oslo is a pilot city of the Council of Europe and the European Commission intercultural cities programme.

Oslo is considered a global city and was ranked "Beta World City" in studies carried out by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network in 2008. It was ranked number one in terms of quality of life among European large cities in the European Cities of the Future 2012 report by fDi magazine. A survey conducted by ECA International in 2011 placed Oslo as the second most expensive city in the world for living expenses after Tokyo. In 2013 Oslo tied with the Australian city of Melbourne as the fourth most expensive city in the world, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)'s Worldwide Cost of Living study. Oslo was ranked as the 24th most liveable city in the world by Monocle magazine.

Oslo's population was increasing at record rates during the early 2000s, making it the fastest growing major city in Europe at the time. This growth stems for the most part from international immigration and related high birth rates, but also from intra-national migration. By 2010 the immigrant population in the city was growing somewhat faster than the Norwegian population, and in the city proper this had become more than 25% of the total population if the children of immigrant parents are included.

Venue
Telenor Arena, sometimes referred to as Fornebu Arena, is a multi-purpose indoor arena located at Fornebu in Bærum, outside Oslo, Norway. It serves as a venue for a variety of events, including concerts, exhibitions, action shows, family shows, TV and sport. It has a capacity for 15,000 spectators for sports and 23,000 for concerts, including 40 luxury boxes and club seating for 1,200. The venue has a fixed roof and an asphalt floor. The venue was opened ahead of the 2009 season as a replacement for Nadderud Stadion. It cost 585 million Norwegian krone (NOK) to build, of which NOK 300 million was for the sports venue.

During the 2000s, Nadderud was below standards for play in the top national league. Fornebu was at the time undergoing an urban redevelopment; after several years of negotiations and public grants, Stabæk secured a lot in 2004. Construction started in 2007. In 2010, a disagreement arose between the club and venue-owner Kjell Chr. Ulrichsen, with the latter demanding that the team leave the venue to allow for more event revenue. Telenor Arena has hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 2010, as well as concerts for Bon Jovi, Madonna, AC/DC, Tina Turner, Metallica, Scorpions Andrea Bocelli, Iron Maiden, Roger Waters The Wall, Foo Fighters, Jay-Z & Kanye West, Lady Gaga, Rihanna and Beyoncé. Telenor holds the naming rights.

Semi-final 1
Nineteen countries participated in the first semi-final. Belgium, Norway and Serbia also voted in this semi-final. Armenia, France, Liechtenstein and Turkey were disqualified for not voting.

Semi-final 2
Twenty countries participated in the second semi-final. Moldova, Norway and Switzerland also voted in this semi-final. Armenia, France, Liechtenstein and Turkey were disqualified for not voting.

Final
Twenty-six countries participated in the final, with all 44 participating countries eligible to vote.

Voting and spokespersons
40 of the 44 countries voted in the Grand Final. France, Liechtenstein, Slovakia and Åland Islands didn't send their votes. The order was used to add as much excitement as possible. The spokespersons were shown alongside each country.

Spokespersons

 * 1) 🇲🇩 Natalia Barbu
 * 2) 🇬🇷 Loukas Giorkas
 * 3) 🇧🇪 Funda Kilic
 * 4) 🇲🇹 Kelly Schembri
 * 5) 🇪🇪 Getter Jaani
 * 6) 🇳🇱 Sieneke Peeters
 * 7) Flag of Switzerland.svg Anna Rossinelli
 * 8) 🇮🇪 Katty Taylor
 * 9) 🇸🇪 Molly Sanden
 * 10) 🇱🇹 Donny Montell
 * 11) 🇲🇪 Rambo Amadeus
 * 12) 🇭🇷 Mario Mandzuki
 * 13) Shorena Janiashvili
 * 14) 🇷🇴 Corina Bud
 * 15) 🇷🇺 Alexey Vorobyov
 * 16) 🇷🇸 Željko Joksimović
 * 17) Elena Risteska
 * 18) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Boris Johnson
 * 19) 🇫🇮 Pernilla Karlsson
 * 20) 🇳🇴 Tone Damli
 * 21) 🇹🇷 Merve Boluğur
 * 22) 🇭🇺 Kati Wolf
 * 23) 🇦🇲 Sirusho Harutyunyan
 * 24) 🇧🇾 Anastasiya Tihanovich
 * 25) 🇦🇱 Shpat Kasapi
 * 26) 🇵🇹 Filipa Sousa
 * 27) 🇪🇸 Soraya Arnelas
 * 28) 🇰🇿 Tolkyn Zabirova
 * 29) 🇮🇸 Greta Salóme
 * 30) 🇸🇮 Maja Keuc
 * 31) 🇱🇻 Elīna Fūrmane
 * 32) 🇩🇰 Aura Dione
 * 33) 🇮🇱 Dafna Dekel
 * 34) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Amy Macdonald
 * 35) 🇩🇪 Roman Lob
 * 36) 🇬🇱 Rasmus Lyberth
 * 37) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Marina Diamandis
 * 38) 🇦🇩 Anna Simon
 * 39) 🇦🇿 Eldar Gasimov
 * 40) Elvana Gjata