OMSC 21

Online Music Song Contest 21, often referred to as OMSC 21, was the twenty-first edition of Online Music Song Contest, held in Yerevan, after Armenia won the previous edition of the contest.

The Pre-Qualification Round of OMSC 21 occured on the 5ᵗʰ December 2021, the Semi-Finals on the 12ᵗʰ December 2021 while the Final occured on the 12ᵗʰ December 2021. Fifty countries participated in the twenty-first contest, under the slogan “Embrace Unity!”.

Location
After it's victory in the previous edition, the broadcaster ARMTV chose to host the contest in in the capital and most populous city of Armenia, Yerevan. It has a population of over 1,000,000 inhabitants which is just over 35% of Armenia's total population. Situated along the Hrazdan River, the upper part of Yerevan is surrounded with mountains on three sides and it has been the capital since 1918, the fourteenth in the history of Armenia and the seventh located in or around the Ararat plain. The city also serves as the seat of the Araratian Pontifical Diocese; the largest diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church and one of the oldest dioceses in the world.

The history of Yerevan dates back to the 8ᵗʰ century BC, with the founding of the fortress of Erebuni in 782 BC by King Argishti I at the western extreme of the Ararat plain. Erebuni was “designed as a great administrative and religious centre, a fully royal capital”. By the late ancient Armenian Kingdom, new capital cities were established and Yerevan declined in importance. Under Iranian and Russian rule, it was the center of the Erivan Khanate from 1736 to 1828 and the Erivan Governorate from 1850 to 1917, respectively. After World War I, Yerevan became the capital of the First Republic of Armenia as thousands of survivors of the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire arrived in the area. Yerevan expanded rapidly during the 20ᵗʰ century as Armenia became part of the Soviet Union. In a few decades, it was transformed from a provincial town to Armenia's principal cultural, artistic, and industrial center, as well as becoming the seat of national government. New educational, scientific and cultural institutions were founded as well.

With the growth of the Armenian economy, Yerevan has undergone major transformation. Much construction has been done throughout the city since the early 2000s, and retail outlets such as restaurants, shops, and street cafés, which were rare during Soviet times, have multiplied. When Armenia became a republic of the Soviet Union, Yerevan remained as capital and accommodated all the political and diplomatic institutions in the republic. In 1991 with the independence of Armenia, Yerevan continued with its status as the political and cultural centre of the country, being home to all the national institutions: the Government House, the National Assembly, the Presidential Palace, the Central Bank and the Constitutional Court.

Nowadays Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, artistic and industrial center of the country as well as the seat of the national government with a large number of museums, important monuments and the national public library. Of its notable landmarks, Erebuni Fortress is considered to be the birthplace of the city, the Katoghike Tsiranavor church is the oldest surviving church of Yerevan and Saint Gregory Cathedral is the largest Armenian cathedral in the world, Tsitsernakaberd is the official memorial to the victims of the Armenian Genocide, and several opera houses, theatres, museums, libraries, and other cultural institutions. Yerevan Opera Theatre is the main spectacle hall of the Armenian capital, the National Gallery of Armenia is the largest art museum in Armenia and shares a building with the History Museum of Armenia, and the Matenadaran repository contains one of the largest depositories of ancient books and manuscripts in the world. It also hosts Vardavar the most widely celebrated festival among Armenians and is one of the historic centres of traditional Armenian carpet.

Participants
Fifty countries participated in the twenty-first edition of the contest: fifteen European countries (Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Moldova, Norway, Poland, Romania, San Marino, Ukraine), fifteen Asian countries (Armenia, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, North Korea, Palestine, Philippines, South Korea, Thailand, Turkmenistan), seven American countries (Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Curaçao, Mexico, United States of America), eight Oceanian countries (American Samoa, Australia, Cocos Islands, Guam, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, New Zealand, Palau) and five African countries (Cape Verde, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Mayotte, Réunion).

In this edition Equatorial Guinea and Mayotte participated for the first time.

Returning Artists
This edition featured nine representatives who had performed previously as lead vocalists for a country in the contest.

Rosé Boom Boom Cash CXLOE Karolina Stanisławczyk Emmy Liyana Nico Santos Iveta Mukuchyan Helly Luv Elephant Heart

Withdrawing Countries
These countries confirmed their non-participation in the twenty-first edition of the contest: