OMSC 30

Online Music Song Contest 30, often referred to as OMSC 30 or OMSC XXX, was the thirtieth edition of Online Music Song Contest, held in Kampala, after Uganda won the previous edition of the contest. This was a special edition of the contest, which allowed only non-English songs to be performed. It was permissible for a song to contain only repeated words or short verses in English. Since this edition the participants limit was brought back to 50 countries and the wildcard was abolished.

The Pre-Qualification Round of OMSC 30 occured on the 14ᵗʰ August 2022, the Semi-Finals on the 21ˢᵗ August 2022 while the Final occured on the 28ᵗʰ August 2022. Fifty countries participated in the thirtieth contest, under the slogan “Free Your Emotions!”.

Location
After it’s victory in the previous edition, the broadcaster UBC chose to host the contest in the capital and largest city of Uganda, Kampala, which has a population of almost 1,700,000 inhabitants. It occupies a series of hills at an elevation of about 1,190 metres and is situated in the southern part of the country, just north of Lake Victoria. Kampala lies north of Mengo, the capital of the kingdom of Buganda in the 19ᵗʰ century, in the country’s most prosperous agricultural area.

This area of numerous hills and swamps that later become known as Kampala was part of the core of the highly centralised Buganda Kingdom. It was also the site of the shifting Kibuga (capital) of the different Bassekabaka (kings) of the Buganda Kingdom, with each Kabaka (king) upon coronation or during their reign, setting up their Kibuga (capital) on a new and or different hill.

Kampala was selected in 1890 by Captain Frederick (later Lord) Lugard as the headquarters of the Imperial British East Africa Company. Lugard’s fort on Old Kampala Hill remained the Ugandan colonial administrative headquarters until 1905, when it was moved to Entebbe. In 1949 Kampala became a municipality and in 1962 became the capital of independent Uganda. Parliamentary and commercial buildings, industry, and residential areas are separated into sectors. The Battle of Kampala during the Ugandan Bush War occurred in January 1986. It resulted in the capture of the city by the National Resistance Movement, led by Yoweri Museveni and the subsequent surrender of the Ugandan government. In 2010, the Kampala Capital City Authority Act was enacted, giving the Ugandan Government more control of the administration of Kampala. The act also created the Kampala Metropolitan Physical Planning Authority with the stated aims of improving the infrastructure of Kampala and the surrounding districts of Wakiso, Mukono, Buikwe, Mpigi and Luwero.

Nowadays, Kampala is an important economic hub and exports coffee, cotton, tea, tobacco, and sugar. Although second industrially to Jinja, the city has numerous food, metal-products, and furniture enterprises and a tractor-assembly plant. It is the headquarters for most of Uganda’s large firms and the chief market for the Lake Victoria region. Kampala has a technical institute and is the seat of Makerere University, which was founded in 1922 and became a university college in 1949 and a university in 1970; for many years it was the only such educational institution in East Africa. Kampala also has the Uganda Museum. The city is home to several mosques (including the white Kibuli Mosque), Hindu temples, and Christian churches (notably Namirembe Anglican Cathedral and Rubaga and St. Peter’s Roman Catholic cathedrals).

Participants
Fifty countries participated in the thirtieth edition of the contest: fifteen European countries (Belarus, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine), fifteen Asian countries (Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, Iran, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Palestine, South Korea, Syria, Thailand, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Vietnam), eleven American countries (Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Greenland, Mexico, Peru, United States of America, Uruguay, Venezuela), two Oceanian countries (Australia, Samoa) and seven African countries (Angola, Burkina Faso, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, Tunisia, Uganda).

In this edition Scotland participated for the first time.

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

• Abkhazia – Abkhaz broadcaster Abkhazian State Television (ASTV) announced on the 4ᵗʰ August 2022 its withdrawal from the contest, despite the successful results achieved since their debut.

• American Samoa – American Samoa did not appear on the list of participants published on the 7ᵗʰ August 2022.

• Andorra – Ràdio i Televisió d'Andorra (RTVA) announced on the 2ⁿᵈ August 2022 that Andorra would withdraw from the competition, probably because of the poor results achieved since their debut.

• Austria – Austrian broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) announced on the 3ʳᵈ August 2022 the country's withdrawal from the contest, due to a lack of interest from the Austrian public.

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• Armenia – Armenian broadcaster Hayastani Hanrayin Herrustaynkerut'yun (ARMTV) announced on the 6ᵗʰ July 2022 that Armenia would withdraw from the contest after six consecutive participations.

• Aruba – Aruba Television (ATV) announced on the 10ᵗʰ July 2022 that Aruba would not take part in the twenty-ninth edition of the contest, despite their first qualification ever achieved in the previous edition.

• Belgium – Belgium's broadcasters VRT and RTBF announced on the 5ᵗʰ July 2022 that Belgium would not take part in the twenty-ninth edition of the contest, due to a lack of interest from the Belgian public.

• Estonia – Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR) announced Estonia's withdrawal on the 9ᵗʰ July 2022.

• Fiji – Fijian Broadcasting Corporation (FBC) announced Fiji's withdrawal from the contest a couple of days after the confirmation period started, for unknown reasons.

• Ghana – Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) announced on the 10ᵗʰ July 2022 that Ghana's participation in the twenty-ninth edition of the contest would not be possible, citing debts and the ongoing financial issues.

• Grenada – Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) announced on the 7ᵗʰ July 2022, that Afghanistan would withdraw from the contest for unknown reasons.

• Guatemala – Radio y Televisión de Guatemala (RTG) announced on the 9ᵗʰ July 2022, that Guatemala would not participate in the twenty-ninth edition of the contest, for unknown reasons.

• Hong Kong – Hong Kong's broadcaster Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) announced on the 8ᵗʰ July 2022 its withdrawal from the contest, because of the broadcaster's intention to focus on news content instead of music and entertainment.

• Iceland – Iceland's broadcaster Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV) announced on the 6ᵗʰ July 2022 its withdrawal from the contest, without further explanations.

• Iran – Iranian broadcaster Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) announced the country's withdrawal right after the final, citing low ratings during their time in the contest.

• Ireland – Ireland's broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) announced on the 7ᵗʰ July 2022 its withdrawal from the contest, without further explanations.

• Israel – When confirmation period started, Israeli broadcaster Israel Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC) stated that they had yet to make a decision on their participation. Israel later confirmed its withdrawal on the 9ᵗʰ July 2022, despite achieving good results in the previous editions.

• Lebanon – Télé Liban (TL) announced on the 5ᵗʰ July 2022 its withdrawal from the contest, for unknown reasons.

• Mexico – While Sistema Público de Radiodifusión del Estado Mexicano (SPR) had provisionally confirmed their participation in the contest on the 4ᵗʰ May 2022 and rumours about a possible representative, Mexico later announced a withdrawal in the following days.

• Netherlands – Dutch broadcaster Netherlands Public Broadcasting (NPO) announced on the 5ᵗʰ July 2022 that the Netherlands would withdraw from the contest, due to a lack of interest from the Dutch public.

• Nigeria – Nigeria's broadcaster Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) announced the country's withdrawal on the 10ᵗʰ July 2022, after the disappointment from the results of their previous attempts in the contest.

• Niue – Niue did not appear on the list of participants published on the 10ᵗʰ July 2022.

• North Macedonia – Macedonian Radio-Television (MRT) announced the country's withdrawal on the 6ᵗʰ July 2022, without further explanations.

• Palau – Palau did not appear on the list of participants published on the 10ᵗʰ July 2022.

• Samoa – Samoa Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) announced on the 9ᵗʰ July 2022 Samoa's withdrawal from the contest, because of financial crisis.

• Sierra Leone – Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) announced on the 10ᵗʰ July 2022, that Sierra Leone would not participate in the twenty-ninth edition, despite achieving a good result and their best result to date in the previous edition.

• Singapore – Singaporean broadcaster Media Corporation of Singapore (MEDIACORP) announced on the 8ᵗʰ July 2022 that Singapore would withdraw from the contest, without further explanation.

• Slovakia – While Rozhlas a Televízia Slovenska (RTVS) had provisionally confirmed their participation in the contest on the 5ᵗʰ May 2022 and rumours about a possible representative, Slovakia later announced the withdrawal in the following days.

• Solomon Islands – Solomon Islands did not appear on the list of participants published on the 10ᵗʰ July 2022.

• Tonga – Tonga Broadcasting Commission (TBC) announced the island nation's withdrawal on the 7ᵗʰ July 2022, probably because of the poor results achieved since their debut.

• Turkmenistan – Turkmenistan's broadcaster (TTV) announced on the 4ᵗʰ July 2022, that Turkmenistan would not participate in the twenty-ninth edition of the contest.

• Yemen – Yemen's broadcaster (YTV) announced on the 10ᵗʰ July 2022 its withdrawal from the contest, due to a lack of interest from the Yemeni public.

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Bhutan British Virgin Islands Cambodia Canary Islands Chile Cuba Democratic Republic of the Congo French Polynesia Germany Guam Honduras Iraq Jamaica Kiribati Kyrgyzstan Libya Malaysia Malta Myanmar New Zealand Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands North Korea Norway Philippines Puerto Rico Serbia South Africa South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands Taiwan United Kingdom United States’ Virgin Islands

Other Countries
These countries confirmed their non-participation in the thirtieth edition of the contest:

• Barbados – On the 4ᵗʰ August 2022, the Barbadian broadcaster Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) announced that they were planning a debut in OMSC 30, after sending their own delegation to Belgrade to supervise and evaluate a future participation in the competition. On the 6ᵗʰ August 2022 it was confirmed that the insular nation would not debut in this edition of the contest.

• Botswana – On the 3ʳᵈ August 2022, rumours about a debut of Botswana in OMSC 30 arose. However, it was later confirmed that the country would not debut in this edition of the contest, denying the rumours spread.

• Nepal – On the 1ˢᵗ August 2022, the Nepalese broadcaster Nepal Television (NTV) announced that they were planning a debut again, in OMSC 30. However, it was later confirmed on the following day that the country would not debut in this edition of the contest either, due to bureaucratic issues.

• Panama – On the 1ˢᵗ August 2022, the Panamanian broadcaster Sistema Estatal de Radio y Televisión (SERT) announced that they were planning a debut again in OMSC 30, after their attempt in OMSC 20. However, it was confirmed later on that day that the country would not debut in this edition of the contest either.