OMSC 36

Online Music Song Contest 36, often referred to as OMSC 36, was the thirty-sixth edition of Online Music Song Contest, held in Salzburg, after Austria won the previous edition of the contest.

The Pre-Qualification Round of OMSC 36 occured on the 5ᵗʰ February 2023, the Semi-Finals on the 12ᵗʰ February 2023 while the Final occured on the 19ᵗʰ February 2023. Fifty countries participated in the thirty-sixth contest, under the slogan “Light The Spark!”.

??? won the contest with the song "???", sung in ???, receving a total of ??? points. ??? finished in second place with a margin of ??? points from the winner, while ??? finished in third place. They were followed by ???, which reached the fourth place and ??? which reached the fifth place.

Location
After it’s victory in the previous edition, the broadcaster ORF chose to host the contest in the fourth-largest city in Austria, Salzburg, which has a population of almost 155,000 inhabitants. It is located on the banks of the River Salzach, at the northern boundary of the Alps. The mountains to Salzburg's south contrast with the rolling plains to the north. This area is flanked by two smaller hills.

Traces of human settlements have been found in the area, dating to the Neolithic Age. The first settlements in Salzburg continuous with the present were apparently by the Celts around the 5ᵗʰ century BC. The Roman Empire merged the settlements into one city. At this time, the city was called "Juvavum" and was awarded the status of a Roman municipium. Juvavum developed into an important town of the Roman province of Noricum. After the Norican frontier's collapse, Juvavum declined so sharply that by the late 7ᵗʰ century it nearly became a ruin.

In the 8ᵗʰ century Saint Rupert renamed the city "Salzburg" when he travelled to evangelise among pagans. Independence from Bavaria was secured in the late 14ᵗʰ century. Salzburg was the seat of the Archbishopric of Salzburg, a prince-bishopric of the Holy Roman Empire. As the Reformation movement gained steam, riots broke out among peasants in the areas in and around Salzburg. Eventually, tensions were quelled, and the city's independence led to an increase in wealth and prosperity, culminating in the late 16ᵗʰ to 18ᵗʰ centuries under the Prince Archbishops Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau, Markus Sittikus, and Paris Lodron. It was in the 17ᵗʰ century that Italian architects rebuilt the city center as it is today along with many palaces.

Salzburg was a center of late Illuminism. In 1803, the archbishopric was secularised by Emperor Napoleon; he transferred the territory to Ferdinando III of Tuscany, former Grand Duke of Tuscany, as the Electorate of Salzburg. In 1805, Salzburg was annexed to the Austrian Empire and then to the Kingdom of Bavaria, after Austria's defeat at Wagram. In 1866, Salzburg became part of Austria-Hungary as the capital of a crownland of the Austrian Empire. The nostalgia of the Romantic Era led to increased tourism. Following World War I and the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Salzburg, as the capital of one of the Austro-Hungarian territories, became part of the new German Austria. After World War II, Salzburg became the capital city of the Federal State of Salzburg and saw the Americans leave the area once Austria had signed a 1955 treaty re-establishing the country as a democratic and independent nation and subsequently declared its perpetual neutrality.

Nowadays, Salzburg is an industrial center with mainly chemical and textile industries. It is known worldwide for its baroque architecture and for being a site of great musical events, being the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The historic center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996.

Participants
Fifty countries participated in the thirty-sixth edition of the contest: fifteen European countries (Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Crimea, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Liechtenstein, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Russia, Ukraine), thirteen Asian countries (British Indian Ocean Territories, China, Honk Kong, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Kazakhstan, Macao, North Korea, Singapore, South Korea, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand), eight American countries (Antigua and Barbuda, Canada, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Martinique, Sint Maarten, Turks and Caicos Islands, United States of America), five Oceanian countries (Australia, Fiji, Marshall Islands, New Zealand, Tonga) and seven African countries (Algeria, Burundi, Ethiopia, Ghana, Madagascar, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal).

In this edition São Tomé and Príncipe participated for the first time.