OMSC 39

Online Music Song Contest 39, often referred to as OMSC 39, was the thirty-ninth edition of Online Music Song Contest, held in Doha, after Qatar won the previous edition of the contest.

The Pre-Qualification Round of OMSC 39 occured on the 28ᵗʰ May 2023, the Semi-Finals on the 4ᵗʰ June 2023 while the Final occured on the 11ᵗʰ June 2023. Fifty countries participated in the thirty-ninth contest, under the slogan “Free Your Sun!”.

? 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 QMC chose to host the contest in the capital and largest city of Qatar, Doha, which has a population of about 1,000,000 inhabitants. It is located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khur. It is also considered Qatar’s fastest growing city by the World Cities Research Network, with over 80% of the nation’s population living in Doha or its surrounding suburbs.

Doha was founded in the 1820s as an offshoot of Al Bidda. In 1825, during the war between Qatar and Bahrain, it was seriously damaged by the forces of Abu Dhabi, allies of the Bahrainis. In 1882, the Al Wajbah fortress was built and in 1916 it became the capital of the protectorate of Qatar. It was officially declared as the country’s capital in 1971, when Qatar gained finally independence from the United Kingdom being a British protectorate.

Prior to the 20ᵗʰ century, the city’s economy was predominantly based on fish and pearl fishing. With the introduction of cultured pearls of Japanese origin, the local economy suffered a severe blow, however cushioned by the subsequent discovery of oil fields, but above all by the large quantity of natural gas located in the north of the peninsular country.

Nowadays, Doha is the commercial capital of Qatar and one of the emergent financial centers in the Middle East, considered a beta-level global city. Doha accommodates an area devoted to research and education and an administrative area of medical care. It is also an international sports destination that includes Khalifa International Stadium, Hamad Aquatic Centre and the Aspire Dome.

The city was host to many sporting events, such as the 2006 Asian Games, the 2011 Pan Arab Games, the 2019 World Beach Games and the 2022 FIFA World Cup. It will also host the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup. Furthermore, Doha hosted the 140ᵗʰ Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly in April 2019 and hosted 18ᵗʰ yearly session United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2012.

Participants
Fifty countries participated in the thirty-ninth edition of the contest: fifteen European countries (Austria, Cyprus, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine), fifteen Asian countries (China, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, North Korea, Palestine, Philippines, Qatar, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam), nine American countries (Brazil, Canada, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Saint Barthélemy, Turks and Caicos Islands, United States of America), four Oceanian countries (New Zealand, Northern Mariana Islands, Pitcairn Islands, Tokelau) and seven African countries (Canary Islands, Ghana, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa).

In this edition Pitcairn Islands, Saint Barthélemy and Tokelau participated for the first time.

Other Countries
• Barbados – On the 15ᵗʰ May 2023, the Barbadian broadcaster Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) announced that they were planning a debut again in OMSC 39, after their attempt in OMSC 30. However, it was later confirmed on the following day that the insular nation would not debut in this edition of the contest either.