OMSC 29

Online Music Song Contest 29, often referred to as OMSC 29, was the twenty-ninth edition of Online Music Song Contest, held in Belgrade, after Serbia won the previous edition of the contest.

The Pre-Qualification Round of OMSC 28 occured on the 17ᵗʰ July 2022, the Semi-Finals on the 24ᵗʰ July 2022 while the Final occured on the 31ˢᵗ July 2022. Fifty-five countries participated in the twenty-ninth contest, under the slogan “Spread Your Wings!”.

Location
After it’s victory in the previous edition, the broadcaster RTS chose to host the contest in the capital and largest city of Serbia, Belgrade, which has a population of over 1,200,000 inhabitants. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. It is the third largest of all cities on the Danube river.

Belgrade is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Europe and the world. One of the most important prehistoric cultures of Europe, the Vinča culture, evolved within the Belgrade area in the 6ᵗʰ millennium BC. In antiquity, Celts inhabited the region and settled the city, naming it Singidūn. It was conquered by the Romans under the reign of Augustus and awarded Roman city rights in the mid-2ⁿᵈ century. It was settled by the Slavs in the 520s, and changed hands several times between the Byzantine Empire, the Frankish Empire, the Bulgarian Empire, and the Kingdom of Hungary before it became the seat of the Serbian king Stefan Dragutin in 1284.

Belgrade served as capital of the Serbian Despotate during the reign of Stefan Lazarević, and then his successor Đurađ Branković returned it to the Hungarian king in 1427. In 1521, Belgrade was conquered by the Ottomans and became the seat of the Sanjak of Smederevo. It frequently passed from Ottoman to Habsburg rule, which saw the destruction of most of the city during the Ottoman–Habsburg wars. In the period after the Serbian Revolution, Belgrade again was named the capital of Serbia in 1841. Northern Belgrade remained the southernmost Habsburg post until 1918, when it was attached to the city, due to former Austro-Hungarian territories becoming part of the new Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes after World War I. Belgrade was the capital of Yugoslavia from its creation in 1918 to its dissolution in 2006.

Nowadays, Belgrade has special administrative status within Serbia. It is the seat of the central government, administrative bodies, and government ministries, as well as home of almost all of the largest Serbian companies, media, and scientific institutions. The city is home to the Clinical Centre of Serbia, one of the hospital complexes with the largest capacity in the world, the Church of Saint Sava, one of the largest Orthodox church buildings, and the Štark Arena, one of the indoor arenas with the largest capacity in Europe. Belgrade hosted major international events such as the Danube River Conference of 1948, Eurovision Song Contest (2008), as well as sports events such as the UEFA Euro (1976) and EuroBasket three times (1961, 1975, 2005).

Participants
Fifty-five countries participated in the twenty-ninth edition of the contest: fifteen European countries (Andorra, Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Malta, Norway, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Sweden, Ukraine, United Kingdom), fifteen Asian countries (Abkhazia, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Iraq, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Myanmar, North Korea, Philippines, South Korea, Syria, Taiwan), twelve American countries (Argentina, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Chile, Cuba, Honduras, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, United States of America, United States’ Virgin Islands), eight Oceanian countries (American Samoa, Australia, French Polynesia, Guam, Kiribati, New Zealand, Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands) and five African countries (Canary Islands, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Libya, South Africa, Uganda).

In this edition Bhutan participated for the first time.

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

The Hardkiss

Kwon Eun-Bi

Bana

Nadia Ali

Duda Beat

Nervo

KEP1ER

Julie Bergan

Dolla

Bea Miller

Sabina Ddumba

Krewella

Sanah

(G)I-DLE

Daria Zawiałow

Vendredi Sur Mer

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

•

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

• Isle of Man

• Malawi

• Maldives

• Nepal

• São Tomé and Príncipe