OMSC 16

Online Music Song Contest 16, often referred to as OMSC 16, was the sixteenth edition of Online Music Song Contest, held in Novi Sad, after Serbia won the previous edition of the contest.

The Pre-Qualification Round of OMSC 15 occured on the 18ᵗʰ July 2021, the Semi-Finals on the 25ᵗʰ July 2021 while the Final occured on the 1ˢᵗ August 2021. Fifty-five* countries participated in the sixteenth contest, under the slogan “Celebrate Yourself!”.

Location
After it's victory in the previous edition, the broadcaster RTS chose to host the contest in Novi Sad, the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, which has a population of 300,000 inhabitants. It is located in the southern portion of the Pannonian Plain on the border of the Bačka and Srem geographical regions. Lying on the banks of the Danube river, the city faces the northern slopes of Fruška Gora.

Human habitation in the territory of present-day Novi Sad has been traced as far back as the Stone Age. In antiquity, the region was inhabited by Celtic tribes, most notably the Scordisci. Celts were present in the area since the 4ᵗʰ century BC and founded the first fortress on the right bank of the Danube. Later, in the 1ˢᵗ century BC, the region was conquered by the Romans who built a larger fortress and included the region in the Roman province of Pannonia.

In the Middle Ages, the area was subsequently controlled by the Ostrogoths, Gepids, Avars, Franks, West Slavic groups, again by the Byzantines, and finally by the Hungarians. It became a part of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary between the 11ᵗʰ and 12ᵗʰ centuries. Hungarians began to settle in the area, which before that time was mostly populated by Slavs.

The Serbs of the area founded a new settlement in 1694 on the left bank of the Danube. For much of the 18ᵗʰ and 19ᵗʰ centuries, Novi Sad remained the largest city inhabited by Serbs. Due to its cultural and political influence, the city became known as the "Serbian Athens". During the Revolution of 1848–1849, Novi Sad was part of Serbian Vojvodina, a Serbian autonomous region within the Austrian Empire. Following the compromise of 1867, Novi Sad was located within the Kingdom of Hungary, the Transleithania, which comprised half of the new Austro-Hungarian Empire.

On the 25ᵗʰ November 1918, the Assembly of Serbs, Bunjevci and other Slavs of Vojvodina in Novi Sad proclaimed the union of the region of Vojvodina with the Kingdom of Serbia. From 1 December 1918, Novi Sad was part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. In 1941, Yugoslavia was invaded and partitioned by the Axis powers, and its northern parts, including Novi Sad, were annexed by Hungary. Novi Sad became part of the new Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Since 1945, Novi Sad has been the capital of Vojvodina, a province of the Republic of Serbia.

The city went through rapid industrialization and its population more than doubled in the period between World War II and the breakup of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s. In 2003, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was transformed into the state union of Serbia and Montenegro. These two states separated in June 2006, leaving Novi Sad part of the Republic of Serbia. Novi Sad is the European Capital of Culture for the year 2021 and European Youth Capital 2019.

Participants
Fifty-seven* countries participated in the sixteenth edition of the contest: fifteen European countries (Albania, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, England, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine), fifteen Asian countries (Armenia, Bahrain, Brunei, China, Georgia, Japan, Lebanon, Macao, Malaysia, North Korea, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkmenistan), ten American countries (Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, United States of America), ten Oceanian countries (American Samoa, Australia, Christmas Island, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa) and seven African countries (Algeria, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Liberia, Senegal, Sudan, Zimbabwe).

In this edition Bahrain, Bolivia, Brunei, Christmas Island, Cyprus, Ecuador, England, Honduras, Liberia, Macao, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, Sri Lanka and Turkmenistan participated for the first time.

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

Ilira represented Germany in OMSC 3 as part of the group Wier

Hawa Boussim

Sophie and the Giants

Jannine Weigel

Mabel

National Selections
Canada, Lebanon and Puerto Rico used a National Selection to determine the country's representative for OMSC 16.

Canadian Choice (OMSC 16)
Main article: Canadian Choice (OMSC 16)

Lebanese Dansen (OMSC 16)
Main article: Lebanese Dansen (OMSC 16)

??? (OMSC 16)
Main article: ??? (OMSC 16)

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

Other Countries
• Austria – On the 4ᵗʰ July 2021, the Austrian broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) announced that they were planning a debut in OMSC 16. However, it was later confirmed on the following day that the country would not debut in this edition of the contest.

• El Salvador – On the 6ᵗʰ July 2021, the Salvadoran broadcaster Telecorporación Salvadoreña (TCS) announced that they were planning a debut in OMSC 16. However, it was later confirmed on the following day that the country would not debut in this edition of the contest due to bureaucratic issues.