AwlaVision Song Contest 55

AwlaVision Song Contest 55, often referred to as ASC#55, was the fifty-fifth edition of AwlaVision Song Contest, held in Hamar, Norway. The edition started the 13th January 2021, and ended the 06th February 2021.

43 countries took part in this edition. No one debuted in this edition. No one withdrew from ASC. No one returned to the competition. Maléna from Armenia won the contest with the song "Why" receiving a total of 397 points, 48 points ahead the runner-up, Germany. Turkey finished in third place with 233 points. The last winning country, Serbia achieved a 24th place with 11 points. The last place was for United Kingdom, that got 2 points.

Organisation
After Serbia's victory in AwlaVision Song Contest 54, the ABU had to decide where to organise the contest this time. Due to the COVID19 regulations, the ABU decided to organise the contest in a pre-selected venue before the last winning country was selected and again, having it with audience limitations. Finally, the ABU chose Hamar as the host city of ASC55.

The NRK decided to use popular and professionals people as presenters. Finally Haddy N'jie and Stian Barsnes were selected.

Vikingskipet
The Vikingskipet is an indoor multi-use sport and event venue in Hamar, Norway. It was built as the speed skating rink for the 1994 Winter Olympics, and has since also hosted events and tournaments in ice speedway, rally, association football, bandy, ice sledge speed racing, flying disc and track cycling. The arena is also used for concerts, trade fair and the annual computer party The Gathering. It is the home arena of Hamar IL bandy team. The venue is owned by Hamar Municipality, and along with Hamar Olympic Amphitheatre is run by the municipal Hamar Olympiske Anlegg. Vikingskipet has a capacity for 10,600 spectators during sporting events and 20,000 during concerts.

The arena was designed by Niels Torp, and Biong & Biong, and opened on 19 December 1992. The complex cost 230 million Norwegian krone (NOK). The localization was controversial, as it is located at Åkervika, a Ramsar site. It is Norway's national venue for speed skating and bandy, and holds annual ISU Speed Skating World Cup races, as well as regular world championships. It has among other things hosted tournaments of the World Allround Speed Skating Championships, European Speed Skating Championships, World Single Distance Championships, World Sprint Speed Skating Championships, UCI Track Cycling World Championships, Speedway Grand Prix and World Rally Championship.

The construction of the venue cost NOK 230 million, which was almost entirely financed through state grants. Hamar Municipality contributed by building a co-located fire station for NOK 21 million. Local businesses also contributed with NOK 8 million. Moelven Industrier and Fireguard both contributed in exchange for being able to use the venues for marketing large wooden structures. To finance the operating deficit after the Olympics, Hamar Municipality received a capital grant of NOK 30 million, with the interest going to pay for running Vikingskipet and Hamar Olympic Amphitheatre. Operating costs were estimated at NOK 7 million per year; the venue will receive income of NOK 1 million from larger events, NOK 1 million will come from free work from the fire department, and NOK 1 million from advertisements. Similar to Hamar Olympic Amphitheatre, the venue has two official names, Hamar Olympic Hall and Vikingskipet. The former cannot be used commercially by non-Olympic events, such as in merchandise.

Due to the world COVID19 situation and its regulations in the European Union and Norway, this was the fifth edition that was held with public attendance limitations to all of the shows and without present press and media.

Hamar
Hamar is a town in Hamar Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Hedmarken. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Hamar. The municipality of Hamar was separated from Vang as a town and municipality of its own in 1849. Vang was reincorporated into Hamar on 1st January 1992. The town is located on the shores of Mjøsa, Norway's largest lake, and is the principal city of Hedmark county. It is bordered to the northwest by the municipality of Ringsaker, to the north by Åmot, to the east by Løten, and to the south by Stange.

After the Christianization of Norway in 1030, Hamar began to gain influence as a centre for trade and religion, until the episcopal representative Nikolaus Breakspear in 1152 founded Hamar Kaupangen as one of five dioceses in medieval Norway. This diocese included Hedemarken and Christians Amt, being separated in 1152 from the former diocese of Oslo. The first bishop of Hamar was Arnold, Bishop of Gardar, Greenland (1124–1152). He began to build the now ruined cathedral of Christ Church, which was completed about the time of Bishop Paul (1232–1252). Bishop Thorfinn (1278–1282) was exiled and died at Ter Doest abbey in Flanders, and was later canonised. Bishop Jörund (1285–1286) was transferred to Trondheim. A provincial council was held in 1380. Hamar remained an important religious and political centre in Norway, organized around the cathedral and the bishop's manor until the Reformation 1536–1537, when it lost its status as a bishopric after the last Catholic bishop, Mogens Lauritssøn (1513–1537), was taken prisoner in his castle at Hamar by Truid Ulfstand, a Danish noble, and sent to Antvorskov in Denmark, where he was mildly treated until his death in 1542. There were at Hamar a cathedral chapter with ten canons, a school, a Dominican Priory of St. Olaf, and a monastery of the Canons Regular of St. Anthony of Vienne.

The Hedmark museum, located on Domkirkeodden, is an important historical landmark in Hamar, an outdoor museum with remains of the medieval church, in a protective glass housing, the episcopal fortress and a collection of old farm houses. The institution is a combined medieval, ethnological and archaeological museum, and has received architectural prizes for its approach to conservation and exhibition. It also houses a vast photographic archive for the Hedmark region. Additionally, Hamar is known for its indoor long track speed skating and bandy arena, the Olympia Hall, better known as Vikingskipet ("The Viking ship") for its shape. It was built to host the speed skating competitions of the 1994 Winter Olympics that were held in nearby Lillehammer. Already in 1993 it hosted the Bandy World Championship. The Vikingskipet Olympic Arena was later used in the winter of 2007 as the service park for Rally Norway, the second round of the 2007 World Rally Championship season. It has been the host for the world's second largest computer party The Gathering starting on the Wednesday in Easter each year, for the last 13 years. Also situated in Hamar is the Hamar Olympic Amphitheatre which hosted the figure skating and short track speed skating events of the 1994 Winter Olympics. The figure skating competition was highly anticipated. It featured Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding, who drew most of the media attention, however the gold medal was won by Oksana Baiul of Ukraine. The centre of Hamar is the pedestrian walkway in the middle of town, with the library, cinema and farmer's market on Stortorget (the big square) on the western side, and Østre Torg (the eastern square), which sits on top of an underground multi-story carpark, on the eastern side.

This is the second time in the contest that AwlaVision Song Contest is held in Norway, but the first time that it is held in Hamar. The country was chosen since the ABU wanted a country with low COVID19 incidence to host the competition.

Participants
43 countries took part in the edition.

First Semifinal
Jury
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Second Semifinal
Jury
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