Entering Eurovision?

June 28, 2010 7:12 PM

What would it take to be able to enter Eurovision?

Eurovision is an amazing, ridiculous, spectacle. I'm fascinated by it, and I think it might be a fun process to try and enter. What would I need to do to get to represent a country on the big stage?

(Obviously this isn't something one can do on a whim - I'd need to be absolutely serious about it. But it's fun thinking about.)

posted by LSK to Media & Arts (7 answers total)

Well I guess it would depend on what country you would like to represent. Each country has their own qualifying process to become the representative with their Song for Europe. For Ireland the qualifying is run by RTE, the national broadcaster.

Songs are shortlisted and usually presented weekly on a popular talk show (or had been in the past). Either RTE or the public then vote for the winner. Details of the 2010 qualifying process for Ireland (which ended in February) are here.
posted by clarkie666 at 7:21 PM on June 28, 2010

I see for Ireland - "Each songwriter and performer must be a citizen of Ireland" and no Political Ballads, songs about Lovely Horses are probably OK.
posted by clarkie666 at 7:22 PM on June 28, 2010 [1 favorite]

Best answer: From Anthony Lane's recent article in The New Yorker (requires subscription to read the whole thing):

Weirdly, you don't always need formal ties to the nation that picks you for the contest; when the Cypriots were looking for a singer this year, they searched the Internet and found a Welshman.

It would be the greatest thing ever if a Mefite were in the Eurovision Song Contest.
posted by lukemeister at 7:38 PM on June 28, 2010 [2 favorites]

British comedian, Justin Lee Collins tried this last year. Veiwable at YouTube, geographical restrictions not withstanding
posted by handybitesize at 12:24 AM on June 29, 2010

No decent or serious Dutch artist wants to compete, because there is never any money to create a remarkable show. So this year Father Smurf wrote the song, and in return the broadcasting company that organizes the national Eurovision final will give ample attention to his 50th anniversary as an artist, and a nobody from Father Smurf's record label was sent.

So, if you have some money, are can point to some remarkable stage performances, you'd have plenty of opportunities to start a lobby here.
posted by ijsbrand at 2:03 AM on June 29, 2010

Best answer: To elaborate on ijsbrands point: the process of getting to represent a country is locally political within media circles. So I'd start with exploring networking options within media circles of a given nation. Some small scale nations with inaccessible languages might be tempted with the option of sending a very engaging english language candidate.
posted by joost de vries at 3:02 AM on June 29, 2010

Best answer: As said above, each country has its own set of qualifying procedures but they're nearly always coordinated through the local EBU (European Broadcast Union) public broadcaster. Here is the list of EBU broadcasters. Contact the one you want to ask about the process of applying.
posted by gfrobe at 3:34 AM on June 29, 2010