User:Lyonsland/sandbox/Euclovision

Euclovision Song Contest
Logo since 2017
Also known as	Euclovision ESC
Genre	Music competition
Created by	Euclean Broadcasters Group
Presented by	Various presenters
Country of origin	Various participating countries
Original language(s)	Estmerish and Gaullican
No. of episodes	65 contests 98 live shows
Production
Production location(s)	Various host cities
Running time	~2 hours (semi-finals) ~4 hours (finals)
Production company(s)	Euclean Broadcasters Group Various national broadcasters
Release
Original release	6 June 1959 (1959-06-06) – present
Chronology
Related shows	Euclovision Junior Euclovision Sound Contest
External links
Official website

The Euclovision Song Contest (Gaullican: Concours Euclovision de la chanson), often referred to as Euclovision, is an annual international song competition organised by the Euclean Broadcasters Group (EBG). Held annually since 1959, it features songs selected by each participating country competing for votes from national juries and public televoting, from which a winner is determined. The live shows are broadcast by each participating national broadcaster, who in turn facilitate the organisation and voting procedures of the contest.

Active member broadcasters of the EBG and invited associated members are eligible to compete in the contest. Initially, participation was limited to Euclean countries, however restrictions were eased in 2004 to allow interested associated members of the EBG from Asterian and Coian countries to apply to enter. Consequentially, more than fifty countries have since participated in the contest at least once. Each participating broadcaster enters one original song, of no more than three minutes and thirty seconds in length, to be performed by an artist or group of no more than eight people aged 16 or over. Voting is conducted through each country via a simultaneous national jury and audience televote, with points being distributed based on these results. The entry with the most points is declared the winner. The contest is organised annually by the EBG and the winning country of the preceding year's contest, with the winning country expected to host the succeeding contest.

Since its inception, the contest has continued to evolve and grow in popularity, and is regularly considered to be the most watched non-sporting televised event in the world, attracting particularly high audience figures in many participating countries. The large audience of the contest makes it a platform for competing artists to grow their careers both domestically and internationally, with a number of globally well-known artists having participated at the contest both before, during, and after their peaks. However, the contest also attracts criticism for its musical and cultural quality, which some see as often being poor in nature. Critiques of the contest have also commented on perceived political elements in various aspects of the event, including in the songs, voting, and the outright organisation of the contest.

The most recent contest was held in St Avelines, Estmere, and was won by the host country. Consequentially, Estmere will host the event again in 2024.

History

Origins

The desire to create a pan-Euclean musical event was born out of the culmination of geopolitical and technological change in the late 1940's and early 1950's, namely the end of the Solarian War, the foundation of the Euclean Community (EC), and the development of television and satellite technology. The Radio Broadcasting Commission of the European Community was founded in 1949, and was succeeded by the Euclean Broadcasting Group (EBG) in 1951. The first simultaneous transmission of a live program across Euclea took place on 5 October 1954. Entitled Euclovision, the broadcast was a live, non-competitive variety show from television studios in Morwall, Estmere, and featured singers, dancers and other variety acts from six different countries: Azmara, Borland, Estmere, Gaullica, Hennehouwe and Werania. Over the following years, the newly-established Euclovision network would relay television transmissions of a number of events to audiences in several EC countries, including the 1955 IFF Coupe du Monde in Estmere.

The development of the transmission network spurred on moves towards regular co-operation between eastern Euclean broadcasters, particularly in an era where the availability of television was still limited, and amidst a battle for cultural influence against the councilist sphere in the west. In 1956, EBG members agreed on plans to work towards the organisation of a regularly-held Euclovision broadcast. Jan-Willem Langevoort, the director of television at Hennish National Broadcasting (HNO), and Abraham Holland, director-general of the Estmerish Broadcasting Service (EBS) put forward the idea of an annual music competition, held between member broadcasters. The concept of a music-based event was deemed to be most suitable as it would be accessible for radio broadcasts in addition to television broadcasts, as many EC countries had only began to provide regular television services, with audience numbers still small. The EBG accepted this proposal in 1957, and began working towards the hosting of the inaugural contest in the autumn of 1958. It was intended to be contested between the broadcasters of the ten member states of the EC, however a number of broadcasters pulled out of the planning for the first contest due to a lack of commitment or interest in the project. At the same time, EBG delegates from the Gaullican broadcaster made the case for the inclusion of Etruria, as a show of Euclean unity and solidarity in the years following the Solarian War and the preceding Great War.

Early years

After technical and bureaucratic delays, the first contest was held on 6 June 1959 from the Koninklijk Theater in Kesselbourg City, Kesselbourg, and hosted by Kesselburgs Omroep Stichting (now Kesselburgs Radio en Televisie). Eight countries ultimately took part: Azmara, Borland, Caldia, Estmere, Etruria, Gaullica, Hennehouwe and Kesselbourg; with the host country winning. The lack of transparency around voting procedures means that the placing of the other entrants remains unknown to this day, and controversy over it led to the introduction of a jury-based voting system at the following contest in 1960, held in Rayenne, Gaullica, which saw the début of Scovern and the last-minute withdrawal of Etruria, owing to the coup d'état that took place two weeks before the contest.

As the 1960's progressed, the contest continued to expand, with new countries making their début appearances year after year. Alsland and Werania first participated in 1961; Blostland in 1963; and Paretia and Soravia in 1964. With the growing availability of television in most Euclean countries by the mid-1960's, Euclovision became a prime television event across the continent. Its popularity spawned the success of a number of entries and artists in its early years, such as "Cantare" by Gianmario Vignali, the Etrurian entry to the 1962 contest; and "Talkin' Bout" by What?, the winning entry of the 1965 contest for Estmere.

In 1968, the contest was broadcast live in colour for the first time - a first for any non-sporting event in Euclea.

21st century

Following the modernisation that the contest's format underwent in the preceding years, Euclovision had become a much larger event as it entered the year 2000. Normalisation of relations between east and west had led to increasing interest in the competition among historically socialist-aligned states, who had historically shied away from the contest due to its commercial and Eastern image. As early as 2000, discussions had also begun between EBG officials and broadcasters from a number of countries in the Asterias and Coius, including the Satavian Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) and Société Radio-Cassier (SRC), over a potential rebrand of the contest to incorporate countries from across the world. In June 2001, the EBG announced tentative plans to replace the Euclovision Song Contest with a "global" song contest from 2003 onwards, in collaboration with the Asterian Broadcasting Group (ABG) and the All-Coian Union of Radio and Television (UCR). These plans faced intense criticism from a number of Euclean broadcasters and governments, as well as fans of the contest. Facing threats of a boycott of the 2002 contest by protesting broadcasters, the EBG climbed down from the plan and proposed a compromise, in which the Euclean-based song contest would remain, which would in turn serve as a qualifying round for the global final contest. This was firmly rejected by most EBG members, as they feared an effective sidelining of a long-running Euclean institution, as well as the potential additional costs of having to send artists and personnel to two separate, large events.

Instead, in March 2003, the EBG announced it would open the Euclovision Song Contest itself to non-Euclean countries for the first time, beginning from the 2004 contest. Asterian and Coian broadcasters who held associate membership of the EBU were required to send a note of interest to participate to the Working Group of the Euclovision Song Contest, who would in turn approve or disapprove of their participation. To accommodate the expected influx of participating countries, a semi-final system was introduced, replacing the previous relegation system that had existed since the late 1980's. This meant that all countries in Euclea would be permitted to compete simultaneously each year, appearing at least in the semi-finals, rather than having to sit out a year in lieu of poor results. The 2004 contest, held in Aalmsted, Azmara, saw the participation of thirty-eight countries – an increase of sixteen from the previous year, including the début of twelve countries from outside Euclea. The first victory for a non-Euclean country came a year later in 2005, with Satavia winning for the first time. Though the winning country is expected to host the following year's contest, the EBG implemented a rule declaring that the contest must be held within Euclea in any case, with any winning non-Euclean broadcaster co-hosting with a Euclean counterpart. As such, the 2006 contest was held in Morwall, Estmere, co-hosted by the EBS and the SBC. The same procedure was carried out the following year after Garambura's first victory, with the 2007 edition taking place in Verlois.

Criticism of the televoting system, in place since 1998, for political and 'bloc' voting patterns, led to changes at the 2009 contest, which introduced a 50-50 jury/televote system for each country's set of points in both the semi-finals and finals, modelled after the voting format in the Hennish pre-selection Het Grote Songfestival.

High definition broadcasting of the event was introduced in 2006, whilst free app voting was introduced in a number of countries at the 2021 contest.

Format and rules

Participation

To participate, a broadcaster must be either a full member of the Euclean Broadcasters Group, or, since 2004, be an associate member of the organisation and obtain permission from the Working Group of the contest to take part. Members of the Euclean Broadcasters Group are primarily public broadcasters of Euclean countries, although it also includes a number of mainstream commercial and minority broadcasters. Membership of the Euclean Broadcasters Group is limited to media organisations based in Euclean countries; whilst broadcasters from Asteria and Coius can obtain associate member status.

Participating countries are obliged to meet all rules and credentials in advance of the contest, and are required to be a 'contribution fee' towards the annual organisation, hosting, and broadcast of the event. This fee differs for broadcasters depending on the size of the country and organisation.

Prior to 1995, there was no limit on the number of participating countries per contest, as the number had remained relatively steady for many years, with around 20-22 entrants taking part annually. However, with the début Tsabara, ex-ASUR states and both former and current socialist countries in the late 1980's and early 1990's, the EBG decided to introduce a relegation system in 1995, in which the bottom three or four countries in the results of the contest would be excluded from the following year's edition, with new and formerly-relegated countries taking their place. This rule change resulted in the exclusion of Estmere and Soravia, two of the contest's largest financial contributors, from the 1997 contest in lieu of poor results in preceding year. Following protests from their respective broadcasters, the EBG implemented what became known as the 'Super Cinq' rule - in which the countries of the five largest-contributing broadcasters to the contest - Estmere, Etruria, Gaullica, Soravia and Werania - automatically qualify for the contest final every year, irrespective of previous results.

Following the decision to allow non-Euclean countries compete for the first time in 2004, the EBG replaced the relegation system format with the introduction of a semi-final, preceding the grand final. With the exception of the 'Super Cinq' countries and the host country, who continue to qualify automatically, all other countries must qualify from the final through the semi-final. The EBG limits each contest to a total of forty-six countries; providing for a maximum of twenty countries in each semi-final, with twenty-six countries appearing in the final (ten qualifiers from each of the two semi-finals + the 'Super Cinq' countries + the host country).

Song and artist eligibility

Competing songs must be recently released original tracks of no more than three minutes and thiry seconds in length, and must be performed live on-stage with at least minimal vocal composition (fully instrumental tracks are not permitted). Since 2001, the performance of the song must be delivered via a backing track, although the use of live instruments is permitted to a certain degree, depending on the style of song. The number of persons present on-stage at any given time during a performance, including main performers, backing vocalists and dancers, is limited to eight people, all of whom must be at least 16 years of age.

Since 2004, there is no restriction on the use of languages by participating countries. From the contest's inception in 1959 until 2003, albeit with a brief relaxation during the 1970's, the EBG required songs to be sung only in official, or regional, languages of the participating country. Despite the end of the language rule restriction, many Euclean countries, as well of many of the new Asterian and Coian participating countries, continue to send songs in their native languages, although there has been a growing trend of countries sending entries partially, or wholly, in Gaullican or Estmerish, as two of the most internationally recognisable languages in the world. There is no restriction on the selection of artists by nationality; broadcasters are free to select any artist to represent them, including ones not originally from their territory. Consequentially, a number of artists have represented countries other than their native country over the years.

Selection

The EBG allows participating broadcasters to select their entry either internally, or via a national selection. An internal selection is where the broadcaster chooses the participating song through a closed-door process, usually with a small expert team within the organisation picking the entry without consultation from the public. A national selection usually takes the form of a televised competition format between artists and songs, with the entry being chosen via a public vote, national jury, or a combination of both. The scale of national selection differs between countries. Hennehouwe's Het Grote Songfestival, and Scovern's Vollingsfest constitute examples of long-running and successful national selections with large television audiences in their respective countries, whilst some countries opt for small-scale selections held in TV studios, with changing formats depending on the year. Following the addition of Asterian and Coian countries, many incorporated their existing national song competitions as selection processes for Euclovision, such as Gapolania.

Voting

The voting portion of the contest is often the most well-known element of each show, with the choice of voting system and delivery of the results changing numerous times since the 1960's. As of 2023, the voting system used is a form of positional voting, first used in 1978. Each country awards points to the ten highest ranked songs, awarding 12 points to the highest ranked, followed by 10 points, and then 8–1 - no country is able to award points to itself.

Prior to 1999, these votes were attributed solely from a professional jury in each country, with their composition following guidelines by the EBG. In 1999, the EBG introduced a limited form of public voting via SMS and premium phone numbers in a number of countries, with a full-scale rollout across all participating countries in 2000, replacing the jury vote entirely. Following criticism from eastern Euclean broadcasters over perceived political voting between western Euclean, Coian and Asterian countries via televoting, the EBG reintroduced juries for the 2010 contest, where a 50:50 split is applied between the jury and televotes in each country, combining the two to award a single set of points. Since 2021, countries may provide a free voting option to its viewers via the Euclovision mobile app, in addition to existing SMS and call options.

A number of different voting systems were used before the '12 points' system became established in the late 1970's. Most contests prior to 1978 used a 'one juror, one vote' system, in which each country assembled a panel of ten to twelve jurors, who each cast one vote for their favourite song.

The country which receives the highest number of points is deemed to be the winner. In the event of a tie between two or more countries for first place, a countback of however many countries awarded points for each tied country is applied, with the country having received points from the most countries being awarded victory.

During the finals, the results are presented in a chronological format, with each country's top points being announced by a spokesperson appointed by each national broadcaster, and broadcast via live video link from each country. The results sequence during the semi-finals only reveal the names of the qualifying countries in a random order; the full results are not published until after the final, in order to maintain suspense surrounding the eventual final outcome.

In August 2023, the EBG announced a new voting system, to be employed for the contest in 2024. Each country's jury and public votes will be split and given as separate sets of points, therefore doubling the number of points awarded by each country. This maintains the 50:50 split between juries and televoting, but may result in differing outcomes to the outgoing system.

Editions

Year	Host country	Host city	Winning country	Winning song	Winning artist	Winning song language	Points	Host broadcaster
1959	Kesselbourg	Kesselbourg	Kesselbourg	Een dag in het leven	Annelore Lemmens	Hoeltish		Kesselbuerg Publieke Omroep
1960			Gaullica	Le désir de l'amour	Dorothée Bonnet	Gaullican
1961	Gaullica	Verlois						Gaullican Broadcasting Service
1962
1963
1964
1965			Template:Country data Estmere	Talkin' Bout	What?	Estmerish
1966	Template:Country data Estmere	Morwall	Hennehouwe	Lopen zoals ik zou moeten	Sanne Kool	Hennish		Estmerish Broadcasting Service
1967	Hennehouwe	s'Holle	Gaullica	L'amour sombre	Abraham Ménard	Gaullican		Hennish National Broadcasting
1968	Gaullica	Verlois						Gaullican Broadcasting Service
1969
1970
1971
1972
1973
1974			Soravia	Слава Богу, я вдома (zr)	La Folie	Soravian
1975	Soravia	Samistopol	Caldia	Sétanta	Ashling	Ghaillish		Radiotelevizor Libertas
1976	Caldia	Spálgleann	Chistovodia	Біль	Zynayida Yarosh	Soravian		Teilifís Raidió Náisiúnta
1977	Chistovodia	Khmelnytskyi
1978
1979
1980
1981			Hennehouwe	Vrouw in ketens	Barb van Daalen	Hennish
1982	Hennehouwe	s'Holle	Werania	Kriegsministers und Benzinkanisters	Rosalie Käutner	Weranian		Hennish National Broadcasting
1983	Werania	Westbrücken	Caldia		Ashling	Ghaillish
1984	Caldia	Pennsea	Template:Country data Estmere	Rock the Casbah	Outbreak	Estmerish		Teilifís Raidió Náisiúnta
1985	Template:Country data Estmere	Harbrough	Soravia	Скованные одной цепью	Kryvonis & Yudovenko	Soravian		Estmerish Broadcasting Service
1986	Soravia	Luchintsy	Alsland	Jemand (Somebody)	FRE22	Weranian		Aalslânske Omrop Korporaasje
1987	Alsland	Wottested	Caldia
1988	Caldia	Spálgleann						Teilifís Raidió Náisiúnta
1989
1990
1991			Soravia	Группа крови	Irzha	Soravian
1992	Soravia	Velike Vishnavaya						Telekom 1
1993			Azmara	Droomen	De Hindberijen	Azmaran
1994	Azmara	Saltsdyyk	Scovern	Jóga	Elena Rohde	Mescon Frellandic
1995	Scovern	Rimso	Hennehouwe	Lichtstraal	Rood & Vrienden	Hennish
1996	Hennehouwe	Zilverzee	Gaullica	Autour du monde	Révolution Technologique	Gaullican		Hennish National Broadcasting
1997	Gaullica	Verlois						Gaullican Broadcasting Service
1998			Template:Country data Estmere	Through It All	Tommy Sheridan	Estmerish
1999	Template:Country data Estmere	Morwall						Estmerish Broadcasting Service
2000
2001			Gaullica	J'en ai marre!	Colette	Gaullican		Gaullican Broadcasting Service
2002	Gaullica	Rayenne	West Miersa	Blisko daleko	Trójca	Miersan
2003	West Miersa	Krada	Azmara	Giftyk	Niina Aleksdohter	Azmaran		Telewizja Mierska
2004	Azmara	Aalmsted	Soravia	Отпусти меня (zr)	Albina Kalashnik	Soravian		ARF-1
2005	Soravia	Patovatra	Satavia	For You	Alice Anderson	Estmerish		Telekom 1
2006	Template:Country data Estmere Satavia	Morwall	Garambura	Amidinine	Komaniso	Gaullican		Estmerish Broadcasting Service Satavian Broadcasting Corporation
2007	Garambura Gaullica	Verlois
2008
2009
2010
2011			Belmonte	Dança comigo?	Heloísa Flores	Iustian
2012	Belmonte	Castelonovo						Empresa Pública de Comunicação
2013
2014			Hennehouwe	Je reviendrai	Jasmeen	Gaullican
2015	Hennehouwe	s'Holle	Azmara	Paradiis geloosen	Aniita	Azmaran		Hennish National Broadcasting
2016	Azmara	Kyningsmer						ARF-1
2017			Alsland	Voodis	Uku	Martish
2018	Alsland	Yndyk	Soravia	ты и твоя тень	Arteriya			Aalslânske Omrop Korporaasje
2019	Soravia	Samistopol	Kesselbourg			Hoeltish		Telekom 1
2020	Kesselbourg	Kesselbourg	Gaullica	Yeux d'ocean	Violaine Rousseau	Gaullican		Kesselbuerg Publieke Omroep
2021	Gaullica	Lavelle	Piraea	Παράδεισος (Paradise)	Stella Fotiou	Piraean	157	Gaullican Broadcasting Service
2022	Piraea	Alikianos	Template:Country data Estmere	Sweet Talker	Nico Lumineux	Estmerish	105	Piraean Radio and Television
2023	Template:Country data Estmere	St Avelines	Template:Country data Estmere	Hell is Better With You	Chel Sakurai	Estmerish	132	Estmerish Broadcasting Service
2024	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	Estmerish Broadcasting Service

Rules

Criticism

Euclovision's rule that all songs must feature Euclean languages, including after the Euclean Broadcasters Group opened the contest to non-Euclean nations in 2000, has been criticized by some, most notably the government of Asase Lewa, as a form of Euclocentrism and linguistic imperialism. Mandating the usage of Euclean languages in the contest, the Asalewan government asserts, serves to facilitate the spread of Euclean languages and culture to music and thus mass culture more broadly, thus Eucleanizing non-Euclean cultures. Asase Lewa has, consequently, boycotted Euclovision and encouraged other nations to do so until this rule is lifted.

Countries

Table key

  Active - Countries who are currently participating.

  Withdrawn – Countries who have participated in the past but have withdrawn.

Country	Debut year	Wins	Broadcaster(s)
Alsland	1959	2	Aalslânske Omrop Korporaasje
Amathia	1997	0	Euclean Broadcasters Group
Caldia	1959	2	Teilifís Raidió Náisiúnta
East Miersa	1968	0	Telewizja Mierska Ludowa
Eldmark	2012	0	Eldmarsk Broadcasting Services
Template:Country data Estmere	1959	5	Estmerish Broadcasting Service
Gapolania	2021	0	Radiotelevisione Gapolania
Gaullica	1959	5	Euclean Broadcasters Group
Hennehouwe	1959	4	Hennish National Broadcasting
Imagua	2013	0	Imaguan Television Service
Kesselbourg	1959	4	Kesselbuerg Publieke Omroep
Rwizikuru	2020	0	RIS
Sainte-Chloé	2012	0	Sainte-Chloé Communication Service
Satavia	2004	1	Satavian Broadcasting Corporation
Soravia	1964	5	Radiotelevizor Libertas (1964–1983) TVP (1983–1985) Telekom 1 (1985–)
United Miersa	2020	0	Miersa United Together Broadcasting
Werania	2008	0	Euclean Broadcasters Group
West Miersa	1975	1	Telewizja Mierska