Media Centre
How can I participate as an artist in the Eurovision Song Contest?
All the songs and artists competing in the Eurovision Song Contest are chosen by the EBU Member broadcasters that take part in the event. At the Eurovision Song Contest, it is broadcasters rather than countries that take part. For example, in the UK this is the BBC, in Germany it's NDR, in Sweden it is SVT and so on.
The organizers of the Eurovision Song Contest cannot pick any entries but only make sure all entries and performances follow the rules of the competition https://eurovision.tv/about/rules.
If you are interested in participating in the Eurovision Song Contest, you need to contact the broadcaster, further information on how to participate can be found here How to take part in the Eurovision Song Contest.
Why does Kosovo not take part in the Eurovision Song Contest?
Kosovo cannot take part in the Eurovision Song Contest because their public broadcaster is not a Member of the EBU. The statutes of the EBU state that a Member must come from a country that is a Member of the International Telecommunications Union or is a Member of the Council of Europe. Kosovo is not a Member in either of these. The EBU helped set up Kosovo’s public service broadcaster RTK in 1999 and it continues to work closely with RTK to protect public service media in Kosovo.
Why is Australia participating in the Eurovision Song Contest?
The Eurovision Song Contest has been broadcast in Australia for more than 30 years. The Australian broadcaster SBS is an Associate Member of the EBU. Australia was invited to submit an entry in 2015 to mark the 60th Eurovision Song Contest. In 2016, SBS requested to take part in the Eurovision Song Contest again. The Reference Group, the governing body of the Eurovision Song Contest, voted unanimously in favour of Australia’s participation in 2016, and again in 2017 and 2018. In February 2019, it was announced that Australia secured its participation as a competitor in the Eurovision Song Contest until at least 2023. It is yet to be decided whether Australia will become a permanent participant in the Contest.
Will Australia host the Eurovision Song Contest if they win?
In case Australia wins the Eurovision Song Contest, the next year’s Contest will be co-hosted by Australian broadcaster SBS and an EBU Member, somewhere in Europe.
Why do the so-called Big 5 go straight to the Grand Final?
A maximum of 44 Member Broadcasters can participate in the Eurovision Song Contest in any one year, with Members from a maximum of 26 countries competing in the Grand Final.
There are six guaranteed places for the Grand Final, one for the Host Broadcaster producing the event, and five which are for France, Germany, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom.
The decision to allow the ‘Big 5’ to be guaranteed a place in the Grand Final is because they are the 5 biggest Public Service Broadcaster television markets taking part in the Eurovision Song Contest enabling a wide reach for audiences to view, and they each make a higher financial contributions to the Contest.
Subject to a decision by the EBU in consultation with the Reference Group, the number of guaranteed places in the Final may be modified depending on circumstances.
How do I volunteer at the Eurovision Song Contest?
The Host Broadcaster(s) for the Eurovision Song Contest is in charge of recruiting volunteers. This year the broadcasters are NPO, NOS and AVROTROS in the Netherlands. Applications to volunteer for the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 have closed.