RTÉ, the Irish national broadcaster, has opened its submission window for the Eurovision Song Contest 2020.
RTÉ Entertainment and RTÉ 2FM have opened a selection process for songwriters and artists interested in representing Ireland in Rotterdam. All songs received will be considered by a panel of music industry experts. RTÉ also reserves the right to contact established writers and select a song from outside this process.
RTÉ stated that they are looking for “established contemporary, professional artists who wish to showcase their talents to a global audience.” Any artist who applied will be considered but RTÉ may contact artists directly.
With regards to the Irish entrant for Rotterdam, RTÉ have stated: “Although we wish to encourage and identify promising new talent for the future, we do require artists to have prior experience of performing in public in front of large crowds. Confidence and attitude are definite advantages.”
RTÉ 2FM will also be involved in promoting the selected song and artist through their various platforms. RTÉ 2FM specialises in current popular music and has promoted new and upcoming artists through their 2FM Rising project.
Other rules of the selection include:
- Songs submitted must comply with Eurovision and RTÉ rules. RTÉ may alter the song to comply with rules.
- Songwriters/composers may submit one song for consideration. If more than one song per composer is submitted only the first song received will be considered.
- Songs must be no longer than 3 minutes in duration.
- Compositions must not have been commercially released and/or publicly performed before September 1 2019.
Anyone interested in submitted an entry must send their song as an MP3 file to Eurovision2020@rte.ie. The closing date for entries is October 25 at 17:00 GMT.
2020 will mark the 54th time that Ireland has competed in the Eurovision Song Contest. The nation which currently holds the record for the most victories in the competition, saw its worst result to date at the 2019 contest in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Sarah McTernan and “22” finished last in Semi-Final Two, scoring just 16 points. Ireland received 13 points from the juries; 5 points from Moldova and 8 points from Italy. While the United Kingdom awarded 3 points in the televote.
Source: RTÉ
Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest
Ireland debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1965 and is currently the most successful country to have participated in the contest, winning a total of seven times. During the 1990’s Ireland was a powerhouse in the contest becoming the first country to win three years in a row from 1992 to 1994. Since 2000 Ireland has struggled in the contest having qualified from the semi-final into the final just six out of a possible 13 times. Ireland’s last top 10 result came in 2011 when Jedward finished 8th in Dusseldorf.
