General Rules - EFV Song Contest

Country
All countries in the World which are recognized as independant nations by the UN are eligible for participation in the Contest. There are no boundaries or mandatory issues forbidding any country to join Eurofestivision once the country fills all requirements to be eligible. A full list of eligible countries can be found here.

Are there any implications about choosing United Kingdom?
The United Kingdom is supposed to play as a unique country and it is not possible anymore to have any representative of Great Britain (Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland or England) separated. Other members of the Commonwwealth are allowed once they are recognized as independant nations or if they have the status of independant member of the Commonwealth.

Who is the responsible for the major decisions of the Contest?
The Management Team is responsible for the visual information, as well as creating the conditions for the game to be operated, such as creating playlists, displaying announcements, results and much more. The EFV Council is responsible for deciding on the eligibility of countries, entries and players to be part of the contest and for the major decisions. Only the Council can allow or disqualify a player/country from the contest. It also is a Council decision to deliberate in emergency cases, such as: relocation of a season, elimination for cheating, investigating.

How to choose an artist or group to represent the country?
The artist(s) must be born in the country they represent. It is also possible if the artist(s) may have comproved double citizenship and/or in cases the artist owns a fixed residence in the country (it must be proved by a trustful source). In the case of a group/band, one of the artists must be born in the country at least. In case of artists representing microstates or states with few representatives, the player must check the convenient section before choosing the country.

Is it possible to select ESC artists to represent a country?
There are no limitations to send ESC artists, but all players must avoid sending ESC songs repeatedly in the contest. So, in this case, ESC artists are allowed to be presented as countries representatives. The rules for sending an ESC song will be explained in details later on this text.

Can players send the same artists repeatedly?
Players can’t send the same artists twice (or more times) in a row. It’s mandatory to change the performer to create diversity. Players can repeat the artists with a space of 3 (three) editions between the performer's last appearance. In case of groups or bands, one artist is allowed to appear in a solo performance, but it's mandatory that the player changes the artist for the following edition. It is allowed, however, to send the same artist a second time in a row only in cases of collaboration, but in each case, the Management Council will decide on the eligibility or not.

What are the languages allowed for the entries?
The main languages of the Eurofestivision are English, French, Brazilian Portuguese and Spanish, but the entries can be sung in any language, dialects or artificial languages and/or maybe have two (or more) languages mixed in the same entry.

How to proceed with the .mp3 songs?
The Management will receive the songs in .mp3 format file (and also a link to YouTube or Vimeo) in order to compose the group of competing songs in the current edition. If the player doesn't send the file, the Management Team will provide an .mp3 version of the song.

Can the players borrow songs from other countries?
It’s demanded to all delegations to avoid borrowing artists from other countries if their countries have a high-level musical production, as well as playing only with the considered "Super Hits".

Is it possible to select an entry via National Final Selection?
The entries can be selected in National Selections, but they must happen before the qualification for the contest. EFV Management must be informed about National Selections.

How to proceed to change an entry?
Entries can be changed until 36 (thirty-six) hours before the first Semifinal Round (or Final Round). Problems with non-qualification due to changing artists and/or entries are solved uniquely for the Management, but they are of entire responsibility of the national delegation. In a case of entry change, the Head of Delegation must provide the new entry for replacement.

Are instrumental songs allowed as entries?
Songs without any lyrics are not allowed to participate in the contest. All songs must be a mix of melody and lyrics.

And what about ESC winners and non-winner entries?
ESC songs are allowed, but the players must change to a non-ESC entry in the following season. It's not possible anymore to send ESC entries "twice in a row". This section was created to promote diversity, which is the main purpose of the game.

Can players send the same entry twice?
Players can’t send the same entry twice (even if it’s a different version, a remixed version). Exceptions can be made for Special Editions or in real exceptional cases which are deliberated only and exclusively. 

How should a player participate in the Contest?
All players must play fair and respect the other players. Issues can lead players to disqualification or permanent banning. There are no limits for active players. All the current players must have an active means of communication (e-mail and an Instagram or Facebook valid profile).

What are the procedures if a player needs to be absent for some time?
If a player needs to be absent from the Contest during the game, he/she must send the communication through the official e-mail. The corresponding delegation is automatically disqualified if the player leaves the competition without warning. If a country fails to vote in one (or more) rounds but justifies the absence, the EFV Management Council will consider that country as a disqualified one in that edition, but won't suspend or ban immediately the player. All the issues will be considered and evaluated before the final penalty. Most cases indicate that the player receives a one-contest penalty without representing his/her original country without any prejudice (with the reservation of the country for the following edition). If the player fails for a second time, he/she is suspended and all other rules are applied.

What happens to the entries sent in case of disqualification of a player?
In case of disqualification of a player, the disqualified entry remains available for download as a courtesy to all players, independently of the reasons leading the player to disqualification.

How to vote?
Voting is quite easy. All Heads of Delegation must send their votes using the appropriate form, using the same style of Eurovision to cast their votes. The major difference is that EFV makes use of Reserves, in order to prevent the waste of votes in cases of disqualification during the Semifinals or the Final.

Can a country vote for itself?
A delegation cannot vote for its own country. If it happens, the votes coming from this delegation will be not considered and the delegation is automatically disqualified receiving 0 (zero) points. The Management will alert the Head of Delegation to change the votes and, if it's not changed in time, the delegation is disqualified from the Semifinal or the Final Round.

What are the Semifinals and the Final Round?
The Semifinals are preliminary rounds which are played when there are too much participants to be part of the contest. They are held in a week (or maximum 10 days), including the delegations time for voting and results. The Final Round is the decisive phase of the game, whether the Semifinals are played or not. The Final Round is also held in a week (or maximum 10 days), regarding the same delay given to the voters iin the Semifinals.

What happens when a country fails to vote in time?
If a delegation doesn’t vote in time in the any round (Semifinals/Final), the country doesn't receive any points of the voting in Semifinals and is disqualified for the Final Round. If it fails to vote in the final, the country receives 0 (zero) points and is disqualified (if it was qualified). The player receives a warning for the next contest. In case of 3 (three) warnings, the player will be automatically suspended from the contest. The delegations must vote ONLY where they are allocated to do it, in order to avoid neighbouring vote. All countries must vote in the finals, whether they qualified or not.

What happens to finalists which fail to vote?
Some countries were disqualified for failing to vote in the semifinals they were allocated. As stated by the rules and according to unanimous decision of the EFV Council, in case of disqualification of a host country, the EFV Council would consider (if there was available time to do it) to change the hosting to the capital city (or a different one would be indicated by the EFV Council) of the Runner Up country in the last edition, giving full rights to the city of hosting the contest. This measure is applied as a penalty to the hosting city which had the only duty of voting in time in the round it was allocated. The country also loses the right to compete in the final round but the vote in the final is mandatory to avoid the risk of losing the rights to play with the country (or to be suspended for one edition). The same procedure is applied for cases of disqualification of other finalists, without the need of relocation.

What are the current penalties for disqualification, warning and ban?
The EFV Council has agreed that, in respect to all delegations voting and playing fair, the penalties of a disqualification for failing to vote are (all cases being evaluated by the EFV Council):
 * 1) losing rights of playing with the country;
 * 2) player's suspension for one edition in case of consecutive or alternate warnings;
 * 3) permanent ban for the player in case of a second suspension or an extra warning about failing to vote.

Can votes be combined or revealed?
The voting is secret and must not be revealed or combined. If a player is combining or revealing votes, the player is automatically banned from the contest. The Management is the responsible of investigating noticed cases and solving issues.

How does EFV proceed for tie-breaks?
At first, the number of countries voting in each of the countries is counted. If the tie persists, the country with the highest number of 12 points will be considered winner, and then the number of 10s and 8 points are considered and so on. The Official Ranking is used as the last tie-breaker. The same system is applied for intermediary positions.

What are the Guest Juries?
Guests can be allowed to vote as GUEST JURY if new players send their entries after the beginning of a current contest (but they are eligible only for the following one). They are allocated to vote in the Final Round and/or one of the semifinals (but it will be optional for them to vote).

Can EFV change the voting system?
If needed, the Management Team and the EFV Council can change the voting system in order to accomodate the number of participants in the Round (SF/GF) as a test. So, all players will be informed about the voting system to be followed. If the test generates good results, the Council will deliberate about the changes which can affect all rounds or only one of them.

How are the Reserve Votes used?
When needed, the Management Team may use the Reserve Votes to avoid "null" votes and also votes in disqualified countries. This system helps a lot to find a solution when some countries are disqualified for failing to vote. When a country doesn't vote indicating the reserves, the Management Team will indicate the bottom countries (three or more, as well as indicated by the form) to receive the reserve votes, from bottom to top. If the country indicates, the reserves are used according to the need of replacing DSQ countries (in a SF or GF round).

Can a winner change its country?
In case of a country winning the contest, the current player cannot change the country for the following edition. If the player abandons the competition or does not confirm for the following edition, the country is declared FREE and automatically available for the next contest.

How can the quantity of players affect the qualification?
The quantity of contestants determines the need of a Qualification Round and/or Semifinals before a Final Round.

What is the "Top 4"?
The winner of EFV, the Runner Up, the 3rd and 4th places of the current contest will automatically qualify for the Final Round in the following contest. They compose a group called Top 4.

What are the rights earned by the winner?
The winner receives all rights to be the next host country which includes the nomination of three cities for an open poll (and the most voted one is declared the host city) or the indication of a host city. The winner can also indicate a motto and contribute with the visual identity for the coming season. If the winner decides not to host the following contest, the honor of being the next host is conducted to the Runner Up and so on until the Management can find a city to host the contest. In case the four countries with the highest score in an edition can't provide a host for the contest, a Special Bidding Phase will count with the capital city from each participating country to be voted.

How are the votes revealed?
The best way to reveal the results is ScoreWiz Scoreboards and, when it's available, EFV will make use of that tool to provide the final results. In any cases of problems with that tool, the Management team will decide on other ways to display the results, making them public to all contestants.