ETNW 2016 – Opening ceremony

Welcome to the Eurovision That Never Was 2016! 

If you’re new to the contest, here's a blurb telling you what it's all about. If you’re not, remind yourselves what it’s all about anyway…

ETNW is about picking a song you think sounds like it could have been a Eurovision entry, from any country that’s ever taken part (or their forerunners) in any year between 1956 and 2015. Maybe there’s a Serbian song you heard for the first time recently which you think would have made a perfect entry for the country in Copenhagen in 2001; or you’ve always loved some French song you can imagine Luxembourg passing off as their own in 1978... Whatever entry you come up with, think ‘what if…?’ – it's the Eurovision That Never Was, after all. With any luck it’ll provide us with a great mix of music and a fantastic winner!

ETNW is about two things: choosing an entry you feel is as authentic as possible given the year and country you’ve allocated it to; and voting on all the other entries on the same basis. For example, if there are two songs you’re having trouble choosing between – one which you like but it doesn’t truly feel like it’s lifted straight from ESC; and the other which you don’t like as much but which feels as though it’s definitely a forgotten Eurovision entry – your higher mark should go to the latter. 

That’s what sets ETNW apart from other MB contests: it’s less about personal taste and more about rewarding good matches. Sponsors have been getting better at matches every year though, so pretty much all the entries should be plausible enough. In any case, there will be other posts in due course about rules and voting (including a couple of changes), so keep an eye out for them.

Submissions will open once I’ve sorted out the schedule and set up an email address. Until then, here’s a recap of last year's winner...

If the video's not showing up, click on this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OJioczPq5A

Remember that entries can be submitted for any year in the contest’s history; older stuff has tended to do better on the whole than newer stuff, but not exclusively. As always, it comes down to the individual entry :) If you need advice, ask on the MB.

Keep your eyes open for submission news – and get your thinking caps on :)