Rules of the Eurovision Song Contest

The official rules of the Eurovision Song Contest are long, technical, and ever-changing. Many of the rules cover technical aspects of the television broadcast itself. However, a few of the more important rules affecting the conduct and outcome of the Contest follow.

Each country in the Eurovision Song Contest is entitled to enter just one song. The contest final is limited to 26 songs, apart from in 2015 when 27 countries took part following what was initially meant to be a one-off invite to Australia. Since 2016, Australia have competed in the semi-finals. They consist of the following:

At the first Contest, each country was allowed to submit two songs each with a maximum duration of three minutes. Nowadays, it is still required that each song not exceed three minutes in length, although many artists record the song in a longer version, simply performing a shorter version at the Contest. The number of participating countries has grown throughout the Contest's history, and since 1993 the rules have been changed several times to both limit the number of finalists and to allow for participation by former Soviet and Yugoslav republics, Warsaw Pact nations and others.

The entering song is also not allowed to be a cover version, and is not allowed to sample another artist's work. All songs must be completely original in terms of songwriting and instrumentation, and may not have been released publicly before 1 September of the year preceding. If released publicly, it may only be released in the entrant country's market until after the contest.

No entirely instrumental composition has ever been allowed in Eurovision contests. Latvia did their act a cappella in 2006, as did Belgium in 2011. Austria's entry in the 2011 contest started a cappella but then the instruments started as well. This rule also played a vital role in Moldova's entry in 2010, as SunStroke Project's saxophonist Sergey Stepanov's famous Epic Sax Guy internet phenomenon happened because he had to synchronize his movement with a pre-recorded track that was played during the live performance.

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