Scenario: Intervision Song Contest

Intervision Song Contest (ISC)
Genre.	Multi-national song contest
Inauguration.	May 24, 2025
Country of origin	France
Membership	192 countries
Production company	Intervision
Distributor	Intervision

The Intervision Song Contest (ISC) is a multi-national singing competition held among the 192 member states of the International Broadcasting Union (IBU). The contest has been broadcasted every year on television and the internet since its inauguration in 2025. It is the most watched non-sporting event in the world.

Structure

The NSC’s/CSC’s and the semifinals/final are held every second year. That means, that in for example 2025, the NSC’s and CSC’s were held, and then in 2026, the semifinals and final were held.

NSC's

Each of the 192 member countries has their own national song contest (NSC), in which the citizens vote for the song they like the most. There are usually 10 songs in each NSC, but the only restriction is that a country must not submit more than 1 song.

CSC's

The winner song is then submitted to be performed on live television in one of the 4 continental song contests (CSC’s). Each of the 4 CSC’s has 2 semifinals and 1 final. The CSC-semifinals are made randomly and not culturally or geographically. In the CSC-semifinals, half of the 192 competing countries are eliminated, and a total of 96 countries go to the CSC-finals.

The CSC's and their semifinals/finals (all names are in English):

• PASC (Pan-American Song Contest) - 35 countries compete.
  • CSC-Semifinal 1 - 17 countries compete, with 8 going to the CSC-final.
  • CSC-Semifinal 2 - 18 countries compete, with 8 going to the CSC-final.
  • CSC-Final - 16 countries compete, with 8 going to the semifinals.
• ESC (Eurovision Song Contest) - 50 countries compete.
  • CSC-Semifinal 1 - 25 countries compete, with 12 going to the CSC-final.
  • CSC-Semifinal 2 - 25 countries compete, with 12 going to the CSC-final.
  • CSC-Final - 24 countries compete, with 12 going to the semifinals.
• ASC (Afrovision Song Contest) - 56 countries compete.
  • CSC-Semifinal 1 - 28 countries compete, with 14 going to the CSC-final.
  • CSC-Semifinal 2 - 28 countries compete, with 14 going to the CSC-final.
  • CSC-Final - 28 countries compete, with 14 going to the semifinals.
• APASC (Asia-Pacific Song Contest) - 54 countries compete.
  • CSC-Semifinal 1 - 27 countries compete, with 14 going to the CSC-final.
  • CSC-Semifinal 2 - 27 countries compete, with 14 going to the CSC-final.
  • CSC-Final - 28 countries compete, with 14 going to the semifinals.

In the CSC-finals, half of the 96 competing countries are eliminated, and a total of 48 countries go to the semifinals. This includes the hosting country, which can go directly to the semifinals.

Semifinals

There are then 2 semifinals with 24 countries in each. The semifinals are made randomly and not culturally or geographically.

The semifinals:

• Semifinal 1 – 24 countries compete, with 12 going to the final.
• Semifinal 2 – 24 countries compete, with 12 going to the final.

In the semifinals, half of the 48 competing nations are eliminated, and a total of 24 countries go to the final.

Final

At last there's a final, where the 24 countries that made it through the semifinals compete with their songs. The winning country becomes the next year's host for the contest, unless the country can’t afford it. If the country can’t, Intervision will find another host among the 24 participants in the final.

Rules

Voting system

The voting system is a positional voting system. Each country awards a set of points from 1-7, then 8, then 10 and finally 12 to the other countries in the competition, with the favorite song getting the most points. The viewers vote by sending an SMS or calling. The number of votes are then counted together to declare the winner.

Rules about songs/artists

• All vocals must be sung live and no voices are permitted on backing tracks.
• The music itself can be played over speakers or live by instruments, but there are no restrictions.
• The songs have to include vocals and can't be purely instrumental.
• The songs can be sung in whatever language the artist desires, even constructed languages.
• The songs can't be more than 3 minutes long, so songs longer than that must be edited.
• There are no restrictions on nationality and ethnic groups. However, the songs in the national contests must be sung by a person with citizenship in that country.
• The singers can be famous international artists, but that is rare.
• A maximum of 6 performers is allowed on the stage.
• All people on the stage must be over the age of 16.
• The competing songs must not be published before the contest is held.
• Covers, reworks or sampled versions of older songs are forbidden.
• Commercial songs are forbidden. That means that a song including the name of a company is disqualified.

If a country breaks any of these rules, it is disqualified.