Songwriters – if you haven't submitted your entry in order to compete at the Irish Eurovision national final Eurosong 2010, then you only have a few days left. On Monday, February 1st the Irish broadcaster RT&Eacute will officially close the submission period at midday.

For the EurovisionSong Contest 2010, Ireland is one of the very few countries who are holding an open competition to select its' entry.RTÉ's Eurosong 2010 is an open competition to all song writers, composers and performers with no restrictions on nationality. (see Eurosong – Rule 9 at bottom of this article)

esctoday.com has learnt that RTÉ has received several entries so far, but are expecting the usual rush towards the final closing date this week.

RTÉ is inviting entries that include the song, the proposed performer(s) and any proposed performance/staging details, for consideration by their judging panel. This year a total of five finalists will perform live at the Eurosong 2010 national final on Friday, March 5th.

Ireland's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest2010 will be selected from the five finalists by a combination of regional jury and public televote to be held on the night of Eurosong 2010, the winning entry to be the one that gets the highest number of combined votes on the night.

The closing date for entries will be at noon on Monday, the 1st of February, 2010. Entries should be submitted to:

Eurosong 2010,

RTÉ Entertainment,

Donnybrook,

Dublin 4,

Ireland.

Further information including the rules can be found on the RTÉ Eurovision Song Contest website here.

Rule 9: Each songwriter and performer must be a citizen of Ireland or alternatively have such citizenship and/or valid visas as shall allow that person to travel to and attend (and in the case of the performer perform at) the Eurosong 2010 in Ireland and, if selected as the winning entry of Eurosong 2010, the ESC 2010 in Norway. In the event of any issue regarding compliance of any songwriter or performer with this requirement the decision of RTE shall be final.