New rules to select 2010 Serbian representative

by Victor Hondal 69 views

A new selection procedure is about to be born in Serbia. The national broadcaster RTS has announced today that the rules of the national selection will change in order to invite a composer, who will write a number of songs to be sung by singers of their choice under the approval of the broadcaster.

The name of the composer is yet unknown, but it is sure that he or she will meet the following criteria: it will be a well-known name in the music scene, with high achievements in the field of music and a career ensuring the highest professional standards.

This composer will choose a number of singers to perform the songs composed by him/her. The names of the selected singers, with the approval of RTS, will be made public in January. They will battle for the ticket to Oslo in a live televised programme, where the viewers will have their say via SMS voting.

Traditionally, Serbia used to select its representative via the popular Beovizija format, which after a change in the rules featured a semifinal and a final. Now, due to financial restrictions, the public broadcaster RTS has decided to simplify the process and only one show will be produced. A RTS statement reminds that already several countries have withdrawn their participation at the 2010 Eurovision, and explains that "in order to enable the Serbian viewers to continue monitoring the results of the Serbian representatives in the most prestigious European music competition, we decided to significantly reduce the costs of national selections next year".