The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg will be holding a televised national final in order to determine the 2024 Luxembourgish Eurovision act and entry. RTL Luxembourg has published the rules and regulations of the upcoming national selection.

Save the date: 27 January 2024 – Luxembourg will hold a national final after a 30 year absence from the competition. RTL Luxembourg has opened the song submission window for the 2024 Luxembourgish national selection with the deadline set on 01 October 2023.

The Luxembourgish national final will be held at the Rockhal in Luxembourg and will be televised live on RTL Luxembourg. The Luxembourgish national broadcaster has published the rules and regulations for the national selection with three different submission categories.

RTL Luxembourg’s press release reads:

RTL is pleased to announce the launch of the selection process for the artist or group who will represent Luxembourg in the 68th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Starting today, RTL is looking for talented individuals ready to take on this challenge. Candidates can register through the official national Eurovision website, www.eurovision.lu, in one or more of the three available categories.

The requirements

The press release states:

To be eligible as a singer, candidates must meet the following requirements:
– Have reached the age of 16 by January 27, 2024
– Be available and flexible between November 2023 and May 2024
– Possess live singing abilities and feel at ease on a large stage
– Hold Luxembourgish nationality or have resided in Luxembourg for at least three consecutive years or exhibit a strong cultural involvement and proven connection with the Luxembourgish music scene. In the latter case, several criteria must be fulfilled, including active national engagement in musical practice, regular collaboration with recognized cultural institutions and actors within the Luxembourgish scene.

What is RTL searching for?

The press release reads:

RTL is looking for:

– Singers wishing to submit a song. Each artist or group can submit a maximum of three songs. The artist or group and the songwriter do not have to be identical for each song submitted. The submission deadline is set for October 1, 2023.

– Singers or groups who do not have a song but wish to relate to a team of songwriters must upload a video containing a brief introduction and the performance of a song of their choice via the registration site by 16 July 2023.
– National or international songwriters interested in collaborating with Luxembourgish talent.

There are several rules to be observed when composing songs:

– The duration of the songs must not exceed three minutes.
– The lyrics must not be plagiarized.
– The songs must not have been published before September 1
of the year preceding the contest.
– The choice of language(s) sung is free.
– The song lyrics must not contain any discriminatory and/or
political statements.

Following receipt of the applications, a panel of experts will select the singers, whose names will be announced by RTL. The finalists will then have the honor of participating in the grand national pre-selection, which will take place on January 27, 2024, at the Rockhal in Esch/Belval, which will be broadcast live by RTL.

The winner of this national preselection will have the  privilege of representing the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, which will make its comeback to the prestigious Eurovision Song Contest stage in Sweden in May 2024, after a 30-year absence.

Luxembourg in Eurovision

Luxembourg debuted at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1956 and is one of the founder members of the competition along with Italy, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg  and Belgium. The landlocked country has won the contest on five occasions (1961, 1965, 1972, 1973 and 1983) and has partaken 37 times in the competition.

The duchy is well known for having sent many international artists to Eurovision;  Lara Fabian, Ireen Sheer, Baccara, Nana Mouskouri, Vicky Leandros, Anne Marie David, France Gall, etc.

The last time the country graced the Eurovision stage was back in 1993 when Modern Times flew the Luxembourgish flag in Millstreet with Donnez moi un chance de te dire.

Source: RTL.LU
Photo credit: VISIT Luxembourg