Radio Television of Montenegro (RTCG) will soon announce a competition for the selection of the best composition that will represent the public service and Montenegro at Eurovision next year.
This results from the decisions on the cooperation and organization of the festival "Montesong 2024" and the participation and method of selection of the composition at the Eurovision Song Contest, which were adopted by the RTCG Council at a recent session, about which the public was not informed through the media.
"Montesong 2024" is organized in cooperation with the Association of Variety Artists and Performers of Montenegro, and 16 compositions will compete to go to Eurovision.
The council previously adopted the Rulebook on the procedure for selecting a composition for the Eurovision Song Contest at its session at the end of July, which entered into force on August 6, and which states that the composition that will represent Montenegro at the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 will be selected at the competition, i.e., the festival under under the name Montesong 2024, which will be organized by RTCG, or internally if no song has satisfactory quality.
In that rulebook, it is stated that the Decision on cooperation and organization of the "Montesong 2024" festival with a certain organization/or association is made by the RTCG Council on the proposal of the general director, that is, on the proposal of the TVCG director. It also says that the right to choose the composition that will represent Montenegro is the exclusive right of RTCG as a member of the EBU, and no other organization on the territory of Montenegro can, without the consent of the public service, associate its name with the competition in an organizational, marketing or other way. for the Eurovision Song Contest.
In the decision on cooperation and organization of the festival, which was adopted at the recent session of the Council, it is stated that "Montesong 2024" is organized in cooperation with the Association of Variety Artists and Performers of Montenegro.
"The organization of this festival is in the public interest, for the reason that it encourages local authors and performers to create new music and enables them to present their works to the general public. Additionally, cooperation with the Association as well as key organizations that deal with and protect the rights of pop artists and authors in Montenegro, contributes to the strengthening of cultural ties within Montenegro and the promotion of Montenegrin music on the international scene.
Also, the 'Montesong Festival 2024' will contribute to the development of the music industry in Montenegro, providing an opportunity for young and unestablished performers to gain the necessary audiovisual visibility and experience", the decision states.
According to the document, 16 compositions will compete at the festival when, in accordance with special rules, the winning composition will be chosen with which Montenegro will present itself at the "Eurovision Song 2025" festival.
"The costs of organizing the festival are borne by RTCG and the Association together, whereby the Association bears 80 percent, and the public service bears 20 percent of the costs of the total amount of financial resources spent, in which way RTCG gets rid of the financial burden that this international competition carries with it", it is stated in decide.
In the decision on participation and the method of selecting a composition for the Eurovision Song Contest, it is written that the selection of compositions for the "Montesong 2024" festival, i.e. the competition, will be carried out by the Selection Committee of the RTCG from timely received applications according to the announced competition in accordance with the Regulations.
The winner for the "Eurovision Song 2025" will be determined by the expert jury and the audience via SMS, in accordance with the Rules on voting for the "Montesong 2024" festival, which RTCG brings in cooperation with the Association.
So far, Montenegro has competed 12 times at the Eurovision Song Contest.
The best placement so far was achieved by Sergej Ćetković in 2014 and Knez a year later. The first Montenegrin representative was Stevan Faddy in 2007.
Montenegro last had its representative at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin. Then Vladana Vučinić performed the song "Breathe", but she failed to make it to the finals. Last year, Montenegro did not have a representative in Liverpool due to financial reasons.
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