OGAE Video Contest 2017 : The entries have been revealed!

The entries for the OGAE Video Contest 2017 have been revealed this weekend by OGAE UK. 21 countries are participating this year.

What is the OGAE Video Contest?

The OGAE Video Contest is the most recent OGAE contest. It started in 2003, in the Majolika Café-Bar in Istambul. 20 countries participated, and the victory went to France and the song Fan by Pascal Obispo.

The entries

Just like the other OGAE Contests (Second Chance, Retro Second Chance and Song Contest, the results of which have been revealed those last months), the Video Contest is a competition between national OGAE clubs. Each club sends an entry, and then votes for the other entries. The criteria for the entries are less strict than those of the OGAE Song Contest:

• The song must not exceed 5 minutes
• There is no language rule (Poland can send a song in English, for exemple)
• One of the performers must be a national of the country they represent
• The song must have been released the year of the contest or the previous year (2016 or 2017 for this edition)
• The song must not have participated in any Eurovision contest or national selections, neither in any OGAE contest
• Entries consist of the official videoclip of the song : no music file, no concert video : this is why it’s called the Video Contest

The Voting

OGAE members can vote through their national club, and a “national” ranking is made up of the members’ votes. Voters must rate each song, giving each between 1 and 10 points. The clubs will then add up the points and determine their national rankings.
Internationally, the points were originally given in a Eurovision style (the top 10 songs for each club getting 1-to-8 then 10 and 12 points). However, with 40 countries in the 2016 edition, the German clubs organizing the contest conceived a new format:

• The Top 10 songs for each club are rated in the traditional way, then added 10 points each
• The 10 songs next in the ranking (11th to 20th) are given from 1 to 10 points

This resulted in a “Top 20” voting style : 1 to 18 points (the 20th getting 1 point, the 3rd getting 18 poins), then 20 points and 22 points for the voter’s favorite. The official rules of the 2017 contest state that the 2017 contest will use this new format, although with only 21 countries participating, this could change.

The 2017 Video Contest

The 2017 Video Contest is organized by OGAE UK. This is because the 2016 contest was won by Coldplay, with their song Hymn for the Weekend, chosen to represent the UK.

This year, only 21 coutries are participating. This the the official list of the entries, in the “running order” given by OGAE UK:

1. Malta – The Travellers | Ħafi Paċi Kuluri
2. Armenia – Iveta Mukuchyan | Amena
3. Greece – Malu | Ora Na Gyriseis
4. Germany – Alexa Feser | Medizin
5. Portugal – The Gift | Big Fish
6. Serbia – Marija Šerifović | Deo prošlosti
7. Belarus – Naviband | Biažy
8. Australia – Sia | The Greatest
9. Croatia – Nina Kraljić | Snijeg
10. Ukraine – Jamala | I Believe in U
11. Italy – Takagi & Ketra ft. Lorenzo Fragola, Arisa | L’esercito del selfie
12. Russia – Leningrad | Kolschik
13. Slovakia – Emma Drobná | Words
14. Turkey – Athena | Ses Etme  Cal Bonomo | Kal Bungün
    
15. France – Lilie Poe | Écho
16. Poland – Margaret | What you do
17. United Kingdom – Amy Macdonald | Dream On
18. Czech Republic – Mikolas Josef | Belive (Hey Hey)
19. Hungary – Magdolna Rúzsa | Érj Hozzám
20. F.Y.R Macedonia – Dan Talevski | Rocket
21. Belgium – Loïc Nottet | Mud Blood

=> You can watch all videos on EC Germany’s website. <=

As you can see, there are “big names” in the list. Some of them are Eurovision veterans : Iveta Mukuchyan (Armenia 2016), Loïc Nottet (Belgium 2015), Athena (Turkey 2004), Nina Kraljić (Croatia 2016), Naviband (Belarus 2017), Magdolna Rúzsa (Hungary 2007), as well as two Eurovision winners, Marija Šerifović (Serbia 2007) and Jamala (Ukraine 2016).
Other participants include artists who tried to represent their countries, like Alexa Feser (for Germany in 2015) and Margaret (for Poland in 2016, and she would later win the OGAE Second Chance Contest 2016).
And of course, one cannot overlook the choice made by OGAE Australia for the Video Contest. Sia will represent the island, the international artist who sang the worldwide hit Chandelier in 2014.

The 2017 Calendar

• Voting will start on November 1st, and be closed on November 30th
• National clubs will send their results to OGAE UK during the first week of December
• OGAE UK will announce the results on December 20th

Thus, December 20th will be the last day of our Eurovision Year. But fear not, the day after, December 21st, is the day Albania’s Festivali I Kengës starts, meaning the 2018 Eurovision Year will immediately follow!
What do you think? Who is your favorite? A few days ago, Australia won the OGAE Song Contest: can they win both contests? Tell us on the comments below or on social media @ESCXTRA !