GlobalVision

## History

The Globalvision Song Contest actually traces its roots back to the middle of the 20th Century, with the “Eurovision Song Contest” which was held between the nations of Europe from 1956 to 2030. It was meant as a way to bring the European nations closer together and help prevent another pan-European war (it began ten years after the end of WWII).

Of course, that all ended with the beginning of the First Eurowar in 2030, the year of the last Eurovision Song Contest, the 74th edition, which took place in Athens, and was won by by the band *Its My Music* from the UK with the song “London State of Mind” (the UK’s first win in 33 years). But with war raging in Europe, the Eurovision Song Contest was put on hold, it turns out indefinitely.

But the idea wasn’t yet dead. In 2042, when the Business Recognition Accords were signed, formally putting corporations on the level with states, the newly-formed Corporate Court decided that something was needed to garner the new world order public support and hit upon reviving the much-beloved Eurovision as the “GlobalVision Song Contest”, except with major corporations sending contestants instead of countries. (The name 'GlobalVision had been used by a previous song contest, but the Corp Court bought it from them for this).

The first GlobalVision was held in Neo-Tokyo on May 31st 2043. The winning entry was ‘Incuic (Their Song)’ by Carisma Vega, representing the ORO Corporation (the predecessor to current-day Aztechnology).

And it worked. It worked like a dream. GlobalVision became a world-wide phenomenon, with fanatical fans across the world. In fact, ironically, when the GlobalVision Broadcasting Concern (GBC) itself qualified as a Single-A Corporation in 2055, a special rule had to be passed to keep the GBC from submitting an entry to the Contest.

In 2075, the 33rd GlobalVision Song Contest was held in Singapore. The winning entry was the controversial song ‘Hammerfall’ by Tall Anna, representing Proteus AG. It caused a stir because it referred directly to the Thor Shot from Ares against the Rømø Arkoblock in 2063.

The next GlobalVision Song Contest, the 34th, will be held on May 23rd, 2076, hosted by Proteus AG (venue TBD).

## Structure

Technically, submitting an entrant into the GlobalVision Song Contest is open to all A-level Corporations. Until the Finals, the sorting process is segregated by Corporate Rating. The AAA-Prime Corporations on the Corporate Court (currently the ‘Big 10’) are automatically entered into the Finals and do not have to participate in the Quarter- and Semi- Finals.

For everybody else, the single A and AA’s, the road to GlobalVision has several steps. The first step for most bands is to be selected by their patron corporation, usually called ‘A Song for… [Corporation]’. Once selected, they are sent to the regional Quarter-Finals with separate Quarter-finals for A and AA’s, where the top acts are sent to the Semi’s for their category, where the top five from each division are selected to go to the Finals.

The Finals, held in the home city of the previous year’s winner, consists of twenty acts, ten from the AAA’s and five each from the AA and A’s. They perform in random order. Acts are judged partially by popular votes from the citizens of each participating corporation (they are not allowed to vote for their own Corporation’s act) and partially by panels of music-industry professionals assembled by the Big 10. Each participating corporation awards two sets of 12, 10, 8–1 points to their ten favorite songs: one set from their professional jury and the other from the online voting.