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Competition Post 2009

ORGANIZATION

Rototom Sunsplash (I) in collaboration with Reggae Jam (D), Reggae Sun Ska (F), Foundation Reggae Festival (ES), Raggapak-Silkeborg Reggae Festival (DK), Reeds Open Air Festival (CH), Reggae Geel Festival (B), Sazavafest (CZ), Riversplash (SLO), Ostroda Reggae Festival (PL) and the participation of  Sikula Reggae Festival, Sardinia Reggae Festival, Positive Vibration Festival, Bornasco Reggae Festival, Gusto Dopa Al Sole, Festa Del Sole, Vibra Club, Fucina Controvento, Rastasnob (I), House of Riddim Festival  & Hoanzl  in cooperation with Zipflo for Planet Music & Szene Wien (A), Sub Sub Club (SLO), LB27 Reggae Camp (H), Reggaeinberlin & Wall City Music with Yaam (D), Gideon Production, Reggae.ch (CH).

 

PARTICIPATION

The competition is open to all European bands whose members are resident in one of the following countries:Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland.

Please note: only residence is required, not necessarily citizenship. ALL band members must however make sure that they possess the necessary documents to travel in both Schengen and non-Schengen countries. If in doubt, please contact your local government.

All the following music styles are accepted: Reggae, Dub, original Ska, Ragamuffin, Dancehall, Afro-Reggae, Samba-Reggae.

Please note: Only original songs are eligible. No covers will be accepted, or versions of pre-existing Jamaican riddims. Neither shall we accept tracks featuring artists who are not resident members of the band. Lyrics promoting violence or discrimination of any kind will also be rejected.

BAND REGISTRATION

Registration is free. Closing date for applications: April 30. 

All applications sent after this date will not be considered.

In order to register, the bands must fill in the form published on www.rototom.com. Registration forms are also available on the websites of all partners. Bands/artists must enclose, together with the registration form, two mp3 tracks and a photograph of the band members.

The organization will only take into consideration of the bands that comply with all of the above requirements.

ONLINE SELECTIONS

The online selections will take place from May 7 to 25. 

All participating countries will be divided into 10 areas: 

  1. Italy 
  2. Slovenia + Croatia + Hungary
  3. Switzerland
  4. Austria + Czech Republic 
  5. Belgium + Netherlands + UK + Ireland
  6. Germany
  7. France
  8. Denmark + Scandinavia
  9. Poland
  10. Spain + Portugal

All registered bands will be listed on the Rototom website and classified according to their country of origin. For each band, there will be some background information, a picture and two mp3 tracks. 

PUBLIC VOTE It will be possible to vote for every national contest, but only once, giving a maximum of 2 preferences.

TECHNICAL JURY The European partners listed below are in charge of organizing the national contest in their homeland and selecting the technical jury. The list of jury members will be published before May 7. Jury members will give a "quality marks" (from 0 to 10) to every band. 

FINAL CLASSIFICATION The final classification for each national contest will take into account the evaluation of the technical jury (quality marks) and the preferences expressed online by the massive (number of preferences).

The votes given by the two categories will be translated into percentages and summed. In order to ensure equal weight upon the final evaluation, the preferencies expressed online will account for 20% of the final marks, and those of the technical jury for the remaining 80%. 

National Contests and Prizes

CONTEST ITALY

LIVE FINALS: Saturday, May 30 at Vibra Club in Modena

with the 4 most voted bands of the final classification + the winner of "Liberigruppi Contest" organized by Radio Popolare (= a total of 5 bands). Each band will perform a 25-minute set. Conditions offered: catering and hotel (or a buy out of 25 euro for each band member).

EVALUATION: only the jury will be in charge of selecting the winner.


PRIZE: The award for the winner of the Italian Contest is a 9-date promotional tour in festivals and clubs. Local promoters will provide reimbursement of travel expenses max 600 euro, accommodation and catering.

end of July - date tbc Positive Vibration - Colfelice (FR)
end of July- date tbc Sardinia Reggae Festival- Banari (SS)
mid-August- date tbc Gusto Dopa Al Sole - Cannole (LE)
mid-August- date tbc Sikula Reggae Festival - Rosolini (SR)
end of August- date tbc - Bornasco Reggae Festival - Bornasco (Biella)
September 5 Festa Del Sole - Forte Sperone (Genova)

October- date tbc Vibra Club - Modena
October- date tbc Fucina Controvento - Mestre (VE)
October - date tbc Etnoblog - Trieste

CONTEST SLOVENIA + CROATIA + HUNGARY

LIVE FINALS: Thursday, May 28 at SubSub in Lijublijana (Slovenia) with the 3 most voted bands of the final classification. Each band will perform a 25-minute set. Conditions offered: catering for all bands and accommodation to bands coming from more than 350 Km away.

PRIZE: the winner of this Contest will be awarded with 2 promotional shows:

on Wednesday, July 15 at Riversplash(Tolmin, Slovenia). The organization will provide: reimbursement of travel expenses (max 200 euro), accommodation in the camping area, catering.

 July 29 - August 2 (date tbc) at LB27 Reggae Camp (Szazhalombatta, Hungary)

CONTEST GERMANY 

LIVE FINALS: Friday, June 5 at Yaam in Berlin 

with the 3 most voted bands of the final classification. Each band will perform a 30-minute set. Conditions offered: catering for all bands and accommodation.

PRIZE: the award for the winner of the German Contest is a promotional show  

at Reggae Jam Festival on Friday, August 8. The organization will provide reimbursement of travel expenses (max 500 euro), accommodation and catering.

CONTEST SPAIN + PORTUGAL

LIVE FINALS: May 29\30 or June 5\6 (date TBC) at Santa Margarita Park in La Coruña (Spain) with the 3 most voted bands of the final classification + the winner of "Concurso Galego" organized by Foundation Reggae Festival (= a total of 4 bands). Every band will perform a 45-minute set.
The organization will provide a reimbursement of travel expenses (0,20 euro/km - max 125 euro), catering, accommodation to bands coming from more than 300 Km away.

PRIZE: The award for the winner of this Contest is TBC.

CONTEST FRANCE

ONLINE SELECTION ONLY The most voted band of the final classification will also be the winner of this contest.

PRIZE The award for the winner of the French Contest is a show at 

Reggae Sun Ska Festival, Village Stage on Friday, August 7
The festival will provide reimbursement of travel expenses (max 1000 euro), hotel (1 night), catering + Pass of the festival

CONTEST AUSTRIA + CZECH REPUBLIC

ONLINE SELECTION ONLY The most voted band of the final classification will also be the winner of this contest.

PRIZE: the winner of this contest + the bands at the second and third place will be invited to perform at  Szene Club on Friday, November 20. 

The organization will provide 700 euro per band and catering.

CONTEST BENELUX + UK + IRELAND

ONLINE SELECTION ONLY The most voted band of the final classification will also be the winner of this contest.

PRIZE The award for the winner of this Contest is promotional and booking support in Benelux offered by Funky Fun Productions over one year`s period  

CONTEST DENMARK+SCANDINAVIA 

ONLINE SELECTION ONLY The most voted band of the final classification will also be the winner of this contest.

PRIZE The award for the winner of this Contest is a performance at 

Raggapak Festival on Monday, August 17.
The festival will provide: reimbursement of travel expenses (max 1.000 euro), accomodation in save tents in the area of the mobile homes or the volunteer
camp (1 night - only if coming from Scandinavia), catering.

CONTEST SWITZERLAND

ONLINE SELECTION ONLY The most voted band of the final classification will also be the winner of this contest.

PRIZE The award for the winner of this contest is professional media promotion package offered by Gideon Production and a feature on Reggae.ch

CONTEST POLAND

ONLINE SELECTION ONLY The most voted band of the final classification will also be the winner of this contest.

PRIZE  Ostroda Festival will take care of organizing the journey of the winning band to and from Osoppo so that they can take part in the European finals.

European Finals and Award

The 10 winners of each country or group of countries, will qualify for the live European finals on the Main Stage of Rototom Sunsplash: 


Saturday, July 4 (5 bands) and Sunday, July 5 (5 bands).

Each band will receive accommodation in hotel (or a buy out of 20 euro for each band member) and full catering on the day of the show + free 10-day festival ticket and free 10-day camping ticket.

EVALUATION During the finals, each band will have 30 minutes available (show and stage changeover). Jury members are requested to take into account the quality of the show, professionalism on stage, feedback of the audience and the band’s potential on the European scene. The technical jury will consist of 10 members, one person from each national jury. Their names will be published before the beginning of the finals. All the votes cast by the jury members will be collected and examined at the end of the finals. The name of the winner will be announced at midnight on the Main Stage.

PRIZE FOR THE EUROPEAN WINNER The award for the European winner (as well as the prize awarded at the national contest) is a 10-date European tour. Below are the tour dates:


Thursday, July 16 Riversplash Festival - Tolmin, SLOVENIA 
The festival will provide reimbursement of travel expenses (max 700 euro), hotel (1 night), catering.


Saturday, July 25 Reeds Open-Air Festival - Pfäffikon (Zürich), SWITZERLAND  

The festival will provide reimbursement of travel expenses (max 1.000 euro), catering, accommodation in the camping area, backline, local transfer if arriving by plane. Stage time: 60 minutes


July 30 or 31 (TBC) Sazavafest - Kácov, CZECH REPUBLIC 
The festival will provide reimbursement of travel expenses (max 800 euro), hotel (1 night), catering, backline.


Saturday, August 1 (date tbc) Reggae Geel Festival - Geel, BELGIUM
The festival will provide: reimbursement of travel expenses (max 1500 euro), hotel (1 night), catering, backline, local transfer if arriving by plane.


Sunday, August 2 (date tbc) Reggae Jam - Bersenbrück, GERMANY
The festival will provide reimbursement of travel expenses (max 700 euro), hotel (1 night), catering, backline, local transfer if arriving by plane.


Saturday, August 8 Reggae Sun Ska Festival - Cissac-Médoc, FRANCE 
The festival will provide reimbursement of travel expenses (max 1500 euro) (hotel included), backline, catering, local transfer if arriving by plane.


August 14 or 15 (date tbc) Raggapak Festival- Silkeborg, DENMARK
The festival will provide reimbursement of travel expenses (max 1.000 euro), accommodation in mobile homes, catering, local transfer if arriving by plane.


August 14 or 16 (date tbc) Ostroda Reggae Festival - Ostroda, POLAND
The festival will provide reimbursement of travel expenses (max 500 euro), hotel (1 night), catering


Saturday, September 5 Foundation Reggae Festival - A Coruña, SPAIN
The festival will provide reimbursement of travel expenses (max 1.800 euro), hotel, catering.

October (date tbc) Gasometer Club - Wien, AUSTRIA
The club will provide reimbursement of travel expenses (max 1500 euro).