Rules

This page contains a non-exhaustive list of rules regarding participation in the Avalon Song Contest, wiki etiquette, and behavioural expectations. These exist to maintain a high-quality song contest, realistic fantasy world, and a friendly community. Persistent violations may result in your expulsion from the contest and community.

These rules are largely carried over from the previous Maia Song Contest, though there are also some notable changes.

Behaviour and etiquette

 * 1) Failure to meet contest deadlines, or failing to vote in a contest, may result in you being temporarily withdrawn from the contest. Repeated failure to compete according to the rules may result in long-term or permanent removal from competing in the contest.
 * 2) Harassment, bullying, or causing drama, or bringing the contest into disrepute will have serious consequences.
 * 3) Wiki vandalism or spamming the Discord server may lead to alternative disciplinary action such as removal of your ability to make wiki edits or server mutes
 * 4) Low-quality wiki articles may be deleted if they are not cleaned up within a reasonable timeframe.

How to Join

 * 1) Contact a member of the ABO Committee - indicate that you would like to join the contest.
 * 2) Provide a country name, capital city, flag, and national broadcaster. Explain your choices, it helps your application!
 * 3) It is also useful to share with us which other contests you participate in or help to organise.
 * 4) If your application fits the criteria, you will then be invited to the List of Interest.
 * 5) When a vacancy arises, you will then be assessed for participation on the basis of factors such as the strength of your application, and activity in the Avalon Discord server.

Country criteria

 * 1) The name must not be difficult to pronounce in the English language, and refrain from diacritics unless necessary.
 * 2) You can include a 'native name' on your country page, such as in another language or script. Keep these reasonable, however.
 * 3) Your national flag should be sensible and not over-complicated, as well as looking realistic. You may wish to use an online flag designer, for ease.
 * 4) Feel free to include much more detail on your country, but information and roleplay should be believable.

Contest format

 * 1) The contest will consist of one grand final, containing between 24 and 27 participants.
 * 2) Each country awards 12, 10, 8-1 points to their ten favourite songs. A 'rest of world' jury also awards points, requiring 3+ valid sets of points to be used.
 * 3) The winner is the country with the most amount of points, and they are able to host the next edition.
 * 4) The bottom three of each edition will be withdrawn in the following edition, able to return in the next edition. If they don't, their place may be given to another returnee or debutant. In the event of withdrawals, less or no relegations may be necessary.

Entry regulations

 * 1) If an artist is claimed by another country, you must ask their permission first.
 * 2) The song should be between 2 and 6 minutes long.
 * 3) Covers, instrumentals, and remixes are not typically allowed, nor are original works created by yourself.
 * 4) The artist should be at least 16 years old at the time the song was released.
 * 5) Entries are submitted by in the form of a YouTube music video, plus recap slot. If a music video does not exist, please create a suitable alternative for recap purposes.
 * 6) The song cannot have previously competed in the Maia Song Contest nor it's spin-offs, nor the Eurovision Song Contest or any of its national finals.
 * 7) The song can't be considered mainstream - eg. having over 100 million+ YouTube views, over 150+ million Spotify listens, high chart success, or mass attention following release.
 * 8) If you choose to hold a national final, do not contain more than 10 songs, and seek approval from the ABO Committee first.

Artist claiming

 * 1) If you claim an artist, it cannot be sent to the contest nor feature in a national final without your permission.
 * 2) By sending an artist to the Avalon Song Contest, it is automatically claimed by you.
 * 3) In addition, artists may be automatically considered 'claimed' if they hold a strong association to a Maia country - ask if unsure.
 * 4) You can claim up to two additional artists, by listing them on the 'claimed artists' page.
 * 5) You can also create pages for non-artists, to assert them as being from your country, but please keep these to a minimum where necessary and do not clutter the wiki.
 * 6) If an artist is listed as an additional claim, but with intent to withhold artists rather than reserve them for a near-future edition, the claim may be transferred to another participant on request. Claims may also be transferred if they are not utilised within three editions.

Wiki conventions
These are a few basic rules regarding writing conventions for this wiki. The ABO will make minor edits where necessary to maintain these.


 * 1) Pages must be primarily in the English language, and with proper spelling and grammar. No unnecessary symbols or emojis.
 * 2) Keep the amount of 'red links' to a minimum - use them where you expect a linked page will later exist.
 * 3) Artist and song names follow Wikipedia's 'naming conventions'. The explanation is complicated, so refer to similar song titles from Eurovision wiki pages if unsure.
 * 4) Where there exists more than one common song title, they may both be used for clarity - eg. "Zapala (Crush)" in Avalon Song Contest 1.