How the TiBB Music Festival Works

An Overview

The TiBB Music Festival, often shortened to TiBBMF, is an internationally televised songwriting contest, held among the members of the TiBB Broadcasting Union. The competition was based upon the existing Eurovision Song Contest held among the member countries of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) since 1956.

Each Participating Broadcaster has a few weeks before each contest to choose a song in the public domain. The song and artist can be selected through a national selection, an internal process, or via any other means.

Participants then compete in the contest, held every few months.

The Contest format comprises of the Grand Final and the Results Show. Some editions have also included semi-finals and a second chance round.

Participating Broadcasters work hard to prepare acts for the Grand Final where they will join the so-called 'Big Six' broadcasters and Host Broadcaster (the broadcaster of the nation that won the previous edition).

The 'Big Six' are the Participating Broadcasters from different countries - the group of countries who are the top six of the previous edition. This group was first formed in the 3rd edition and, up to the 14th edition, and again since the 17th edition, changes every edition. From the fourteenth edition until the sixteenth edition, the group was known as the Big 5 and was comprised of the top 5 countries with the highest point average.

The current Big 6 are: Australia, Bulgaria, Germany, Ireland, United States, and Wales.

In each show, after all songs have been performed, each country will give two sets of points (1-8, 10, and 12) to their favourite songs; one set is given by a jury, and one set given by viewers. Starting with the 16th edition, in all semi-finals that occur, only one set of points will be given by televote.

Out of fairness, you cannot vote for your own country.

At the end of the Grand Final, the song that has received the most points wins and is performed once more.

So far, 14 different countries have won the competition and therefore hosted the contest. Including the United States, who hosted due to being the organizer of the contest, Australia, Norway, the United Kingdom, Italy, Denmark, South Korea, Sweden, Czechia, South Africa, Türkiye, Finland, New Zealand, and Germany have all been winners of the contest. The highest scoring winner, is Czechia's Lenny who won the 10th edition with her song "Lovers Do" which got 512 points, a record 142 points ahead of the runner-up. The United States won for a second time in the thirteenth edition, with Sabrina Carpenter becoming the first person to win the contest twice. Sweden won for a second time in the fifteenth edition. New Zealand would subsequently win a second consecutive time in the seventeenth edition.