European Broadcasting Union

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) (EBU); Européenne de Radio-Télévision) is an international organization of publicly owned and public service broadcasters. Its headquarters are in Geneva (Switzerland) and it operates under the laws of that country.

Among its functions, the EBU organizes program exchanges, stimulates and coordinates co-productions, negotiates broadcasting rights for retransmissions, participates in the development of new technologies and provides numerous complementary services. It manages two global communication networks: Euroradio (radio) and Eurovision (television).

It was founded in 1950 by 23 broadcasters from Western Europe and the Mediterranean basin. In 2019 it had 71 active members from 56 countries in Europe, the Mediterranean basin and Western Asia, as well as 34 associate members from 21 countries in the rest of the world. It collaborates closely with similar international organizations such as the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) or the Ibero-American Telecommunications Organization (OTI).

The European Broadcasting Union does not belong to the European Union.

Overview

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is made up of broadcasting organizations (radio, television and multimedia), both public entities and private media with public service obligations. Its active members are within the European Broadcasting Area (covering Europe, the Mediterranean basin and Western Asia), or are members of the Council of Europe, while associate members are outside of it. To be an active member it is required to meet certain conditions and be up to date with payment.

The EBU was founded on February 12, 1950 at a meeting in Torquay, UK. It was attended by 23 broadcasting organizations from Western Europe, Yugoslavia, Turkey and the North African states of Egypt, Lebanon and Tunisia. The new association sought to improve the radio and television service through collaboration, technical assistance, the exchange of content and the joint defense of their interests. Its counterpart was the International Radio and Television Organization, in force in Eastern Europe and which existed from 1946 to 1993, when it was absorbed by the EBU.

He summarizes his work as follows:

We believe that the media of public service are the cornerstone of democratic society, and we are their representative voice. We offer the media first-class services and a centre for learning and sharing knowledge. We operate the Eurovision networks, the first distributor and producer of quality content in the sector, and Euroradio, the largest network of exchange of news and music in the world.

Functions

The objective of the EBU is to contribute to radio broadcasting in the following areas:

1. Promote and develop public service media and their values: universality, independence, excellence, diversity, social responsibility and innovation.
2. Safeguarding and improving freedom of expression and information, the basis of democratic societies.
3. Enhancing plural information and open-minded training.
4. Develop the latest communication and information technologies so that all people have access to these media.
5. Guarantee cultural diversity to promote values of tolerance and solidarity.
6. Protect the cultural heritage of Europe and the development of its audiovisual creations.
7. Strengthen the identity of peoples, social cohesion and the integration of all individuals, groups and communities.
8. The fulfillment of public service in information, education, culture and entertainment through varied and quality programming.

To this end, EBU members can access services such as content and program exchanges (including news, sports, music, own production, rebroadcasting and streaming), broadcasting rights, facilities and production services, and a wide network of content distribution on radio, television and the Internet.

Technical cooperation is one of the most important activities. Through the Department of Technology and Innovation, the organization participates in the research and development of new broadcast media, contributing to the promotion of new broadcasting techniques, such as the Radio Data System (RDS), digital television (DVB) and high definition (HDTV and UHDTV). There are collaborative groups between members to advise and implement technological standards in each country.

EBU's learning center also includes training programmes, workshops and conferences. Since 2012, it has awarded the Rose d'Or award, created in 1961 to recognize the best formats of the year on radio, television and multimedia.

On the other hand, the organization provides its associates with representation services, lobbying, technical, legal and juridical help. One of the basic objectives is to defend their interests in international and professional forums with a single voice and joint position.

Radius

The "Euroradio" network, which brings together all the radio media, is responsible for the exchange of music, news, sports broadcasts, educational programs and co-productions such as Euroclassic Notturno. Each year it offers more than 2,500 classical music concerts, and coordinates the transmission of more than 2,000 sporting events. Its activity is not limited to audio: it also provides videos of concerts and operas through "Euroradio 2SEE".

In total, more than 70 radio companies participate for a potential audience of more than 500 million listeners.

Within Euroradio is "Eurosonic", a service aimed at young people and specialized in contemporary music. Through this network, the signal and recordings of concerts, sessions and events such as the Montreux Jazz Festival, Iceland Airwaves, the Benicasim International Festival and Sónar. Since 1999 he has collaborated with the Eurosonic Festival in Groningen (The Netherlands) and with the European Border Breaker Awards for the promotion of emerging European artists.

Television

Logo of the "Eurovision" network.

The "Eurovision" network, which brings together all the television channels, is responsible for the exchange of news and programs, live signals, sporting events and all kinds of content related to television, which makes it one of the largest networks of the world. All members cooperate in the production of spaces in different genres.

In the case of news, the exchange network supplies 50,000 news and sports pieces and more than 2,500 hours of live signal each year, with special attention to the European Broadcasting Area.

"Eurovision Sports" is the delegation in charge of sports broadcasts, and the largest provider of this type worldwide. Through its website and mobile applications, it provides a streaming signal for the European Broadcasting Area of different events. From 1960 to 2012 he held the rights to the Olympic Games in Europe.

One of the most important facets is the live broadcast of events for its members, which began in 1953 with the coronation of Elizabeth II. The most popular are the Eurovision Song Contest (Eurovision Song Contest), a musical contest organized by the EBU itself since 1956, and its children's version, the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, organized since 2003. The other most popular program is the Vienna New Year's Concert (ORF). Since 2014, it has been broadcasting the electoral debates between the candidates to preside over the European Commission.

Broadcasts on the Eurovision Network are characterized by beginning and ending with the organization's logo, accompanied by the prelude to Te Deum by Marc-Antoine Charpentier.

Members of the European Broadcasting Union

Map of the world with active members (marine blue) and associate members (blue) of the European Broadcasting Union.

The EBU has three categories of members: active, associated and authorized participants. The former pay an annual fee (in Swiss francs) whose amount is set by the General Assembly according to its possibilities. Associates and authorized participants pay a subscription.

Active members are the most important members of the EBU, as they have access to the Euroradio and Eurovision networks. They are all part of the European Broadcasting Area, which includes not only Europe but also the Mediterranean basin (North Africa) and Western Asia. The vast majority are public broadcasting companies and entered before the 1990s. With the rise of private radio and television stations, entry regulations were tightened; since then there has been talk of "public service media".

To be an active member, the state where the company is established must be a member of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), fully recognized by the international community and part of the European Broadcasting Area. If it is not within that area, the country is required to be in the Council of Europe.

In addition, they are obliged to comply with the following rules:

1. Providing varied and balanced programming for all sectors of the population. Minorities will have spaces regardless of the audience.
2. To assume the cost of production (or production commission) with your money, and supervised under your editorial line, of a substantial proportion of programming.
3. Ensure that the entire population has national coverage (at least 97 per cent of the territory) to receive its radio and/or television signal.
4. They should not be related or have agreements with the competence of the EU in sports broadcasting rights at European level.
5. To comply with the obligations set out in article 3.7 of the Statutes of the UER (active contribution, solidarity, joint defence and submission of documentation).

The vast majority of members are public broadcasters. Others, such as Channel 4 (UK) or TV 2 (Norway), are commercial groups with public service obligations.

Active members

According to 2021 data, the EBU has 68 members representing 114 audiovisual organizations in 55 countries in Europe, the Mediterranean basin and Western Asia.

Historical map of UER members per year of income.

Country	Agency	Acronyms	Year of income
Albania Albania	Radiotelevizioni Shqiptar	RTSH	1999
GermanyGermany	Arbeitsgemeinschaft Rundfunkanstalten der Bundesrepublik Deutschland - Bayerischer Rundfunk - Hessischer Rundfunk - Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk - Norddeutscher Rundfunk - Radio Bremen - Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg - Saarländischer Rundfunk - Südwestrundfunk - Westdeutscher Rundfunk - Deutsche Welle - Deutschlandradio	ARD	1952
	Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen	ZDF	1963
Andorra	Radio and Television of Andorra	RTVA	2002
Algeria	Radiodiffusion-television Algérienne - National Sound Broadcasting Company - National Television Company - Television of Algeria	RTA	1969
ArmeniaArmenia	Armenian Radio and Public Television Company - Public Radio of Armenia - Public Television of Armenia	AMPTV	2005
AustriaAustria	Österreichischer Rundfunk	ORF	1953
AzerbaijanAzerbaijan	İctimai	ICTI	2007
BelgiumBelgium	Vlaamse Radio- on Televisieomroep	VRT	1950
	Radio Télévision Belge de la Communauté Française	RTBF	1950
Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina	Radiotelevision of Bosnia and Herzegovina	BHRT	1993
BulgariaBulgaria	Bălgarsko Nationalno Radio	BNR	1993
	Bălgarska Nationalna Televizija	BNT	1993
Cyprus	Chipriota Broadcasting Corporation	CyBC	1968
Croatia	Hrvatska Radiotelevizija	HRT	1993
DenmarkDenmark	Danmarks Radio	DR	1950
	TV2/Danmark	DK/TV2	1989
Egypt	Egyptian Radio and Television Union	ERTU	1985
Slovakia	Rozhlas a televízia Slovenska	RTVS	1993
Slovenia	Radiotelevizija Slovenija	RTVSLO	1993
SpainSpain	Radiotelevisión Española - Radio Nacional de España - Spanish Television	RTVE	1955
Estonia	Eesti Rahvusringhäling	ERR	1993
FinlandFinland	Oy Yleisradio Ab	Yle	1950
France	Groupement des Radiodiffuseurs français de l'UER: - France Télévisions - Radio France - France Médias Monde	GRF	1950
	Europe 1	E1	1978
Georgia	Public Broadcasting of Georgia	GPB	2005
Greece	Ellinikí Radiophonía Tileórasi	ERT	2015
HungaryHungary	- Médiaszolgáltatás-támogató és Vagyonkezelő Alap - Duna Televízió	MTVA	1993
Ireland	Radio Telefís Éireann	RTÉ	1950
	TG4	TG4	2007
Iceland	Rikisútvarpið	RúV	1956
Israel	Israel Broadcasting Corporation	IPBC (KAN)	2017
ItalyItaly	Radiotelevisione Italiana	RAI	1950
Jordan	Jordanian Radio and Television Corporation	JRTV	1970
LatviaLatvia	Latvijas Radio	LR	1993
	Latvijas Televizija	LTV	1993
Lebanon	Télé Liban	TL	1950
Libya	Libyan National Canal	LNC	2011
Lithuania	Lies Radijas ir Televizija	LRT	1993
Luxembourg	CLT Multi Media	CLT	1950
	Etablissement de Radiodiffusion Socioculturelle	ERSL	1950
Northern Macedonia	Makedonska Radio Televizija	MKRTV	1993
Malta	Public Broadcasting Services	MT/PBS	1970
Morocco	Société nationale de radiodiffusion et de télévision	SNRT	1950
Moldova	Teleradio Moldova	TRM	1993
Monaco	Groupement de Radiodiffusion monégasque - RMC (Radio Monte-Carlo) - TMC (Télé Monte-Carlo) - Monaco Media Diffusion	GRMC	1950
Montenegro	Radio i Televizija Crne Gore	RTCG	2006
Norway	Norsk Rikskringkasting	NRK	1950
	TV2	NO/TV2	1992
Netherlands	Nederlandse Publieke Omroep - AVROTROS - BNN-VARA - Evangelische Omroep - Omroep MAX - KRO-NCRV - Nederlandse Omroep Stichting - Omroep NTR - VPRO	NPO	1950
PolandPoland	Polskie Radio i Telewizja - Polskie Radio - Telewizja Polska	PRT	1993
Portugal	Rádio e Televisão de Portugal	RTP	1950
Czech Republic	Český rozhlas	ČR	1993
	Česká televize	ČT	1993
United KingdomUnited Kingdom	British Broadcasting Corporation	BBC	1950
	United Kingdom Independent Broadcasting - ITV plc - STV Group - Sianel 4 Cymru	ITV	1959
Romania	Societatea Română de Radiodifuziune	ROR	1993
	Societatea Română de Televiziune	TVR	1993
San Marino	San Marino RTV	SMRTV	1995
Serbia	Radio-Televizija Srbije	RTS	2001
Sweden Sweden	Sveriges Television och Radio Grupp - Sveriges Television - Sveriges Radio - Utbildningsradion	SVT	1950
Switzerland	SRG SSR	SRG SSR	1950
Tunisia	Radio Tunisienne et Télévision Tunisienne - Radio Tunisienne - Télévision Tunisienne	RTTT	1950
TurkeyTurkey	Türkiye Radyo Televizyon Kurumu	TRT	1950
Ukraine	Natsionalna Suspilna Teleradiokompaniya Ukrayiny	UA:PBC	1993
Vatican State	Vatican Radio	RV	1950

Associate Members

Associate members are national audiovisual organizations that operate outside the European Broadcasting Area. The same conditions are required of them as active members. If a broadcaster wants to join, it must submit to the supervision of the Executive Committee, which in turn will recommend to the General Assembly whether its membership is appropriate.

They receive documentation from the EBU, can attend the summer General Assembly, participate in technical meetings and collaborate with active members. However, they do not have free access to the Euroradio or Eurovision networks.

According to 2022 data, the EBU has 30 associate members in 19 countries around the world.

Country	Agency	Acronyms	Year of income
Australia	Australian Broadcasting Corporation	ABC	1950
	Free TV Australia	Free	1962
	Special Broadcasting Service	SBS	1979
BangladésBangladés	Bangladesh Television	NBAB	1974
BrazilBrazil	Fundação Padre Anchieta	FPA	2012
CanadaCanada	Canadian Broadcasting Corporation	CBC/SRC	1950
ChileChile	Canal 13	C13	1971
ChinaChina	China Media Group	CGTN	2020
	Shanghai Media Group	FSG	2001
South KoreaSouth Korea	Korean Broadcasting System	KBS	1974
CubaCuba	Cuban Institute of Radio and Television	ICRT	1992
United States	American Broadcasting Company	ABC	1959
	American Public Media	APM	2004
	CBS Corporation	CBS	1956
	National Broadcasting Company	NBC	1953
	National Public Radio	NPR	1971
	WFMT Radio Network	WFMT	1980
Georgia	Rustavi 2	RB	2003
	Teleimedi	TEME	2004
Hong KongHong Kong	Radio Television Hong Kong	RTHK	1983
Iran	Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting	IRIB	1969
JapanJapan	Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai	NHK	1957
	TBS Television	TBS	2000
Kazakhstan	Khabar Agency	Khabar	2016
Malaysia	Radio Television Malaysia	RTM	1970
Mauritius	Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation	MBC	1980
New Zealand	Radio New Zealand	RNZ	1950
	Television New Zealand	TVNZ	1950
Oman	Public Authority for Radio and Television	PART	1976
Syria	Organism of the Arab Radio-Télévision Syrienne	ORTAS	1978

Authorized Participants

Authorized participants are those audiovisual organizations that for whatever reason do not meet the requirements to be active or associate members, but whose activity can be useful for the EBU. It must be specified in which area or areas their participation has been allowed, since they will only be able to collaborate in those areas. Participation is for five years, with the possibility of renewal for the same period.

They cannot access the exchange networks (Euroradio and Eurovision) or attend the EBU assemblies.

Country	Agency	Acronyms	Year of income
European Union	Euronews	Euronews	1997
Spain	Music	CAT	2009
	Cellnex Telecom	Abertis	2003
France	TV5 Monde	TV5	1998
France Germany	ARTE	ARTE	1992
Northern Macedonia	Broadcasting Macedonia	JPMRD	1998
Russia	Russian TV and Radio Broadcasting Network	RTRN	2003
Serbia	Radio-Televizija Vojvodine	PTB	2020

Others

Former Active Members

Throughout its history, some active members of the EBU ceased to be so for different reasons. They are collected by year of departure:

Country	Agency
Yugoslavia	Jugoslovenska radio-televizija (JRT) (1950 - 1992) The Yugoslav Television Radio was a founding member in 1950 and the only socialist state that was part of it. The dissolution of Yugoslavia and the beginning of the war in 1991 led to its disappearance. The organizations that formed part of JRT were under the control of the new republics. Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Northern Macedonia were accepted on 1 January 1993. Yugoslavia was affected by international sanctions and was not readmitted until 2001 under the Public Alliance for Radio and Television which grouped the media of Serbia and Montenegro, today independent.
Spain	Antena 3 de Radio (A3R) (1986 - 1993) Private sender with public service obligations, retired from the UER in 1993 after being absorbed by Union Radio. The chain would end up disappearing a year later. Chain of Popular Ondas (COPE) (1998 - 2019) COPE was part of the UER until 2019. The reasons for their abandonment are unknown. Sociedad Española de Radiodifusión (Cadena SER) (1984 - 2020) The SER no longer appears on the active membership list since 2020. The reasons for his abandonment have not been made public.
Monaco Italy	Telemontecarlo (TMC) (1981 - 2001) TMC was part of the Monegasca Broadcasting Group until 2001. That year it was sold to Telecom Italia and transformed into the La7 commercial channel.
Libya	Libyan Jamahiriya (LJBC) (1974 - 2011) State Information Agency during the Muamar el Gaddafi mandate. When it was overthrown, a new public broadcasting company was created.
Vatican City	Centro Televisivo Vaticano (CTV) (1983 - 2012) The Vatican Television Center resigned its membership in 2012 without further explanations. Vatican Radio stayed.
Greece	Néa Ellinikí Radiofonía, Ínternet kai Tileórasi (NERIT) (2014-2015) During the two years that ERT remained closed, the Greek public broadcasting company was NERIT. When Alexis Tsipras won the elections, his government carried out the reopening of ERT.
Israel	Rashut Hashidur (IBA) (1957-2017) It was Israel's public broadcasting entity for 69 years. In May 2017 it was shut down by the government and replaced by the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (PIC)Kan).
France	Télévision Française 1 (TF1) (1950 - 2018) The first television channel in France was privatized in 1987, but maintained membership for three decades to benefit from its services, including the catalogue of sports broadcasts that covered Eurosport's programming. After selling his sports channel in 2015, he lost interest in remaining a member.
Belarus	National Belarus Radio and Television Company (BTRC) (1993-2021) The Belarusian radio-television suspended its membership of the UER on May 28, 2021 for “attacks to press freedom”, in the context of the arrest of Román Protasévich. After Belarus did not submit any allegations, the UER confirmed its expulsion on 1 July 2021.
Russia Russia	Pervy Kanal (C1R), Rossijskoe Teleradio (RTR) and Radio Dom Ostankino (Radio Mayak, Radio Orfey) (RDO) (1993-2022) Russian public broadcasters left the UER on 26 February 2022 following the threat of expulsion by the organization, which had already vetoed Russia's participation in the Eurovision 2022 Song Festival, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine of 2022.

Aspiring to become active members

The following companies have tried to join the EBU, but have been rejected by the General Assembly:

Country	Agency
Qatar	Qatar Radio (QR) In 2009 the state of Catar, at that time associated member, sent a request to be an active member of the UER. The agency never looked at it because the Arab country is not in the European Broadcasting Area.
Kazakhstan	Khabar Agency Kazakhstan wants to be an active member of the UER to participate in the Eurovision Song Festival, an event that has been broadcast several years. However, it is not part of the European Broadcasting Area and its requests have been rejected. Where he does participate is at the Eurovision Junior Song Festival. Khabar Agency is currently an associate member since January 2016.
Kosovo	Kosovo Radio and Television (RTK) The kosovar radio broadcaster has been trying to be an active member since its unilateral declaration of independence. However, it is a state with limited recognition. It therefore does not belong to the United Nations and cannot access the International Telecommunication Union, a basic requirement. RTK has relayed the Eurovision Festival.
Liechtenstein	1 FLTV The only television based in Liechtenstein began broadcasting on 15 August 2008. In July 2009, managers filed an application for entry to the UER. However, they ended up withdrawing it for lack of resources to meet the obligations of an active member. 1 FLTV does not intend to be an active member or authorized participant.
Morocco	2M TV This channel, which is commercial and controlled by the Moroccan government, requested its entry into the UER in 2007 without success.
Palestine	Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) For years the PBC was an authorized participant and in 2007 it negotiated with the UER to become an active member. He was rejected because Palestine is a state with limited recognition.
Spain	Corporació Catalana de Mitjans Audiovisuals (CCMA) In 2019 the UER rejected the application for entry of the Catalan entity as a full member of the law, arguing that it did not meet the requirements "in the absence of national importance and character". The FORTA revealed that the entry of both the federation of autonomic chains and its members has always been found with the opposition of RTVE. The CCMA already has partial representation as an authorized participant through Catalonia Music.

Organization

The European Broadcasting Union is a non-profit association, based in Geneva (Switzerland), which can carry out activities of a commercial nature to fulfill its objectives. It is governed by the EBU Statute.

The General Assembly, made up of active members, is the most important body. Among its tasks, it defines the objectives and approves the budgets. Two General Assemblies are held every year: the summer one is open to active members and associates, while in the winter only active members can participate. In these meetings the only official languages with which they work are English and French.

Below it is the Board of Directors, with executive functions such as enforcing the objectives of the EBU, passing recommendations to the Assembly, and considering reports from advisory departments. Meetings are held seven times a year. It is made up of 11 people elected by the General Assembly, including a president and a vice-president, who come from active members and must reflect the cultural diversity of the union. His mandate is two years and can be renewed. The president for the period 2021-2022 is the French Delphine Ernotte Cunci, executive director of France Télévisions.

EBU Executive Board (2021-2022)

Direction	Responsible	Member
Presidency	Delphine Ernotte Cunci	FT
Vice-Chair	Petr Dvořák	ČT
Vocals	Tim Davie	BBC
	Katja Wildermuth	BR
	Marinella Soldi	RAI
	José Manuel Pérez Tornero	RTVE
	Cilla Benkö	SR
	Gilles Marchand	SRG SSR
	Mykola Chernotytskyi	UA:PBC
	Monika Garbačiauskaitė-Budrienė	LRT
	Giacomo Ghisani	RV

The general director, elected by the Board of Directors, coordinates and supervises all the permanent committees with the help of the heads of the departments, who inform them of the situation. He also represents the EBU in international forums, conferences and meetings at the government level. His term is limited to six years. The general manager since 2017 is the Irishman Noel Curran, from RTÉ.

EBU Management and Departments

Direction	Responsible	Member
Director-General	Noel Curran	RTÉ
Deputy Director-General and Media	Jean Philip De Tender	VRT
Technology and Innovation	Antonio Arcidiacono	-
Human resources	Melanie Brown Cocchetti	-
Legal	Richard Burnley	-
Finance and Administration	Emmanuel Frantz	-
Sports	Glen Killane	-
Relations with Members and Communication	Vanessa O'Connor	-

The participation of active members is guaranteed in the Specialized Assemblies, in five Standing Committees (Euroradio, Eurovision, Digital Media, News and Sports) and in special groups

EBU Standing Committees (2021-2023)

Committee	Chairman	Member
Radio	Graham Ellis	BBC
Television	Markus Sterky	SVT
News	Eric Schererer	FT
Sports	Running Østmo	NRK
Digital media	João Pedro Galveias	RTP
Legal	Olav Nyhus	NRK
Technical	Michael Nugent	ERT

Events and programs

The European Broadcasting Union organizes programs in which its active members can participate, and which are marketed internationally.

The most important is the Eurovision Song Contest (Eurovision Song Contest), a musical contest in which active members representing states participate; the winning song is chosen with a mixed vote of the jury and viewers. It was created in 1955 at the initiative of the then president of the EBU, Marcel Bezençon, to contribute to the union of Europe through a program broadcast simultaneously in all countries by the Eurovision network. At that time it was seen as an experiment for live television, since simulcasting had barely been developed. The first edition took place in Lugano (Switzerland) on May 24, 1956 and the first winner was the host country, represented by Lys Assia. The current format of semifinals and grand finale was introduced in 2004, the year in which the more commercial facet would also begin to be exploited. The international audience is 195 million people, mostly from Europe and Australia.

Following the success of Eurovision, two events have been created with the same format: in 1985 the Young Dancers Eurovision Song Contest and in 2003 the Junior Eurovision Song Contest for children between 8 and 16 years old. In 2007 and 2008 the now extinct Eurovision Dance Festival was also held, in collaboration with the World Federation of Competition Dance.

The Eurovision Song Contest for Young Musicians, organized for the first time in 1982 and on a biennial basis, focuses on classical music and rewards the best musicians under 18 years of age. In this case, a professional jury scores the songs and gold, silver and bronze medals are awarded to the first three classified. Lastly, the Let the Peoples Sing Festival focuses on choral orchestras.

For a long time, the EBU organized the Games without Borders (Jeux sans frontières) contest, in which teams from different European states competed in fun tests, promoting twinning between cities. Each edition took place in a different country. There were two stages: the first covers from 1965 to 1982, while the second was between 1988 and 1999. The group no longer holds the rights to that format, acquired by the French production company Banijay in 2019.