The entry (lyrics and music) must not have been commercially released and/or publicly performed before 1 October of the year preceeding contest. The maximum duration of each song is three minutes. Each performance may consist of a maximum of six people on stage, all artists must be aged at least 16 on the day of the Semi-Final. Participating Broadcasters are free to decide in which language their artists will sing in. Artists shall perform live on stage, accompanied by a recorded backing-track which contains no vocals of any kind or any vocal imitations. The lyrics and/or performance of the songs shall not bring the Contest Final or the Eurovision Song Contest as such into disrepute