'Lied für Turin': Germany's national final for Eurovision 2022

Well, this Eurovision year is certainly going to be national final heavy!

After juries internally selected the songs and artists for the (cancelled) 2020 Eurovision Song Contest and then the 2021 edition (at which Jendrik raised smiles but secured only three Grand Final points), Germany has opted to return to a national final selection process for 2022, provisionally dubbed 'Lied für Turin'.

So, what do we know so far?

Eligibility

The key feature of the revamped national final process will be that all applicants - established artists and newcomers alike - will have to submit their own song which will be performed by them, thus dispensing with the "song-writing camp" approach of recent years. In the words of Alexandra Wolfslast, the German Head of Delegation, the goal this year is to find the "total package".

The deadline for submissions is 30 November, and applicants can expect to hear back at some point in December.

[Lena Meyer-Landrut's encore performance after winning 'Unser Star für Oslo 2010']

Format

The search for Germany's 2022 Eurovision entrant and song will, for the first time, see the involvement of nine regional radio stations operating under the national broadcaster's (ARD) umbrella nationwide: from Bavaria to Bremen, from MDR Jump in the east and WDR 2 in the west.

A six-person panel, consisting of five ARD radio and TV representatives plus Ms Wolfslast, will listen to, view and rank/rate all the submissions, before drawing up a shortlist of artists and their songs for the national final.

The related TV show, the name of which is still to be confirmed, is expected to air in March to coincide with ARD's "ESC Day", a day celebrating all things Eurovision. Frank Beckmann, ARD's Entertainment Coordinator, is hoping for a "diverse, top-class" selection of artists.

Diversity will also be the watchword when it comes to the public vote, the deciding factor in choosing the nation's 2022 Eurovision representative: listeners to the radio stations, including online users, will be able to vote for their favourite alongside the TV audience on the night.

Follow us here at Aussievision for further updates on the 2022 German Eurovision national final!