2010 New Cambria National Song Contest

The 2010 New Cambria National Song Contest will be the seventh running of New Cambria Television's popular annual music competition. It is expected to take place over six successive Saturday evenings from 6 November to 11 December 2010. NCT spokesperson Charles W. Frazier stated in a press conference on 8 January that the format for the 2010 contest would be largely the same as that for the 2009 contest. A total of 40 songs will compete in four weekly Semi Finals, from which fifteen will qualify to the Grand Final Gala on 11 December.

Format
During a press conference on 8 January, Charles W. Frazier commented that the organizing committee had discussed allowing a pre-determined number of songs automatic qualification to the Grand Final in order to better balance the number of English- and minority-language songs. This followed complaints from Parti égalité AD Henri Devereaux and other prominent members of New Cambria's French-speaking community that the current format is stacked against minority-language songs. Whether or not a proposed change has been made for the 2010 contest will be known when the official rules are published in late January.

Prospective Timetable

 * 28 June - 6 August: NCT will accept song submissions
 * 17 September: The Organizing Committee will present 100 songs to the Judging Committee. The Judging Committee will then select 40 songs to participate in the Semi-Finals.
 * 8 October: The titles, composers and performers of the 40 Semi-Finalists will be announced.
 * 6 November: Semi-Final One
 * 13 November: Semi-Final Two
 * 20 November: Semi-Final Three
 * 27 November: Semi-Final Four
 * 4 December: Wild Card Semi-Final
 * 11 December: Grand Final Gala
 * 12 December: Looking Back 2010 television special

Venues
In 2009, the location for the Grand Final was held in the newly-constructed National Indoor Arena in Southport for the first time. Each year previously, the Brock Carter Memorial Arena in Arvant was the venue for the Grand Final. It is almost certain that the Grand Final will be held in one of these two, with the Wild Card Semi-Final to be held in the other.

The locations of the Semi-Finals is usually the cause for more speculation, however. In 2007, 2008 and 2009, the opening Semi-Final has been held in the John Cabot Concert Hall in The Settlement on Cavit Island. Locations in New Cambria's most populous cities, such as Talbot, Đor, Averytown, and Tain are frequently used, as they have the infrastructure required to stage the events. Occasionally, new venues are used, such as the Rozenn Opera House in New Breizh, which hosted the third Semi-Final in 2009.

International Broadcasts
Since 2007, the contest has gradually been made available to viewers outside New Cambria, beginning with Newfoundland in 2007 and expanding to include all of Atlantic Canada by 2009. Thus far, however, Canadian viewers have not had the right to vote in the contest, as only calls from valid New Cambria-based telephone numbers are counted. International locations where the contest will 2010 broadcast (either live or delayed) are listed below:
 * Flag_of_Canada.png Canada
 * Flag_of_New_Brunswick.png New Brunswick (CKCW-TV will transmit the Grand Final with a 30-minute delay)
 * Flag_of_Newfoundland_and_Labrador.png Newfoundland and Labrador (CJON-TV will broadcast all six shows live)
 * Flag_of_Prince_Edward_Island.png Prince Edward Island (CKCW-TV-1 will transmit the Grand Final with a 30-minute delay)
 * Flag_of_Heigard.png Heigard (TH3 will transmit all six shows at 19:00 CET the day following their original broadcasts.)
 * Official Flag of Leubantia.PNG Leubantia (LBC's channel LBC Three will transmit all 6 shows at 01:00 CET the day following their original broadcasts)
 * 800px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png United States
 * Flag_of_Maine.png Maine (viewers in Northern Maine will be able to watch the Grand Final via television signals originating in New Brunswick)