Home Composed Song Contest

The Home Composed Song Contest (HCSC) is a competition for fans of the Eurovision Song Contest who also write their own songs in a non-professional capacity.

HCSC was originally organised under the banner of OGAE, the international fan club of the Eurovision Song Contest, but is now open to all fans. The competition was founded in 1991 by Morten Boldt Hansen from Denmark, and has grown since then to become an annual event attracting participants from all around Europe.

In the early years, the competition took place by circulating cassettes and, later, CDs of the entries among the participants. Since the mid-2000s, a dedicated website has been created for each edition of the contest and the physical media have been replaced by downloadable or streamable audio files.

The entries are voted on by the other participants, who may form their own jury or simply vote themselves as they prefer. Many years have also had guest juries (often comprising former HCSC participants) and/or a public vote in some form; this is determined at the discretion of the respective organiser.

Each edition of the Home Composed Song Contest is typically organised by the previous year's winner (although doing so is not mandatory) with the advice and, where desired, the active involvement of the HCSC Organising Committee. The Organising Committee is also responsible for maintaining and updating the HCSC Rules, which form the basis of each year's competition.