International Low-Vision Song Contest - ILSC 2025
Vielfalt von Musik aus der ganzen Welt entdecken!
Discover the variety of music from all over the world!
The ILSC 2025
The International Low-Vision Song Contest of 2025 promises to be the biggest ILSC yet - 25 countries will compete in the Grand Final! Save the date and tune in to listen to music created by blind and visually impaired artists from all around the world.
For the first time ever, the ILSC will also happen in front of a live audience. Together with our friends and partners at the Yunus Emre Enstitüsü Berlin, we'd love to welcome you in person! Admittance is free, however, due to space being limited, you will need to reserve a seat for the ILSC Grand Final on May 16th, 2025. You can do so by sending us a mail to ilsc@dbsv.org with your name, contact, and the number of seats you'd like to reserve!
Stream the ILSC 2025 Final Show on 16th May 2025 at 7 PM CEST on YouTube!
The ILSC 2025 Countries, Partner Organisations and their nominated Songs
These countries are part of this year's ILSC:
- Austria: Hilfsgemeinschaft der Blinden und Sehschwachen Österreichs nominated "GOING UNDER" by Sofia Reyna
- Belgium: Inclusion Creates Chance Belgium (ICC) nominated "I Won't Back Down" by Charlotte
- Chad: Centre d'Éducation et de Formation des Déficients Visuels (CEFODEV) nominated "Je suis comme toi" by Bestking
- Colombia: Diamond Fénix nominated "La Sombra del Mar en tus Ojos" by Siuga Forever Music
- Cyprus: Pancyprian Organization of the Blind (POT) nominated "Piksida" by Nicoletta Livadioti and Nikos Dimitriou
- Czech Republic: Czech blind United (SONS) nominated "Život můj (O Life of Mine)" by Radek Žalud and Petr Bazala
- Denmark: Danish Association of the Blind (BLIND) nominated "I Kanten Af En Sommersti" by Søren Høg
- Fiji: United Blind Persons of Fiji (UBP Fiji) nominated "Nothing About Us Without Us" by United Blind Persons of Fiji (UBP) Band
- France: Accompagner, Promouvoir et Intégrer les Déficients Visuels (ApiDV) nominated "Ton Chien Guide" by Bruno ESTEVE
- Gabon: Euclide nominated "Marlène" by Marcel Reteno
- Germany: German Federation of the Blind and Partially Sighted (DBSV) nominated "Dämonen" by rockytrio
- Greece: Center for Education and Rehabilitation for the Blind (KEAT) nominated "Tha Tragoudo Oso Zo" by Katholiki Tharenou and Dimitris Tharenos
- Hungary: Hungarian Federation of the Blind and Partially Sighted (MVGYOSZ) nominated "Butterfly" by Máj Kriszta
- Italy: Italian Union of the Blind and Partially Sighted (UICI) nominated "SGUARDI VELATI" by Roberta d'Aleo
- Lithuania: Lithuanian Union of the Blind and Partially Sighted (LASS) nominated "Nesustok" by Vaida Butautaitė-Sankovskaja
- Nigeria: Nigeria Association of the Blind has nominated "Dey My Dey" by Prince Dee
- Norway: Norwegian Association of the Blind and Partially Sighted (NABP) nominated "For Babes and Pups" by Isisasterra
- Poland: Polski Związek Niewidomych (PZN) nominated "Rescue Me" by Anna Rossa
- Sierra Leone & Guinea: Disability Inclusion Sierra Leone nominated "Check in your Backyard" by Blind Musical Ambassadors
- Slovenia: Union of the Blind and Partially Sighted of Slovenia nominated "Poberi Me" by Mitja Osolnik
- Spain: ONCE nominated "Forget You" by Jorge Caluz
- Switzerland: "I Have to Tell You" by Daniele Corciulo
- Togo: L'Association Togolaise des Aveugles (ATA) nominated "Chemin tracé" by Dieudonne WILA
- Ukraine: Pravo Vibora has nominated "Another Life" by Alfina Ostapenko
- United Kingdom: Look UK nominated "I Won't Let This Simple Curse Get Me Down" by Betsy Griffin
Voting:
This year, you'll be once more able to vote for your own country's song! After all songs have been presented, voting begins. You'll have to pick two favourites. The voting tool is currently under construction. A link will be provided once available.
Voting will open at approx. 10:20 pm CEST for 15 Minutes on May 16th 2025.
Social Media:
Follow our social media channels and the Hashtag #ILSC to keep up to date!
Learn more about the ILSC 2025 partner organisations and their amazing countries!
These artists and songs competed in the German preliminaries.
About the Contest
25 countries will compete in the Grand Final on May 16th 2025 at 7 PM CEST!
The International Low-Vision Song Contest (ILSC) is a music contest for blind and partially sighted artists and music fans from all over the world!
Organised by the German Federation of the Blind and Partially Sighted (DBSV) and VIEWS International (VI), the first ILSC took place in 2021. You can find a summary of the first ILSC here.
Each partaking organisation represents its country, and nominates a song to compete in the Grand Final. The audience chooses the winner via online voting.
The ILSC strives to be an inclusive, multicultural event that provides a global platform for blind and visually impaired musicians to share their art and talent, to inspire and entertain.
The ILSC is supported by the Aktion Mensch Foundation.
What songs can be part of the ILSC?
Songs of any genre, and artists of all ages can compete in the ILSC. For a song to qualify for the contest, it must meet only a few conditions:
- The song must be written or composed by at least one visually impaired or blind creative,
- it must be an original,
- at least one of the performers of the song is visually impaired or blind,
- the song has lyrics, and
- all involved artists agree to the song participating in the contest.
You can find an overview of the conditions of participation and the submission guidelines here.
How does the ILSC work?
Once the organising team has chosen a date for the ILSC’s Grand Final, they set dates for the deadlines regarding sign-ups and submissions.
At first, the organizing team scouts for partner organisations for the blind and partially sighted all over the world. Each partner signs up to represent their country.
After sign-up, it is the partner organisations’ responsibility to nominate a song for the Grand Final. How they go about this is completely up to them. They can, for example, host a preliminary round and nominate its winner, or choose a nominee without others’ input, or host an online poll. You can find a summary on the partner organisations' responsibilities here.
The Grand Final takes place online via livestream. It is hosted in English, and we will provide audio descriptions. The artists introduce themselves and their song in a live interview, after that their song plays. Afterwards, the audience votes for their favourite song and the winner is announced. The event concludes with an interview of the winner, the award presentation and a repeat of the winning song.
How do I join the ILSC?
Partner Sign-Up for the ILSC 2025 has closed! 25 countries are competing in this year's Grand Final on 16th May 2025. Save the date!
Reach out to us via e-mail to ilsc@dbsv.org for more information.
Everything you need to know about this year's ILSC!
Alle wichtigen Infos über den Contest auf Deutsch
A summary of the responsibilities of an ILSC partner organization
Learn about which songs may particapate in the contest
A look back on the ILSC of 2023
Stream the ILSC23 Grand Final on YouTube!
Learn about our first contest in 2021