Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Eurovision Song Contest

Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Eurovision Song Contest
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Participating broadcasterRadio and Television of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BHRT; 2005–2016) Suspended
Formerly:
  • Radio Television of Bosnia and Herzegovina (RTVBiH; 1993–2000)
  • Public Broadcasting Service of Bosnia and Herzegovina (PBSBiH; 2001–2004)
Participation summary
Appearances19 (18 finals)
First appearance1993
Last appearance2016
Highest placement3rd: 2006
Participation history
    • 2014
    • 2015
    • 2016
    • 2017 – 2025
External links
Bosnia and Herzegovina's page at Eurovision.tv Edit this at Wikidata
For the most recent participation see
Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016

Bosnia and Herzegovina has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 19 times since making its debut in 1993, after coming second in the qualification round "Kvalifikacija za Millstreet". The current Bosnian-Herzegovinian participant broadcaster in the contest is the Radio and Television of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BHRT).

Bosnia and Herzegovina's best result was in 2006, when "Lejla" performed by Hari Mata Hari finished third. This remains the country's only top five result in the contest. The country also achieved five other top ten results: 1999 with "Putnici" by Dino Merlin (seventh), 2004 with "In the Disco" by Deen (ninth), 2008 with "Pokušaj" by Laka (tenth), 2009 with "Bistra voda" by Regina (ninth), and 2011 with "Love in Rewind" again by Dino Merlin (sixth). Bosnia and Herzegovina returned to the contest for the first time since 2012 at the 2016 contest, where it failed to advance from the semi-finals for the first time. The country then withdrew once again from the contest and has yet to return.

Participation

Radio Television of Bosnia and Herzegovina (RTVBiH) was a full member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) since 1 January 1993, thus eligible to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest since then. It participated in the contest representing Bosnia and Herzegovina since its 38th edition that same year. In 2000, RTVBiH's EBU membership was transferred to a new parental broadcasting organisation, the Public Broadcasting Service of Bosnia and Herzegovina (PBSBiH), which participated in the contest representing the country from 2001 to 2004. On 13 August 2004, PBSBiH was succeeded by Radio and Television of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BHRT), which has participated in the contest since then.

Before its independence in 1992, Bosnia and Herzegovina was part of Yugoslavia. Five Yugoslavian entrants in the Eurovision Song Contest came from the former SR Bosnia and Herzegovina (1964, 1965, 1973, 1976, and 1981). The contest was broadcast in the socialist republic by the Yugoslav Radio Television's (JRT) affiliate RTV Sarajevo.

History

Low average scores meant Bosnia and Herzegovina did not qualify for the contests in 1998 and 2000, and the country did not participate in the 2013 contest for financial reasons. BHRT had stated that it hoped to return to the contest in 2014,[1] and on 18 November 2013, it submitted a preliminary application to compete in the 2014 contest.[2] However, on 18 December 2013, it was announced that Bosnia and Herzegovina would not be returning for 2014.[3]

On 9 September 2014, BHRT announced that it had submitted an application to compete in the 2015 contest.[4] On 30 October 2014, BHRT stated that participation was still in jeopardy due to financial difficulties. The EBU granted it a deadline extension until 14 November 2014 to make a final decision regarding its participation.[5] On 17 November 2014, BHRT announced that it would not be competing in the 2015 contest, having not secured the necessary funds to finance its participation.[6]

After competing in 2016, on 29 September 2016, BHRT again announced its withdrawal from the competition in 2017, due to the difficult financial situation that the national broadcaster was currently facing.[7] The following December, BHRT was sanctioned by the EBU due to unpaid debts, by restricting the broadcaster access to common resources.[8]

The Bosnian-Herzegovinian head of delegation, Lejla Babović, confirmed on 29 December 2018 that BHRT's current primary goal was to return to Eurovision, but its current financial situation and mounting debts with the EBU made a return in the near future highly unlikely.[9] This was confirmed for the following years, with a statement in November 2023 that the broadcaster remains under sanctions and is unable to compete in EBU events.[8]

Participation overview

For contestants prior to 1993, see Yugoslavia in the Eurovision Song Contest.

Prior to Yugoslavia's dissolution, artists from the SR Bosnia and Herzegovina represented Yugoslavia in 1964, 1965, 1973, 1976, and 1981.

Table key
2 Second place
3 Third place
Year Artist Song Language Final Points Semi Points
1993 Fazla "Sva bol svijeta" Bosnian 16 27 2[a] 52[a]
1994 Alma and Dejan "Ostani kraj mene" Bosnian 15 39 No semi-finals
1995 Davor Popović "Dvadeset prvi vijek" Bosnian 19 14
1996 Amila Glamočak "Za našu ljubav" Bosnian 22 13 21 29
1997 Alma Čardžić "Goodbye" Bosnian 18 22 No semi-finals
1999 Dino and Béatrice "Putnici" Bosnian, French 7 86
2001 Nino "Hano" Bosnian, English 14 29
2002 Maja "Na jastuku za dvoje" (На јастуку за двоје) Serbian, English 13 33
2003 Mija Martina "Ne brini" Croatian, English 16 27
2004 Deen "In the Disco" English 9 91 7 133
2005 Feminnem "Call Me" English 14 79 Top 12 in 2004 final[b]
2006 Hari Mata Hari "Lejla" Bosnian 3 229 2 267
2007 Marija Šestić "Rijeka bez imena" (Ријека без имена) Serbian 11 106 Top 10 in 2006 final[b]
2008 Laka "Pokušaj" Bosnian 10 110 9 72
2009 Regina "Bistra voda" Bosnian 9 106 3 125
2010 Vukašin Brajić "Thunder and Lightning" English 17 51 8 59
2011 Dino Merlin "Love in Rewind" English 6 125 5 109
2012 Maya Sar "Korake ti znam" Bosnian 18 55 6 77
2016 Dalal and Deen feat. Ana Rucner and Jala "Ljubav je" Bosnian Failed to qualify 11 104

Songs by language

  Bosnian (52.17%)
  English (30.43%)
  Serbian (8.69%)
  Croatian (4.35%)
  French (4.35%)
Songs Language Years
12 Bosnian 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2016
7 English 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2010, 2011
2 Serbian 2002, 2007
1 Croatian 2003
1 French 1999

Awards

Marcel Bezençon Awards

Year Category Song Composer(s)
lyrics (l) / music (m) 		Performer Final Points Host city Ref.
2006 Composer Award "Lejla" Željko Joksimović (m), Fahrudin Pecikoza (l), Dejan Ivanović (l) Hari Mata Hari 3 229 Greece Athens
[10]
2009 "Bistra voda" Aleksandar Čović (m & l) Regina 9 106 Russia Moscow
[11]

Conductors

Year Conductor[c]
1993 (KzM) Esad Arnautalić
1993 Republic of Ireland Noel Kelehan
1994 Sinan Alimanović
1995
1996
1997

Commentators and spokespersons

For the show's broadcast in the country, various commentators have provided commentary on the contest in the Bosnian language. At the Eurovision Song Contest after all points are calculated, the presenters of the show call upon each voting country to invite each respective spokesperson to announce the results of their vote on-screen.[12]

From 1961 until 1991, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina was part of Yugoslavia and JRT's affiliate RTV Sarajevo broadcast the contest there.

Year Channel Commentator Spokesperson Ref.
1993 RTVBiH Unknown Dejan Zagorac[d]
[13]
1994 Diana Grković-Foretić
[13]
1995
[13]
1996 Segmedina Srna
[13]
1997
[14][15]
1998 Did not participate
[16]
1999 Segmedina Srna
[17]
2000 Did not participate
[18]
2001 PBSBiH Dejan Kukrić Segmedina Srna
[19][20]
2002 PBSBiH, RTVFBiH (FTV1)
[19][21]
2003 Ana Vilenica [hr]
[22][19]
2004 BHTV 1, BH Radio 1 (all shows)
FTV (final) 		Mija Martina
[23][19][24][25]
2005 BHT 1 (all shows) Ana Mirjana Račanović
[26][19]
2006 Vesna Andree-Zaimović
[27][28][19][29]
2007
[30][19][31]
2008 Melina Garibović
[32][33][19]
2009 BHT 1, BH Radio 1 (all shows) Elvir Laković Laka
[34][35][36][19]
2010 BHT 1 (all shows) Ivana Vidmar
[37][38][19][39]
2011
[19][40][41]
2012 Elvir Laković Laka
[42][19]
2013 BHT 1, BH Radio 1 (all shows) Did not participate
[43][44][45][46][47][19]
2014–2015 No broadcast
[48]
2016 BHT 1, BHT HD, BH Radio 1 (all shows) Dejan Kukrić Ivana Crnogorac
[49][50]
2017–2024 No broadcast Did not participate
[51][52][53][54][55][56][57]

Other shows

Show Commentator Channel Ref.
Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest Unknown BHT 1
Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light Maja Čengić Miralem
[58]

Notes

  1. ^ a b Progressed through Kvalifikacija za Millstreet
  2. ^ a b According to the then-Eurovision rules, the top ten non-Big Four countries from the previous year along with the Big Four automatically qualified for the grand final without having to compete in semi-finals. For example, if Germany and France placed inside the top ten, the 11th and 12th spots were advanced to next year's grand final along with all countries ranked in the top ten.
  3. ^ All conductors are of Bosnian nationality unless otherwise noted.
  4. ^ The spokesperson from the prequalifying round was Ismeta Dervoz-Krvavac

References

  1. ^ Jiandani, Sanjay (14 December 2012). "Bosnia and Herzegovina will not be in Malmö". ESCToday. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
  2. ^ Jiandani, Sanjay (18 November 2013). "Bosnia Herzegovina: BHRT confirms participation in Copenhagen". ESCToday. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  3. ^ Jiandani, Sanjay (19 December 2013). "Eurovision 2014: Bosnia & Herzegovina will not compete in Copenhagen". ESCToday. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  4. ^ Jiandani, Sanjay (9 September 2014). "Bosnia & Herzegovina: BHRT confirms participation in Eurovision 2015". esctoday.com. ESCToday. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  5. ^ Jiandani, Sanjay (31 October 2014). "Bosnia & Herzegovina: Participation in Vienna uncertain; deadline extended". esctoday.com. ESCToday. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
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  7. ^ Jiandani, Sanjay (29 September 2016). "Bosnia & Herzegovina: BHRT will not participate in Eurovision 2017". esctoday.com. ESCToday. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  8. ^ a b Anthony, Granger (13 November 2023). "Bosnia & Herzegovina: BHRT Remains Sanctioned by the EBU". Eurovoix. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
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  11. ^ Klier, Marcus (18 May 2009). "The Eurovision 2009 Marcel Bezençon Awards". esctoday.com. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  12. ^ Eurovision Song Contest 2019. Tel Aviv, Israel. 18 May 2019.
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  19. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Vaš komentator već 13.godina: Dejan Kukrić :) Budite sa...
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  21. ^ "tv program". Slobodna Dalmacija (in Croatian). Split, Croatia. 25 May 2002. p. 71. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
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  25. ^ "Ako Deen uđe u finale, bit će to uspjeh!" (in Bosnian). Ljiljan. 30 April 2004.
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Works cited

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