Georgia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022

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Eurovision Song Contest 2022
Country Georgia
National selection
Selection processInternal selection
Selection date(s)Artist: 14 November 2021
Song: 9 March 2022
Selected entrantCircus Mircus
Selected song"Lock Me In"
Georgia in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2021 • 2022

Georgia is set to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy, having internally selected Circus Mircus to represent the country with the song "Lock Me In".

Background[]

Main article: Georgia in the Eurovision Song Contest

Prior to the 2022 contest, Georgia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest thirteen times since their first entry in 2007.[1] The nation's highest placing in the contest, to this point, has been ninth place, which was achieved on two occasions: in Georgia with the song "Shine" performed by Sofia Nizharadze and in 2011 with the song "One More Day" performed by Eldrine. The nation briefly withdrew from the contest in 2009 after the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) rejected the Georgian entry, "We Don't Wanna Put In", for perceived political references to Vladimir Putin who was the Russian Prime Minister at the time.[2][3] The withdrawal and fallout was tied to tense relations between Georgia and then host country Russia, which stemmed from the 2008 Russo-Georgian War.[4] Following the introduction of semi-finals, Georgia has, to this point, failed to qualify to the final on five occasions.

The Georgian national broadcaster, Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB), broadcasts the event within Georgia and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. Georgia has selected their entry for the Eurovision Song Contest both through national finals and internal selections in the past. In 2013 and 2014, GPB opted to internally select the Georgian entry, in 2015, the Georgian entry was selected via a national final, and in 2016, the artist was internally selected while the song was chosen in a national final. For their 2017 participation, the entry was selected through a national final. In 2018 the artist was internally selected. In 2019, the entry was fully selected through Georgian Idol for the first time ever, and the show was used again to select the singer the following year. However, after the 2020 contest was cancelled, the broadcaster reverted to an internal selection in 2021, when the country was represented by Tornike Kipiani and "You". The entry failed to qualify from the second semi-final, placing 16th with 16 points.

Before Eurovision[]

Internal selection[]

On 20 September 2021, GPB confirmed their intention to take part in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022.[5] On 11 November 2021, the broadcaster confirmed that they had carried out an internal selection in collaboration with music producers, choosing a group to represent them at the contest.[6] On 14 November 2021, Circus Mircus were announced as the selected entrants.[7] Their entry "Lock Me In" was released on 9 March 2022.[8][9]

At Eurovision[]

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 25 January 2022, an allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Georgia has been placed into the second semi-final, to be held on 12 May 2022, and has been scheduled to perform in the first half of the show.[10]

References[]

  1. ^ "Georgia Country Profile". Eurovision.tv. EBU. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  2. ^ Bakker, Sietse (10 March 2009). "Georgian song lyrics do not comply with Rules". Eurovision.tv. EBU. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  3. ^ Jonze, Tim (11 March 2009). "Eurovision 2009: Georgia pulls out of contest over 'Putin song'". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  4. ^ "Putin jibe picked for Eurovision". bbc.co.uk. BBC News. 19 February 2009. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  5. ^ Jiandani, Sanjay (20 September 2021). "Georgia: GPB confirms participation at Eurovision 2022". ESCToday. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  6. ^ Jalaghonia, Tamar (11 November 2021). ევროვიზია 2021. 1TV (in Georgian). GPB. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  7. ^ "Georgia's Circus Mircus take their show to Turin". Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union (EBU). 14 November 2021. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  8. ^ Farren, Neil (8 March 2022). "