Slovenia in the Eurovision Song Contest

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Slovenia
Slovenia
Member stationRadiotelevizija Slovenija (RTVSLO)
National selection events
National Final
  • Slovenski izbor za Pesem Evrovizije
  • 1993
  • 1995
  • EMA
  • 1996–1999
  • 2001–2012
  • 2014–2020
  • 2022
  • Misija Evrovizija
  • 2012
Internal Selection
  • 2013
  • 2021
Participation summary
Appearances26 (15 finals)
First appearance1993
Highest placement7th: 1995, 2001
External links
Slovenia's page at Eurovision.tv
Song contest current event.png For the most recent participation see
Slovenia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022

Slovenia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest twenty-six times since its debut in 1993, having hosted a qualification round (Kvalifikacija za Millstreet) in Ljubljana for seven countries due to the influx of new nations wishing to join the Eurovision Song Contest.[1] Having only missed the event twice in 1994 and 2000 due to the relegation rule after a poor average score in the 1990s, Slovenia's best result is seventh position achieved on two occasions; in 1995 with "Prisluhni mi" performed by Darja Švajger and in 2001 with Nuša Derenda and "Energy".[2] Since the introduction of the semi-finals in 2004, Slovenia has qualified for the final on six occasions. As of 2021, Slovenia has not made it to the top ten since their seventh place finish in 2001, only making it to the thirteenth position in 2002 and 2011.

History[]

Omar Naber (pictured) has represented Slovenia on two occasions, in both 2005 and 2017, failing to qualify both times with "Stop" and "On My Way".

Early participation[]

After the Fall of Communism across Europe in the early 1990s and the Dissolution of Yugoslavia, newly independent Slovenia was one of seven countries that had emerged from the Eastern Bloc wishing to join the Eurovision Song Contest. Due to the influx of new countries wishing to participate, the European Broadcasting Union introduced a pre-qualifying round for countries that had either never participated in the contest at all, or in the case of former republics of Yugoslavia, had not previously competed as nations in their own right. This was, however, merely a 'sticking-plaster' measure that was plainly not a sustainable solution for future years, as it would not be seen as remotely equitable. But in the meantime, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Estonia and Slovenia were left to battle it out in a qualification round. The EBU selected Radiotelevizija Slovenija to host the event in Ljubljana.[3] Held on 3 April 1993 at the RTVSLO studios, Slovenia was one of three countries to qualify, finishing in first place with "Tih deževen dan" performed by 1X Band. The band were previously selected to represent Slovenia through RTVSLO's national selection Slovenski izbor za Pesem Evrovizije 1993. At the contest, Slovenia's debut faired reasonably poorly finishing in a mere 22nd place with just 9 points. Due to the poor result, Slovenia was relegated from the 1994 contest and had to wait until 1995 to enter again. For their return in 1995, RTVSLO organised the same national selection process as 1993 to determine their entry. Slovenski izbor za Pesem Evrovizije 1995 resulted in the selection of Darja Švajger with "Prisluhni mi". Švajger achieved Slovenia's best result to date at the contest, reaching an impressive seventh place including ten points from Greece and the United Kingdom.[4] In 1996, Radiotelevizija Slovenija introduced Slovenia's long-running national final EMA. This selection process was used every year until the country was relegated for a second time in 2000 due to a poor average score. Slovenia returned in 2001, using the EMA format again. 2001 marked the second time Slovenia achieved seventh place with Nuša Derenda and "Energy". This remains the country's most recent top ten result to date.[5]

2004–2010[]

In 2004, the EBU introduced a semi-final round in order to control the number of countries entering the contest every year. Due to not placing in the top ten the previous year, Slovenia was forced to compete in the semi-final round for the 2004 contest. After winning the national final EMA 2004, the country was represented by the duo Platin with the song "Stay Forever". The performance proved to be disastrous with Slovenia only receiving five points placing 21st out of 22, hence failing to qualify for the final. The following two years also saw Slovenia absent from the Eurovision final, with Omar Naber and Anžej Dežan both failing to qualify for the final. By 2007, Slovenia was one of only five countries that had not made an appearance in the final since 2003. EMA 2007 resulted in the victory of Alenka Gotar with her operatic pop song "Cvet z juga". This became the first ever Slovene entry to qualify for the Eurovision final, placing seventh in the semi-final with 140 points. In Slovenia's first Eurovision final appearance since 2003, Alenka Gotar reached a respectable fifteenth place with 66 points. In the three following years, Rebeka Dremelj, Quartissimo feat. Martina Majerle and Ansambel Žlindra and Kalamari all failed to qualify for the final, with the latter only receiving six points in the 2010 semi-final.[6]

Recent participation[]

After an impressive placing in 2019, RTVSLO expanded on their national final format for 2020 with a new emerging acts round EMA Freš added as a preselection for EMA

2011 saw a change in Slovenia's luck at the Eurovision Song Contest, qualifying for the final for the first time since 2007. Following her victory at the Slovene national final EMA 2011, Maja Keuc represented the nation with "No One". Participating in the second semi-final, Maja faired extremely well placing first with the juries with 146 points and seventh in the public televote with 68 points.[7] This meant that Slovenia qualified to the final in an impressive third place. In the final, Maja achieved the country's best result since 2002, placing thirteenth with 96 points.[7][8] It was later revealed that the juries placed Slovenia in fourth place with 160 points, while the public placed the entry 22nd with 39 points. Maja's song remains a fan favourite today, with the Slovenian public voting it as the nation's best ever Eurovision entry in a 2020 poll.[9]

Due to the success in 2011, Radiotelevizija Slovenija introduced a large scale national final for the 2012 contest in Baku, Azerbaijan. Misija Evrovizija was a five month long selection process that took place between August 2011 and January 2012, which resulted in the selection of two singers to advance to Misija EMA 2012 (phase two of the selection). Ultimately, Eva Boto was selected to represent the country with "Verjamem". Boto failed to qualify for the final, finishing in 17th place only ahead of Slovakia. RTV Slovenija confirmed Slovenia's participation in the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest on 15 December 2012 after speculation that a withdrawal was being considered.[10] The Slovenian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest has traditionally been selected through a national final entitled Evrovizijska Melodija (EMA), which has been produced with variable formats. For 2013, the broadcaster opted to forego the use of this national final in order to internally select the Slovenian entry due to time constraints and reduced funding.[11] RTVSLO selected Slovene-American singer Hannah Mancini with "Straight into Love". The entry finished in last place in the first semi-final with just 8 points, marking the only time to date that Slovenia has finished in last place in a Eurovision event.

For 2014, RTVSLO confirmed that they would organise EMA 2014 after being the last country to confirm participation despite more speculations over a potential withdrawal.[12] The winner of the eighteenth edition of EMA was Tinkara Kovač with "Round and Round". Kovač reached the final marking Slovenia's first final appearance since 2011. The country finished in 25th place with 9 points (8 from Montenegro and 1 from Macedonia). For the 2015 contest, Slovenia was represented by Maraaya with "Here for You". The duo qualified for the final in 5th place, including twelve points from Azerbaijan and Montenegro. In the final, Slovenia finished in 14th position with 39 points - the country's best result since 2011. Following the contest, "Here for You" went on to enter the 'Top 50 Charts' in Slovenia, Austria, Slovakia, Finland and Belgium.[13]

For the following two years, Slovenia was absent from the final with ManuElla and Omar Naber failing to qualify. However, in both 2018 and 2019 Slovenia qualified for the final twice in a row once again. Lea Sirk reached 22nd with "Hvala, ne!" and Zala Kralj & Gašper Šantl achieved fifteenth place with 105 points - the most points ever scored by Slovenia in a Eurovision final. The successful result in 2019 provoked RTVSLO to expand their national final format. In 2020, EMA FREŠ was introduced as a pre-selection for the main EMA competition. The selection gives new and upcoming Slovenian artists a chance to promote themselves and fight for a place in EMA.[14] Having won EMA 2020, Ana Soklič was due to represent Slovenia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with "Voda". However, after the contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, RTVSLO internally selected her to represent Slovenia in 2021 with "Amen". She failed to qualify for the final, finishing in 13th place with 44 points.

On 8 October 2021, Radiotelevizija Slovenija confirmed that both EMA FREŠ and EMA would return for the Slovenian selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2022, with a revamped format from the first edition.[15]

Participation overview[]

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

Prior to Yugoslavia's dissolution, artists from the Slovene federal unit represented Yugoslavia in 1961, 1962, 1966, 1967, 1970, and 1975.

Table key
1
 Winner
3
 Third place
◁
 Last place
X
 Entry selected but did not compete
†
 Upcoming
Year Entrant Song Language Place Points Semi Points
1993 1X Band "Tih deževen dan" Slovene 22 9 1[a] 54[a]
1995 Darja Švajger "Prisluhni mi" Slovene 7 84 No semi-finals
1996 Regina "Dan najlepših sanj" Slovene 21 16 19 30
1997 Tanja Ribič "Zbudi se" Slovene 10 60 No semi-finals
1998 Vili Resnik "Naj bogovi slišijo" Slovene 18 17
1999 Darja Švajger "For a Thousand Years" English 11 50
2001 Nuša Derenda "Energy" English 7 70
2002 Sestre "Samo ljubezen" Slovene 13 33
2003 Karmen Stavec "Nanana" English 23 7
2004 Platin "Stay Forever" English Failed to qualify 21 5
2005 Omar Naber "Stop" Slovene 12 69
2006 Anžej Dežan "Mr Nobody" English 16 49
2007 Alenka Gotar "Cvet z juga" Slovene 15 66 7 140
2008 Rebeka Dremelj "Vrag naj vzame" Slovene Failed to qualify 11 36
2009 Quartissimo feat. Martina Majerle "Love Symphony" English, Slovene 16 14
2010 Ansambel Žlindra and Kalamari "Narodnozabavni rock" Slovene 16 6
2011 Maja Keuc "No One" English 13 96 3 112
2012 Eva Boto "Verjamem" Slovene Failed to qualify 17 31
2013 Hannah Mancini "Straight into Love" English 16 ◁ 8
2014 Tinkara Kovač "Round and Round" English, Slovene 25 9 10 52
2015 Maraaya "Here for You" English 14 39 5 92
2016 ManuElla "Blue and Red" English Failed to qualify 14 57
2017 Omar Naber "On My Way" English 17 36
2018 Lea Sirk "Hvala, ne!" Slovene 22 64 8 132
2019 Zala Kralj and Gašper Šantl "Sebi" Slovene 15 105 6 167
2020 Ana Soklič "Voda" Slovene Contest cancelled[b] X
2021 Ana Soklič "Amen" English Failed to qualify 13 44
2022 TBD 19 February 2022 †[16] Upcoming †

Selection process[]

See also: National selections for the Eurovision Song Contest
Year Selection process
1993 Slovenski izbor za
Pesem Evrovizije with 12 participants
1995
1996 EMA with 11 participants
1997 EMA with 13 participants
1998 EMA with 14 participants
1999 EMA with 17 participants
2001 EMA with 22 participants
2002 EMA with 18 participants
2003 EMA with 16 participants
2004 EMA with 32 participants
2005 EMA with 14 participants
2006
Year Selection process
2007 EMA with 24 participants
2008 EMA with 20 participants
2009
2010
2011 EMA with 10 participants
2012 Misija Evrovizija with 32 participants
2013 Internal selection
2014 EMA with 7 participants
2015 EMA with 8 participants
2016 EMA with 10 participants
2017 EMA with 16 participants
2018
Year Selection process
2019 EMA with 10 participants
2020 EMA Freš with 18 participants
EMA with 12 participants
2021 Internal selection
2022 EMA Freš with 24 participants
EMA with 20 participants

Related involvement[]

Heads of delegation[]

The public broadcaster of each participating country in the Eurovision Song Contest assigns a head of delegation as the EBU's contact person and the leader of their delegation at the event. The delegation, whose size can greatly vary, includes a head of press, the contestants, songwriters, composers and backing vocalists, among others.[17]

Year Head of delegation Ref.
1993 Marino Stanič [18]
1995–1999
2001–2005 Miha Vardjan [19]
2006–2007 Aljoša Ternovšek [20]
2008–2022 Aleksander Radic [21]

Jury members[]

A five-member jury panel consisting of music industry professionals is made up for every participating country for the semi-finals and final of the Eurovision Song Contest, ranking all entries except for their own country's contribution. The juries' votes constitute 50% of the overall result alongside televoting.[22] The modern incarnation of jury voting was introduced beginning with the 2009 contest.[23]

Jury members
Year 1st member 2nd member 3rd member 4th member 5th member Ref.
2009 Anžej Dežan Nuša Derenda Matjaž Vlašič Aida Kurtovič Dušan Hren
2010 Urša Vlašič Miroslav Akrapovič Sandra Feketija Matjaž Bogataj Dušan Hren
2011 Mojca Menart Lovro Ravbar Nuša Derenda Eva Černe Miha Vardjan
2012 Slavko Ivančič Omar Naber Raay Lea Sirk Urša Vlašič
2013 Dušan Hren Urša Vlašič Darja Švajger Raay Katja Koren
2014 Helena Blagne Anže Langus Petrovič Robert Pikl Izak Košir Alya [24]
2015 Tinkara Kovač Andrej Šifrer Sandra Feketija Miha Gorše Alex Volasko [25]
2016 Marjetka Vovk Tadej Košir Klemen Mramor Urša Vlašič Eva Hren [26]
2017 Darja Švajger Nika Zorjan Aleksander Lavrini Gaber Radojevič Jernej Dirnbek [27]
2018 Raiven Mistermash Nikola Sekulovič Mitja Bobič Alenka Godec [28]
2019 Žiga Klančar Urša Mihevc Ula Ložar Mate Bro Urša Vlašič [29]
2021 Bojan Cvjetićanin Nuša Derenda Boštjan Grabnar Amaya Raay [30][31]

Hostings[]

Slovenia has never hosted the Eurovision Song Contest, while the European Broadcasting Union did select RTVSLO to host the qualification round for the 1993 contest in Ljubljana.[32]

Kvalifikacija za Millstreet[]

Year Location Venue Presenters
1993 Ljubljana RTV SLO Studio 1  [sl]

Conductors[]

Between 1993 and 1998, Slovenia sent a native conductor to the contest every year the country took part until the orchestra was dropped by the EBU in 1999.[33]

Year Conductor[c] Notes Ref.
1993 (KzM) Petar Ugrin [d]
1993 Jože Privšek [33]
1995 [33]
1996 [33]
1997 Mojmir Sepe [33]
1998 [e] [33]

Commentators and spokespersons[]

For the show's broadcast on RTVSLO, various commentators have provided commentary on the contest in the Slovene 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.[34] From 2014 to 2017 and in 2021, RTVSLO arranged radio broadcast on the contest for the first time since 1992.[35]

 [sl] is Slovenia's current Eurovision commentator, having previously provided commentary between 2005 and 2007, along with serving the role as Slovenian spokesperson for the contest in 1997, 1998 and 2001
Year Television Radio Spokesperson Ref.
Commentator Channel Commentator Channel
1992 Miša Molk TV SLO 1 No broadcast Did not participate
[36]
1993  [sl] Miša Molk[f]
1994  [sl] Did not participate
1995 Miša Molk
1996 Miša Molk  [sl]
1997  [sl]
1998
1999 Mira Berginc
2000 Did not participate
2001 Andrea F Mojca Mavec
2002 Nuša Derenda
2003 Peter Poles
2004
2005 Mojca Mavec Katarina Čas
2006 Peter Poles
2007 TV SLO 1 (final)
TV SLO 2 (semi-final)
2008  [sl]
[37]
2009
2010 TV SLO 1 Andrea F
2011 TV SLO 1 (final)
TV SLO 2 (semi-finals)		 Klemen Slakonja [38]
2012 Lorella Flego [39]
2013 Andrea F [40]
2014 Andrej Hofer Radio Val 202
Radio Maribor		  [sl] [41]
2015 Tinkara Kovač [42]
2016 Marjetka Vovk [43]
2017 Katarina Čas [44]
2018 No broadcast Amaya [45][46]
[47][48]
2019 Lea Sirk [49][50]
2021 Mojca Mavec Mojca Mavec RTV 4D
Radio Val 202		 Lorella Flego [51][52]
[53][54]
2022 TBA TBA
  • From 1961 until 1991, Slovenia competed as part of Yugoslavia and broadcast the contest with Slovenian commentary every year during their span of participation.

Other shows[]

Show Commentators Channel Ref.
Kvalifikacija za Millstreet  [sl] TV SLO 1
Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest  [sl]
Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits No commentary
Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light Andrej Hofer
[55]

Photogallery[]

See also[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ a b Kvalifikacija za Millstreet served as the semi-final round for the 1993 contest.
  2. ^ The 2020 contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  3. ^ All conductors are of Slovene nationality unless otherwise noted.
  4. ^ Musical director; also conducted the Hungarian entry. The closing music was conducted by Mojmir Sepe.
  5. ^ Sepe was intended to conduct the 1998 entry, but a dispute with the songwriter led to it being performed to a backing track. Sepe still took the conductor's bow and cued in the music.
  6. ^ The spokesperson from the prequalifying round was Mojmir Sepe

References[]

  1. ^ "Kvalifikacija za Millstreet". 4Lyrics.eu. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  2. ^ "Eurovision - Country: Slovenia". Eurovision. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  3. ^ KENNEDY O’CONNOR John, The Eurovision Song Contest. 50 Years. The Official History, London, Carlton Books Limited, 2005, p.133.
  4. ^ "Results of the Final of Dublin 1995". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  5. ^ "Eurovision - Country: Slovenia". Eurovision. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  6. ^ "Results of the Second Semi-Final of Oslo 2010". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 28 April 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  7. ^ a b Bakker, Sietse (26 May 2011). "EBU reveals split televoting and jury results". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 28 May 2011. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  8. ^ "Grand Final of Düsseldorf 2011". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 30 April 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  9. ^ "No one like her: Maja Keuc's "No One" is voted Slovenia's favourite homegrown Eurovision entry". wiwibloggs. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  10. ^ Jiandani, Sanjay (15 December 2012). "Slovenia confirms participation". Esctoday.com.
  11. ^ Webb, Glenn (23 January 2013). "Slovenia to choose 2013 entry internally". Eurovision.tv.
  12. ^ "Slovenia: Decision on participation postponed to January". Eurovoix. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  13. ^ "Slovenia: 2016 Participation Decision By End of September". Eurovoix. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  14. ^ "EMA Freš". rtvslo.si (in Slovenian). 17 January 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  15. ^ "