Bosnia and Herzegovina at the Eurovision Song Contest

Balance sheet

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Broadcasting company

First participation

1993

Last participation so far

2016

Number of participations

19 (as of 2016)

Highest ranking

3 ( 2006 )

Highest Score

229 (2006)

Lowest Score

13 ( 1996 )

Points average (since first post)

70.84 (as of 2016)

Average points per voting country in the 12-point system

2.23 (as of 2016)

This article deals with the history of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a participant in the Eurovision Song Contest .

Participation before 1993

→ Main article : Yugoslavia at the Eurovision Song Contest

Even before 1993, Bosnia-Herzegovina, as part of the SFR Yugoslavia, could look back on 30 years of Eurovision history. A total of five Yugoslav contributions were made by the Bosnian-Herzegovinian broadcaster TV Sarajevo:

• 1964 - Sabahudin Kurt could not convince with Život je sklopio krug in Copenhagen and took 13th place out of 16 participants.
• 1965 - Croatian singer Vice Vukov with Čežnja reached 12th place in Naples .
• 1973 - Zdravko Čolić with Gori vatra reached 15th place in Luxembourg .
• 1976 - The Ambasadori group just missed last place in The Hague with Ne mogu skriti svoj bol and came in 17th.
• 1981 - The last Bosnian representative, Seid-Memić Vajta , came in 15th with Lejla in Dublin .

Regularity of participation and successes in competition

Dino Merlin 2011 was the last Bosnian performer to achieve a placement in the top ten

After the split from Yugoslavia, Bosnia and Herzegovina first took part in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1993. After the successful qualification via the Eastern European preliminary decision, the country started a mediocre debut at the Song Contest with 16th place. In the following year, Bosnia & Herzegovina again reached only a place in the midfield with position 15. In 1995 Davor Popović ended up only in 19th place out of 23 and thus in the lower midfield. Then in 1996 the worst place in the competition followed. Amila Glamočak only reached the penultimate place and with 13 points Bosnia and Herzegovina's lowest score to date. Since only 18th place was reached in 1997, Bosnia had to sit out of the competition in 1998. Finally, eligibility to participate was calculated on the basis of the points scored in the last five participations. Only in 1999 was the country allowed to return to the competition. The duo Dino & Beatrice then achieved Bosnia and Herzegovina's best result so far. Finally, her song Putnici landed in 7th place, which was still not good enough, so that the country had to suspend again in 2000. The country was only allowed to participate again in 2001.

When he returned in 2001, an average result of 14th place was achieved. In 2002 and 2003, positions 15 and 16 were again placed in the middle of the field. It was not until 2004 that the country was able to achieve a good result again. The singer Deen reached number 9 with his song In the Disco . In 2005 Feminnem could not repeat this success and only achieved a place in midfield with 14th place. In 2006, however, Bosnia and Herzegovina achieved its best result to date. The group Hari Mata Hari was able to reach 2nd place in the semifinals and 3rd place in the final. With 229 points, the number of points to date is Bosnia and Herzegovina's highest score ever achieved in the competition. In the following years, too, things went a lot better for the country at the Song Contest. In 2007, Marija Šestić just missed a place in the top ten with 11th place. In 2008 and 2009, the Bosnian performers took 10th and 9th place, two consecutive places in the top ten. It was not until 2010 that the country was no longer so successful.

In 2010 Vukašin Brajić reached 17th place in the final, the worst result for the country since 1997. However, 2011 was all the more successful for Bosnia and Herzegovina. Dino Merlin, who already represented the country with Beatrice in 1999 and took 7th place, returned to the ESC in 2011 with his song Love in Rewind . With 6th place in the final, he achieved the second best result for the country at the ESC to date. Maya Sar, who played the background vocals for Dino Merlin in 2011, was allowed to compete for the country in 2012, but could not repeat the success of the previous year. So she reached the final, but with 18th place only got an average placement. In 2013 the country withdrew from the competition due to financial difficulties. In 2014 and 2015, too, the country was unable to solve these difficulties and stayed away from competition. It wasn't until 2016 that the country returned to competition.

In 2016, the return was only possible because the broadcaster in Almir Ajanović found a sponsor who financed the entire participation. He was also instrumental in the song Bosnia and Herzegovina 2016. The broadcaster BHRT did not have to provide any money for participation either. In 2016, the country was represented by Dalal, Deen, Ana Rucner and Jala. With their song Ljubav je they only reached 11th place in the semifinals, making them the first performers in the country to not reach the final. In the same year , the country and Greece lost the status of having qualified for the final every time. In 2017, the country withdrew from the competition because the station's financial situation remained poor. For 2018 and 2019, BHRT also canceled, as the broadcaster has now accumulated so much debt that the country is no longer allowed to participate in EBU events.

A total of 7 of the 19 entries ended up in the left half of the table. In addition, the country has so far missed the final once and has never reached the last place. With a third place and five other places in the top ten, Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the average successful countries in the competition.

List of posts

Color legend: - 1st place. - 2nd place. - 3rd place. - Equal points with last place. - Eliminated in the semifinals / in the qualification / in the Eastern European preliminary decision. - no participation / not qualified.     

year	Interpreter	Title Music (M) and Text (T)	language	translation	final		Semi-final / qualification		National preliminary decision
					space	Points	space	Points
1993	Fazla	Sva bol svijeta M: Dino Merlin ; T: Fahrudin Pecikoza-Peca, Dino Merlin	Bosnian	All the pain in the world	16/25	27	2/7	52	BH Eurosong 1993
1994	Alma & Dejan	Ostani kraj mene M: Adi Mulahalilović; T: Edo Mulahalilović	Bosnian	stay with me	15/25	39	Qualified directly for the final		BH Eurosong 1994
1995	Before that, Popović	Dvadeset i prvi vijek M: Sinan Alimanović, Zlatan Fazlić; T: Zlatan Fazlić	Bosnian	The 21st century	19/23	14th			BH Eurosong 1995
1996	Amila Glamočak	Za našu ljubav M: Sinan Alimanović, Adnan Bajramović, Aida Frljak; T: Adnan Bajramović	Bosnian	For our love	22/23	13	21/29	29	BH Eurosong 1996
1997	Alma Čardžić	Goodbye M: Milić Vukašinović, Sinan Alimanović; T: Milić Vukašinović	Bosnian a.	Goodbye	18/25	22nd	Qualified directly for the final		BH Eurosong 1997
1998	Not qualified
1999	Dino & Beatrice	Putnici M / T: Edin Dervišhalidović	Bosnian, French	traveler	7/23	86	Qualified directly for the final		BH Eurosong 1998
2000	Not qualified
2001	Nino Pršeš	Hano M / T: Nino Pršeš	Bosnian, English	Hannah	14/23	29	Qualified directly for the final		BH Eurosong 2001
2002	Maja Tatić	Na jastuku za dvoje (На јастуку за двоје) M: Dragan Mijatović; T: Ružica Čavić	Serbian , English	On a pillow for two	15/24	33			BH Eurosong 2002
2003	Mija Martina	Ne brini (Could It Be?) M: Ines Prajo; T: Arjana Kunštek	Croatian , English	Don't you worry (can it be?)	16/26	27			BH Eurosong 2003
2004	Deen	In the Disco M / T: Vesna Pisarović	English	At the disco	9/24	91	7/22	133	BH Eurosong 2004
2005	Feminine	Call Me M / T: Andrej Babić	English	call me	14/24	79	Qualified directly for the final		BH Eurosong 2005
2006	Hari Mata Hari	Lejla M: Željko Joksimović ; T: Fahrudin P.-Peca, Dejan Ivanović	Bosnian	Lejla	3/24	229	2/23	267	internal selection
2007	Marija Šestić	Rijeka bez imena M: Goran Kovačić; T: Aleksandra Milutinović	Serbian	River with no name	11/24	106	Qualified directly for the final		internal selection
2008	Elvir Laković Laka	Pokušaj M / T: Elvir Lakovic Laka	Bosnian	attempt	10/25	110	9/19	72	internal selection
2009	Regina	Bistra voda M / T: Aleksandar Čović	Bosnian	Clear water	9/25	106	3/18	125	internal selection
2010	Vukašin Brajić	Thunder and Lightning M: Edin-Dino Šaran; T: Edin-Dino Šaran, Ulvija Tanović, Vukašin Brajić	English	lightning and thunder	17/25	51	8/17	59	internal selection
2011	Dino Merlin	Love in Rewind M / T: Dino Merlin	English, Bosnian	Love rewound	6/25	125	5/19	109	internal selection
2012	Maya Sar	Korake ti znam M: Maya Sar; T: Mahir Sarihodzic, Adriano Pennino	Bosnian	I know your steps	18/26	55	6/18	77	internal selection
2013 2014 2015	No participation
2016	Dalal & Deen feat. Ana Rucner & Jala	Ljubav je M: Almir Ajanović; T: Almir Ajanović, Jasmin Fazlić Jala	Bosnian	love is	"Eliminated"		11/18	104	internal selection
since 2017	No participation

^a. with English title

National preliminary decisions

Up until 2005, all Bosnian contributions were selected in a national preliminary decision, using different procedures. In 1993, eleven artists each presented a title before a jury determined the winner. From 1994 to 1997 the Bosnian representatives were selected internally and from 1994 to 1996 each presented eight titles, and in 1997 ten titles. In 1994 the songs were not performed live, but recorded as videos beforehand; only short excerpts were shown. 1999 to 2003 there was again a classic preliminary round like 1993, the number of participants fluctuated between 16 and 19. In 2004 Deen was selected internally and sang five songs in the preliminary round; In addition to a jury, televoting was used for the first time to vote. In 2005 there was another classic preliminary round, this time with 14 participants. From 2006 to 2012, BHRT then selected its interpreters and their songs internally. The songs were then presented to the audience for the first time in a large gala broadcast. This system was also used when they returned in 2016.

languages

According to the rules, the contributions from 1993 to 1997 were mostly presented in Bosnian , but as early as 1997, with the English title Goodbye, there was a tendency towards multilingual contributions: In 1999, in addition to Bosnian, French was sung, in 2001, 2002 and 2003 in Bosnian and English . In 2004 and 2005 the songs were sung entirely in English, while the country returned to the national language in 2006. In 2010 and 2011, Bosnia and Herzegovina reverted to the English language. In 2012 and 2016, however, the country decided to sing in Bosnian again.

Scoring

The following countries received the most points from or awarded the most points to Bosnia and Herzegovina (as of 2018):

Most of the points awarded in the final space country Points 1  Croatia 115 2  Turkey 95 3  Serbia 76 4th  Slovenia 61 5  France 59

Most in the final received points space country Points 1  Croatia 144 2  Turkey 129 3  Slovenia 100 4th  Austria 74  Sweden 74

Most of the points awarded space country Points 1  Croatia 176 2  Turkey 133 3  North Macedonia 114 4th  Serbia 110  Slovenia 110

Most total obtained points space country Points 1  Croatia 194 2  Turkey 175 3  Slovenia 151 4th  Sweden 127 5  North Macedonia 116

Award of the highest rating

Since its debut in 1993, Bosnia and Herzegovina has awarded the highest number of points to twelve different countries, four of which to Serbia.

Sustaining land
year	country	space
1993	Austria	14th
1994	Malta	5
1995	Malta	10
1996	Ireland	1
1997	Turkey	3
1998	Not qualified
1999	Sweden	1
2000	Not qualified
2001	France	4th
2002	Sweden	8th
2003	Turkey	1
2004	Serbia and Montenegro	2
2005	Croatia	11
2006	Croatia	12
2007	Serbia	1
2008	Serbia	6th
2009	Croatia	18th
2010	Serbia	13
2011	Slovenia	13
2012	North Macedonia	13
2013 2014 2015	No participation
2016	Ukraine (J)	1
	Serbia (T)	18th
since 2017	No participation

Impressions

• 

  Deen 2004

• 

  Marija Šestić 2007

• 

  Laka 2008

• 

  Vukašin Brajić 2010

• 

  Deen and Dalal 2016

Individual evidence

1. ↑ 39 countries to take part in Eurovision 2013
2. ^ Bosnia & Herzegovina: Eurovision Participation Will Not Cost BHRT Anything
3. ↑ Bosnia & Herzegovina: BHRT will not participate in Eurovision 2017
4. ^ Bosnia & Herzegovina: BHRT Turns Down Ralph Siegel's Eurovision Participation Sponsorship
5. ↑ Eurovision Song Contest National Finals Homepage (accessed November 6, 2009)