1.
Yugoslavia in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Yugoslavia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 27 times, debuting in 1961 and competing every year until its last appearance in 1992, with the exceptions of 1977–1980 and 1985. Yugoslavia won the 1989 contest and hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 1990, ljiljana Petrović was Yugoslavias first entrant in the contest in 1961 and placed eighth. In 1962, Lola Novaković gave the country its first top five result and this would remain Yugoslavias only top five result until 1983, when Danijel finished fourth with the song Džuli. Novi Fosili also finished fourth in 1987 with Ja sam za ples, in 1989, the country achieved its only victory in the contest, when Riva won with the song Rock Me. The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1961, the first to compete in 1961 were Belgrade, Ljubljana and Zagreb, while the others joined in the following years. During its existence, SFR Yugoslavia was represented by a variety of artists from five of the eight Yugoslav federal units and these artists were from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia, with Macedonia, Vojvodina, and Kosovo never passing the national pre-selection. Croatia was the most successful constituent republic, as its performers won the national contest 13 out of the 26 times SFR Yugoslavia took part in the contest, from 1977 to 1980, and in 1985, Yugoslavia didnt participate in the contest. The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia won the Eurovision Song Contest 1989 with the song Rock Me by the group Riva, following the rules of the contest, the Eurovision Song Contest 1990 took place in Zagreb, as the entry came from Croatia. On 28 March 1992, the countries that still constituted the fading and it included artists not only from Serbia and Montenegro, but also from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Although the latter declared independence on 1 March of that year, among it candidates was Alma Čardžić. The winner of that pre-selection was Ljubim te pesmama performed by Extra Nena from Serbia, Yugoslavia was banned from participating in the Song Contest until 2004 due to UN sanctions during the Yugoslav Wars and the Croatian War of Independence. After the dissolution of SFR Yugoslavia its former constituent republics proclaimed independence, the once subnational public radio and TV stations changed to national but under new names, including, RTV Slovenia, HRT, RTS, MKRTV and so on. Since joining the EBU respectively, all of the countries have participated in the Eurovision Song Contest, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro. The following lists the 27 contestants that won the local competition, note that the selected entries of 1978–1980 and 1985 did not actually compete at the contest, as Yugoslavia did not participate during those years because of internal political reasons. Yugoslavia is one of the few countries that have sent all the songs in one of the official languages, despite this Yugoslavia have had organized national finale for 1978,1979,1980 as part of Opatija music festival. Opatija was not held in 1977, points to and from Yugoslavia eurovisioncovers. co. uk
2.
Serbia in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Serbia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest nine times since making its debut in 2007. Serbia previously participated as part of Yugoslavia and as Serbia and Montenegro, Serbia won the contest on its debut as an Independent country in 2007, with Marija Šerifović and the song Molitva. The countrys next best result is Željko Joksimovićs third place in 2012, Serbia also reached the top ten in 2008 and 2015. In 1989 Yugoslavia won the Eurovision Song Contest for the time in their history, with Rock Me, sung in Croatian. Serbias debut entry as an independent nation, the ballad Molitva by Marija Šerifović, won the Eurovision Song Contest 2007, Serbia became the first country that won with debut entry after Switzerlands win at the first edition. After this, they were the host of the 2008 contest in the Serbian capital of Belgrade, the second Serbian entry, performed in Belgrade was written by past entrant for Serbia as part of Serbia and Montenegro and contest host Željko Joksimović. The song Oro, a ballad, performed by Jelena Tomašević came 6th. In 2009, Serbia selected Marko Kon and Milaan to represent them in the second semi-final on 14 May, the duo failed to qualify for the final for the first time in Serbias history in the contest. In 2010, Milan Stanković was selected to represent the country in the contest with Ovo je Balkan, a song with ethno elements. It qualified for the final and in the end achieved 13th place with 72 points, in 2011, Nina was selected with her 60s inspired song, Čaroban. She was accompanied with three singers who would be dancing throughout the performance. In the semi-finals She performed 6th and qualified for the final, in the final, she performed 24th and achieved 14th place. Željko Joksimović represented Serbia in 2012 in Azerbaijan, Baku with the song Nije ljubav stvar, on the second semi-finals he took second place, while he finished third in the final, below second-placed Russia and the winner, Sweden. Moje 3 represented Serbia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö with the song Ljubav je svuda and they would finish 11th in the first semi-final, therefore not qualifying for the final. This was the time that Serbia did not qualify for the final. In April 2014, Serbia announced that they will broadcast all three shows, in addition, they said that it is likely to return at 2015 and that they will probably hold a national selection to find their representative. On 26 September 2014, it was reported that Serbia had decided to return to the 2015 contest to be held in Austrian capital, on 15 February 2015 Serbia chose their own representative in emission Odbrojavanje za Beč. Odbrojavanje za Beč is the national final organised by RTS in order to select the Serbian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2015, the selection featured three songs composed by Vladimir Graić, the composer of Serbias winning entry Molitva in 2007
3.
Montenegro in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Montenegro debuted at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2007. Previously it participated as part of Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro, the 2005 entrants from Serbia and Montenegro, No Name, were from Montenegro, as were the 1983 and 1984 entrants for Yugoslavia. Since Montenegro became an independent state on 21 May 2006, the nation has taken part in the Eurovision Song Contest, the country made its solo debut in the 2007 contest and so far has managed mediocre results with qualifying twice for the grand final. It contributed for some good results for Ex-Yugoslavia and Serbia. 2009 saw the third best result to date finishing 11th place in the first semi-final. In November 2009 RTCG announced that Montenegro would withdraw from the 2010 contest, RTCG submitted an application for the 2011 contest, which was held in Düsseldorf, Germany. For the next years after 2007, Montenegro have been starting the first semi-final for three years in a row until 2013 when they were allocated to the half of the first semi-final. In 2014, Montenegro qualified for the Grand Final for the first time in its history with Sergej Ćetkovićs Moj svijet, in 2015, Montenegro qualified for the Grand Final for the second time with Knez who performed song Adio, composed by Zeljko Joksimovic. Song Adio has two versions, on English and French language, Knez managed their best result ever, finishing in the 13th place. ^ Contains some phrases in Montenegrin and German, as of 20163, Montenegros voting history is as follows,3. Montenegro in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest Serbia and Montenegro in the Eurovision Song Contest Yugoslavia in the Eurovision Song Contest Points to and from Montenegro eurovisioncovers. co. uk
4.
Serbia and Montenegro
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Serbia and Montenegro, officially the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, was a country in Southeast Europe, created from the two remaining republics of Yugoslavia after its breakup in 1992. The republics of Serbia and Montenegro together established a federation in 1992 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the FRY aspired to be a sole legal successor to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, but those claims were opposed by other former republics. The United Nations also denied its request to continue the membership of the former state. It re-applied for UN membership on 27 October and was admitted on 1 November 2000, the FRY was initially dominated by Slobodan Milošević as President of Serbia and then President of Yugoslavia. Milošević installed and forced the removal of several presidents and prime ministers. However, the Montenegrin government, initially enthusiastic supporters of Milošević, a loose union, Serbia and Montenegro were united only in certain realms, such as defense. The two constituent republics functioned separately throughout the period of the Federal Republic, and continued to operate under separate economic policies, on 21 May 2006, the Montenegrin independence referendum was held, and 55. 5% of voters voted in favor of independence. The state union came to an end after Montenegros formal declaration of independence on 3 June 2006, after the dissolution, Serbia became the legal successor of the union, while Montenegro re-applied for membership in international organizations. With the collapse of communism across Eastern Europe, the new state followed the wave of democratic change, Yugoslavias collapse began in 1991 when Slovenia, Croatia, and the Republic of Macedonia declared independence. On 26 December 1991, Serbia, Montenegro, and the Serb rebel-held territories in Croatia agreed that they would form a new third Yugoslavia. Zulfikarpašić believed that Bosnia could benefit from a union with Serbia, Montenegro, the FRY was suspended from a number of international institutions. This was due to the ongoing Yugoslav wars during the 1990s, the Government of Yugoslavia supported Croatian and Bosnian Serbs in the wars from 1992 to 1995. Because of that, the country was under economic and political sanctions, in this way, every Bosnian Serb was transferred from the Yugoslav army to what became the newly created Bosnian Serb Army. Through this, the Bosnian Serb army also received military equipment and full funding from the FRY. Furthermore, Serbian Radical Party founder and paramilitary Vojislav Šešelj claimed that President Milošević personally asked him to send paramilitaries into Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 1995, Serbian President Slobodan Milošević represented the FRY and Bosnian Serbs at peace talks in Dayton, Ohio, US, from 1996, the first public signs of political discord between parts of Montenegrin leadership and the Serbian leadership began to appear. Milošević did not respond to the platform, considering it unconstitutional, by October 2000 Milošević had lost power in Serbia. Subsequent governments of Montenegro carried out policies, and political tensions with Serbia simmered despite political changes in Belgrade
5.
Eurovision Song Contest 2004
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The Eurovision Song Contest 2004 was the 49th Eurovision Song Contest and it was held in the Abdi İpekçi Arena in Istanbul, Turkey. This was the first occasion in which the contest was held in Turkey after they had won the competition in 2003 with Sertab Erener singing Everyway That I Can, the hosting national broadcaster of the contest was Turkish Radio and Television Corporation. Ukrainian singer Ruslana won the contest with Wild Dances and it is notable that this was only Ukraines second participation in the contest. This was also the year in a row in which the contest was won by a woman. To accommodate the number of countries who wished to participate. The countries which didnt qualify for the final are normally calculate like participating countries, the contest was held in Istanbul following Turkeys victory in the 2003 contest in Riga, Latvia with Sertab Ereners Everyway That I Can. Originally the Mydonose Showland was chosen by TRT to host the event, korhan Abay and Meltem Cumbul were presenters of the show. In the semi-final and the final, Meltem Cumbul warmed up the audience with a sing-a-long of Eurovision classic Nel blu dipinto di blu, originally by Domenico Modugno. Sertab Erener returned to the stage in the final to perform Everyway That I Can, the 2003 winning song, Sertab also interviewed contestants in the green room. The Turkish dance ensemble Fire of Anatolia performed as the interval act, an official CD was released and, for the first time, the entire contest was released on DVD which included the Semi-Final and the Grand Final. The contests new official logo was used for the first time this year. The slogan for Istanbuls contest was Under The Same Sky, which communicated the importance of a united Europe and this year was also notable as it was the first year that Turkey voted for Cyprus and the second year in a row that Cyprus voted for Turkey. Nevertheless, in a move that angered some Cypriots, when the country presented its votes no map of the island was shown and this was due to Turkeys recognition of the northern half of the island as an independent republic. It is likely Turkey pulled out of showing the map because it would have highlighted the southern portion of the island. This was also the first year that the scores were only re-read by the hosts in one language. Before 2004 every point was repeated in French and English, but due to 36 countries voting and this was in the opposite of the original country representative spoke in. Also, this year was the first time in which a non-winning entry scored over 200 points, prior to this contest, only Rock n Roll Kids and Love Shine a Light, the winners in 1994 and 1997 had passed this mark. In this contest, all songs in the top 3 got over 200 points and this years Eurovision contest was the first to be a two-day event, with one qualifying round held on a Wednesday and the grand final held on the following Saturday
6.
Eurovision Song Contest 2005
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The Eurovision Song Contest 2005 was the 50th annual Eurovision Song Contest. The contest took place at the Palace of Sports in Kiev, Ukraine, the contest consisted of two shows, the semi-final and final, which took place on 19 and 21 May 2005, respectively. The shows were hosted by Maria Efrosinina and Pavlo Shylko, thirty-nine countries participated, including the débuts of Bulgaria and Moldova and the return of Hungary, which was last represented in 1998. The winner for 2005 was Greece with the song My Number One performed by Helena Paparizou, written by Christos Dantis and Natalia Germanou and it scored 230 points, beating Malta into second place by a margin of 38 points. This was the first victory for Greece at the Eurovision Song Contest, romania, Israel and Latvia rounded out the top five. The Big Four countries ended up as the Last Four, all placing in the four position of the scoreboard in the final. The official logo of the contest remained the same from the 2004 contest with the flag in the heart being changed. Following Istanbuls Under The Same Sky, the slogan for the 2005 show was Awakening, the postcards for the 2005 show illustrated Ukraine’s culture and heritage along with a more modern and industrial side to the country. The hosts of the Eurovision Song Contest in Kiev were television presenter Maria Masha Efrosinina, previous winner Ruslana returned to the stage in Kiev to perform in the interval act and to interview the contestants backstage in the green room. The famous Ukrainian boxers Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko opened the televoting, while a special trophy was presented to the winner by Ukraines president, Viktor Yushchenko. An official CD and DVD was released and a new introduction was an official pin set, the EBU also commissioned a book The Eurovision Song Contest – The Official History by British/American author John Kennedy OConnor to celebrate the contests fiftieth anniversary. The book was presented on screen during the break between songs 12 and 13, the book was published in English, German, French, Dutch, Swedish, Danish and Finnish. During the semi final, there were a few volume falls in the sound, most notably during the Norwegian song and these were not fixed for the DVD release. 2005 was no exception for scandals regarding the representatives from the countries participating, germanys entrant in the Eurovision Song Contest rejected calls to quit after her producer admitted manipulating the countrys pop charts with mass purchases of her single. Gracia Baur defended her producer David Brandes, also behind Swiss entry Vanilla Ninja, bulgarias debut was overshadowed by a scandal. The song Lorraine by Kaffe was accused of plagiarism, the song sounded too similar to another one released by Ruslan Mainov in 2001. There were also problems in Malta with the electricity supply during the contest, there was a controversy regarding the Turkish entry, TRT got a false jury which led to the victory of the song Gülseren, which the 2003 winner Sertab Erener said was not the best choice. There were similar controversies in Macedonia which led to a victory for Martin Vučić
7.
Podgorica
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Podgorica is the capital and largest city of Montenegro. The city was also called Titograd between 1946 and 1992 when Montenegro was part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Podgoricas favourable position at the confluence of the Ribnica and Morača rivers and the meeting point of the fertile Zeta Plain and Bjelopavlići Valley has encouraged settlement. The city is close to winter ski centres in the north, the citys population was 204,877 in the 2011 census. The Podgorica Municipality contains 10. 4% of Montenegros territory and 29. 9% of its population and it is the administrative centre of Montenegro and its economic, cultural and educational focus. The name Podgorica means below the hill, Gorica being the name of the cypress-covered hill that overlooks the city centre. Some three kilometres north-west of Podgorica lie the ruins of Roman-era Doclea, from which Roman Emperor Diocletian hailed, in later centuries, Romans corrected the name to Dioclea, guessing wrongly that an i had been lost in vulgar speech. Duklja is the version of that word. When founded, the town was called Birziminium, in the Middle Ages, it was known as Ribnica. The name Podgorica was used from 1326, from 1946 to 1992, the city was named Titograd in honour of Josip Broz Tito, the former President of Yugoslavia. Podgorica is located in central Montenegro, the area is crossed with rivers and the city itself is only 15 kilometres north of Lake Skadar. The Morača and Ribnica rivers flow through the city, while the Zeta, Cijevna, Sitnica and Mareza flow nearby. Morača is the largest river in the city, being 70 m or 230 ft wide near downtown, except for the Morača and Zeta, other rivers have an appearance of small creeks. The richness in bodies of water is a feature of the city. In contrast to most of Montenegro, Podgorica lies in a flat area at the northern end of the Zeta plain. The only exceptions are hills which overlook the city, the most significant is 130.3 m high Gorica Hill, citys namesake, which rises above the city centre. The other hills include Malo brdo, Velje brdo, Ljubović, in the main, these are too steep for development and thus limit the citys expansion, especially to the north. However, urbanization has been encroaching on the slopes of the hills since 1990s. Podgorica city proper has an area of 108 square kilometres, while actual urbanized area is much smaller, the mean annual rainfall is 1,600 mm
8.
Montenegro
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Montenegro is a sovereign state in Southeastern Europe. Its capital and largest city is Podgorica, while Cetinje is designated as the Old Royal Capital. In the 9th century, three Slavic principalities were in the territory of Montenegro, Duklja, roughly corresponding to the half, Travunia, the west, and Rascia. In 1042, archon Stefan Vojislav led a revolt that resulted in the independence of Duklja, Duklja reached its zenith under Vojislavs son, Mihailo, and his grandson Bodin. By the 13th century, Zeta had replaced Duklja when referring to the realm. In the late 14th century, southern Montenegro came under the rule of the Balšić noble family, then the Crnojević noble family, large portions fell under the control of the Ottoman Empire from 1496 to 1878. Parts were controlled by Venice and the First French Empire and Austria-Hungary, from 1515 until 1851, the prince-bishops of Cetinje were the rulers. The House of Petrović-Njegoš ruled the country from 1697 to 1918, from 1918, it was a part of Kingdom of Yugoslavia, which was succeeded by SFR Yugoslavia in 1945, FR Yugoslavia in 1992, and subsequently by the state union of Serbia and Montenegro in 2003. On the basis of a referendum held on 21 May 2006. Montenegro is also a candidate negotiating to join the European Union, on 2 December 2015, Montenegro received an official invitation to join NATO, whereby it would be the 29th member country. This invitation was meant to start accession talks. The countrys name in most Western European languages reflects an adaptation of the Venetian Montenegro, many other languages, particularly nearby ones, use their own direct translation of the term black mountain. Examples are the Albanian name for the country, Mali i Zi, the Greek name Μαυροβούνιο, the Chinese name 黑山, all Slavic languages use slight variations on the Montenegrin name Crna Gora, examples include the Czech Černá Hora and the Polish Czarnogóra. Chechen and Ingush people call the country Ӏаьржаламанчоь, the name Crna Gora came to denote the majority of contemporary Montenegro only in the 15th century. The aforementioned region became known as Old Montenegro by the 19th century to distinguish it from the acquired territory of Brda. Its borders have changed little since then, losing Metohija and gaining the Bay of Kotor, the ISO Alpha-2 code for Montenegro is ME and the Alpha-3 Code is MNE. By 1000 BC, a common Illyrian language and culture had spread across much of the Balkans, interaction amongst groups was not always friendly – hill forts were the most common form of settlement – but distinctive Illyrian art forms such as amber and bronze jewellery evolved. In time, the Illyrians established a federation of tribes centred in what is now Macedonia
9.
Eurovision Song Contest 1961
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The Eurovision Song Contest 1961 was the sixth Eurovision Song Contest. It was held on 18 March 1961 and was the first to place on a Saturday night. It was hosted in the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès located in Cannes, France, Luxembourg won for its first time with the song Nous les amoureux performed in French by Jean-Claude Pascal. As the contest overran its time, and the show was being broadcast live. The original building was built in 1949 and was located on the boulevard of Promenade de la Croisette and it also hosted the 1959 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. Jacqueline Joubert presented the show, having already done so two years earlier in 1959, the stage used for the 1961 Contest was notably larger than in previous years and was decorated with flowers. It is noticeable that during the voting, Luxembourg gave the UK8 points and it was the largest amount of points given to a country by a single jury since 1958, when Denmark provided France with 9 points. Such a high number of obtained by a country wouldnt be achieved until 1970. A total of sixteen countries took part in the Contest, including the three debuting countries, Finland, Spain, and Yugoslavia, there were no returning or withdrawing countries this particular year. Each performance had a conductor who maestro the orchestra, each country had 10 jury members who each awarded 1 point to their favourite song. The table below shows the order in which votes were cast during the 1961 contest along with the spokesperson who was responsible for announcing the votes for their respective country. Each national broadcaster sent a commentator to the contest, in order to provide coverage of the contest in their own native language. Details of the commentators and the station for which they represented are also included in the table below. All the juries announced their votes in French
10.
Eurovision Song Contest 1989
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The Eurovision Song Contest 1989 was the 34th annual Eurovision Song Contest. It was held on 6 May 1989 in Lausanne, Switzerland, the program was presented by Lolita Morena and Jacques Deschenaux. Riva, representing Yugoslavia, won with the song Rock Me and this was the only victory for Yugoslavia as a unified state. The United Kingdoms Ray Caruana, lead singer with Live Report was outspoken about coming second to what he considered a less worthy song. They had been defeated by 7 points, two of the performers, Nathalie Pâque and Gili Natanael were respectively 11 and 12 years old at their time of competing. Due to bad publicity surrounding their participation, the European Broadcasting Union introduced the rule stating no performer is allowed to take part before the year of their 16th birthday. The previous years winner, Celine Dion, opened the show with a performance of her winning song. The song went on to become a top ten hit in the US a year later - effectively launching her into international success. Each country had a jury who awarded 12,10,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 point for their top ten songs
11.
Rock Me (Riva song)
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Rock Me was the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 1989, performed by Riva, representing Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the first and only time that this country would win the Contest. The song was performed in Croatian, during the winners encore lead vocalist Emilija Kokić sang the song in English. The songs victory led to international awareness of Yugoslav/Croatian rock, rivas frontress Emilija Kokić continued to appear in various shows but had no significant success after the 1989 victory. The song was succeeded as winner in 1990 by Toto Cutugno representing Italy with Insieme,1992
12.
Eurovision Song Contest 1992
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The Eurovision Song Contest 1992 was the 37th Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 9 May 1992 in Malmö, Sweden. The presenters were Lydia Cappolicchio and Harald Treutiger, Linda Martin, representing Ireland, was the winner of this Eurovision with the song Why Me. The song was written by Johnny Logan, who had won the 1980 contest as singer and the 1987 contest as singer/songwriter. The contest took place at the ice arena of Malmö where the stage set was in the shape of a Viking ships bow with a dragon in the centre. The opening sequence included women dressed in the Swedish colours of yellow and blue, the filmic postcard tradition was continued with clips based on each country. Last years winner, Carola, appeared on stage in a dress with sheer sleeves. However, the Irish sent Linda Martin, who had the past experience of coming in 2nd place in the 1984 contest, but also paired up again with Johnny Logan. In the end, Ireland won the contest with a 16-point lead over the United Kingdom, malta with Little Child, performed by Mary Spiteri, also scored very well coming in 3rd place with 123 points. This was the first time that the three highest-placed songs had all been in English, Sweden, the host country, finished 2nd last. Switzerland had to replace its original choice of entry, Soleil, soleil which was to have performed by Géraldine Olivier. The song did not comply with some of the rules of the selection contest and so, despite having won. Each country had a jury who awarded 12,10,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 point for their top ten songs
13.
Eurovision Song Contest 2003
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The Eurovision Song Contest 2003 was the 48th annual Eurovision Song Contest. The contest took place in Riga, Latvia on 24 May 2003 and it was the first win and hosting of the competition for Latvia with only their third participation after debuting at the 2000 contest. Latvijas Televīzija chose the Skonto Hall as the venue after conducting a bidding process among several cities and venues in Latvia. The hosts for the contest were the years winner Marie N and former Latvian representative at the 2000 contest, Renārs Kaupers. The design of the contest was built around the theme Magical rendez-vous, Denmark, Finland, Lithuania, Macedonia and Switzerland were required to withdraw due to their poor results in the 2002 contest. This was the first win for Turkey at the Eurovision Song Contest, Norway and Sweden rounded out of the top five, placing fourth and fifth respectively. The United Kingdom achieved their worst result to date, coming in last place, the 2003 contest was the last contest to take place on one evening. This was also the last contest in which a system was used to determine which countries would participate in the following years contest. On 22 August 2002, Latvian public broadcaster Latvijas Televīzija announced that it had chosen the Skonto Hall in Riga as the host venue for the 2003 contest. Latvia won the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 on 25 May 2002 in Tallinn and this was Latvia’s first victory in the contest, which also carried the right for LTV to organise the 2003 contest. LTV initially had concerns with staging the contest. Rubenis elaborated that LTV was prepared to cover the side and broadcasting of the contest. The Government of Latvia allotted €5.3 million for the event with a further €1.1 million being provided by the Riga City Council – covering the anticipated organisational costs for the contest. Three cities were considered as host city of the contest, Riga, Ventspils, LTV requested proposals from the three cities concerning how they plan to organise the contest. Riga City Council offered the Mežaparks Open-air Stage, Skonto Hall, Jūrmala City Council offered the Dzintari Concert Hall with plans to expand and upgrade the facility and surrounding infrastructure. LTV’s organisational task force decided to proceed with the bids from Riga and Ventspils, eliminating Jūrmala. LTV ultimately chose the Skonto Hall as the venue to stage the contest, the rules also modified the eligibility criteria for entries, changing the date of release cut-off point for songs from 1 January 2003 to 1 October 2002. The draw for running order was held on 29 November 2002 in Riga, hosted by Marie N and Renārs Kaupers, the official sponsors for the contest were Latvian mobile telecom provider Latvijas Mobilais Telefons and Latvian bank company Parex Banka
14.
European Broadcasting Union
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The European Broadcasting Union is an alliance of public service media entities, established on 12 February 1950. As of 2015, the organisation comprises 73 active members in 56 countries, most EU states are part of this organisation and therefore EBU has been subject to supranational legislation and regulation. It also hosted debates between candidates for the European Commission presidency for the 2014 parliamentary elections but is unrelated to the institution itself and it is best known for producing the Eurovision Song Contest. EBU is a member of the International Music Council, Members of the EBU are radio and television companies, most of which are government-owned public service broadcasters or privately owned stations with public service missions. Active Members come from as far north as Iceland and as far south as Egypt, from Ireland in the west and Azerbaijan in the east, Associate Members are from countries and territories beyond Europe, such as Canada, Japan, Mexico, India, and Hong Kong. Associate Members from the United States include ABC, CBS, NBC, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Time Warner, and the only individual station, Chicago-based classical music station WFMT. Active Members are those paying EBU members meeting all technical criteria for full membership, syria is an example of a country within the EBA not complying with all technical criteria for full membership, and thus it is currently only granted Associated Membership. The EBUs highest profile production is the Eurovision Song Contest, organised by its Eurovision Network, the countries represented in the EBU also co-operate to create documentaries and childrens programming. Most EBU broadcasters have a deal to carry the Olympics. Another annually recurring event which is broadcast across Europe through the EBU is the Vienna New Years Concert, the theme music played before EBU broadcasts is Marc-Antoine Charpentiers Prelude to Te Deum. It is well known to Europeans as it is played before and after the Eurovision Song Contest, the EBU was a successor to the International Broadcasting Union that was founded in 1925 and had its administrative headquarters in Geneva and technical office in Brussels. It fostered programming exchanges between members and mediated disputes between members that were mostly concerned with frequency and interference issues. It was in effect taken over by Nazi Germany during the Second World War, france proposed that it would have four votes with the inclusion of its North African colonies. Great Britain felt it would have influence with just one vote. On 27 June 1946 the alternative International Broadcasting Organisation was founded with 26 members, the following day the IBU met in General Assembly and an attempt was made to dissolve it but failed, though 18 of its 28 members left to join the IBO. For a period of time in the late 1940s both the IBU and IBO vied for the role of organising frequencies but Britain decided to be in involved in neither, the BBC attempted but failed to find suitable working arrangements with them. However, for practical purposes the IBO rented the IBU technical centre in Brussels, in August 1949 a meeting took place in Stresa, Italy but it resulted in disagreement between delegates on how to resolve the problems. One proposal was for the European Broadcasting Area to be replaced by one that would exclude Eastern Europe, after Stresa, a consensus emerged among the Western Europeans to form a new organisation and the BBC proposed it be based in London
15.
Radio Television of Serbia
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Radio Television of Serbia is the public broadcaster in Serbia. It broadcasts and produces news, drama, and sports programming through radio, television, RTS is a member of the European Broadcasting Union. Radio Television of Serbia has four organizational units - radio, television, music production and it is financed primarily through monthly subscription fees and advertising revenue. Radio Belgrade began its broadcasts in 1929, the first news announcer in 1929 was Jelena Bilbija. The first radio program in Serbia was broadcast in February 1924, after five years, on March 24,1929 Radio Belgrade began with regular broadcasting of its program from the building of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. The Second World War interrupted the broadcasting of the radio program in Belgrade. During the war, there was a German radio station, which broadcast programs in Serbian language, the emergence of the current Radio Belgrade followed the liberation from the Nazis on November 10,1944. This came after the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavias government decision of 1956 to invest in a television network. The first televised broadcast was on 23 August 1958, an edition of the Dnevnik news programme with Miloje Orlović, Branislav Surutka, Olga Nađ, Olivera Živković, the first RTB program was broadcast from the Belgrade Fair and from a new TV Studio build there. From 1961, RTS began to use video tape recording equipment. The Sixties saw dramatic development in all genres of TV programs, TVB became famous by its sitcoms (directed and written by Radivoje-Lola Djukić, Novak Novak and others. Also, TVB had excellent documentary programs and quizzes, by 1970, the entire territory of Serbia was covered by the RTS signal. On 31 December 1971, TVB started broadcasting in PAL color system on its second network, a new AM broadcast equipment in Zvečka, Obrenovac, with 2000 kW transmitter was erected in 1976. After the political turmoil in the 1970s the program of RTB became more sterile, however, in 1989, preparation for the formation of the RTS system officially began. That same year, 3K TVB started broadcasting as the youth, along with it, Radio 101 started broadcasting in Belgrade and Vojvodina. Radio 101 was the more commercial radio, carrying pop. It was intended to complement the more alternative Belgrade 202, in 1990, a few regional studios officially started broadcasting regional programming via a window in place of Beogradska hronika. In 1991, all public broadcasters started their merger into RTS, the establishment of Slobodan Miloševićs regime led to one of RTBs most troubled eras in its history
16.
Macedonia in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Macedonia, presented in the contest as Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 16 times since its official debut in 1998. The country had attempted to participate in 1996, but failed to qualify from the qualifying round. Macedonia is one of the most unsuccessful countries in the contest, Macedonias best result in the contest is Elena Risteskas 12th place finish in 2006. Macedonia has failed to qualify from the round in eight of the last nine contests, the exception being Kaliopi. Macedonias first appearance in the contest was in 1998, the countrys best result was in 2006, when Elena Risteska sang Ninanajna in Athens, Greece and came 12th. Macedonia is the country to have qualified from every semi-final from 2004 to 2007. Since then, only in 2012 Macedonia have made the final, also, Macedonian composers wrote songs for candidates from other parts of Yugoslavia. However, the Macedonian entries never managed to win, and the SR Macedonia was the federal state never to send a Yugoslav entry to the Eurovision Song Contest. ^ Macedonia unsuccessfully attempted to participate in 1996, when there was an audio-only pre-qualifying round for all countries, the official Eurovision site does not count 1996 in Macedonias list of appearances. Macedonia did not progress to the final in either year, in 2008 Sweden beat Macedonia to the final, if a country had won the previous year, they did not have to compete in the semi-finals the following year. The other reason being that back in 2004-2007, the top ten countries who were not members of the big four did not have to compete in the semi-finals the following year. co. uk Eurovision Macedonia
17.
Eurovision Song Contest 2006
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The Eurovision Song Contest 2006 was the 51st Eurovision Song Contest, held at the Olympic Indoor Hall in Athens, Greece on 18 May and 20 May 2006. The hosting national broadcaster of the contest was Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi, the Finnish band Lordi won the contest with the song Hard Rock Hallelujah, written by lead singer Mr. Lordi. Hard Rock Hallelujah was the first ever hard rock song to win the contest, since Eurovision is normally associated with pop music. This was Finlands first victory in Eurovision after waiting forty-five years and it is also noted that they scored the same amount of points in the semi-final and the grand final. In the semi-final, both the hosts sang Katrina and the Waves contest-winning Love Shine A Light, for one of the intervals, Sakis Rouvas sang an English version of his Greek hit Seho Erotefthi called Im in love with you. Helena Paparizou, who performed the song in Kiev, returned to the Eurovision stage in Athens. An official CD and DVD was released and a new introduction was a fan book released from this year. The 2006 contest also saw the 1, 000th song to be performed in the contest, Armenia also entered for the first time in the contest. The venue that was chosen as the host venue, was the Olympic Indoor Hall in Athens, the official logo of the contest remained the same from 2004 and 2005 with the countrys flag in the heart being changed. The 2006 sub-logo created by the design company Karamela for Greek television was based on the Phaistos Disc which is a popular symbol of ancient Greece. According to ERT, it was inspired by the wind and the sea, the golden sunlight, following Istanbuls Under The Same Sky and Kievs Awakening, the slogan for the 2006 show was Feel The Rhythm. This theme was also the basis for the postcards for the 2006 show, to save time in the final, the voting time lasted ten minutes and the voting process was changed, points 1-7 were shown immediately on-screen. The spokespersons only announced the countries scoring 8,10 and 12 points, constantinos Christoforou saluted from Nicosia, the last divided capital in Europe, during Cyprus reading, the telecast displayed Switzerland by mistake. This voting process has been criticized because suspense was lost by only reading three votes instead of ten, and for the first time, the display for the Macedonian entry had the title spelled out in its entirety instead of being abbreviated as it has been in previous years. Participating countries in a Eurovision Song Contest must be members of the EBU. The semi-final was held on 18 May 2006 at 21,00,23 countries performed and all 37 participants and Serbia & Montenegro voted. Shaded countries qualified for the Eurovision Final Notes 1. ^ The song also contained phrases in Spanish,2. ^ The song also contained phrases in French. The finalists were, the four automatic qualifiers France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom, the top 10 countries from the 2005 final, the final was held on 20 May 2006 at 21,00 and was won by Finland
18.
Athens
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Athens is the capital and largest city of Greece. In modern times, Athens is a cosmopolitan metropolis and central to economic, financial, industrial, maritime. In 2015, Athens was ranked the worlds 29th richest city by purchasing power, Athens is recognised as a global city because of its location and its importance in shipping, finance, commerce, media, entertainment, arts, international trade, culture, education and tourism. It is one of the biggest economic centres in southeastern Europe, with a financial sector. The municipality of Athens had a population of 664,046 within its limits. The urban area of Athens extends beyond its administrative city limits. According to Eurostat in 2011, the Functional urban areas of Athens was the 9th most populous FUA in the European Union, Athens is also the southernmost capital on the European mainland. The city also retains Roman and Byzantine monuments, as well as a number of Ottoman monuments. Athens is home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Acropolis of Athens and the medieval Daphni Monastery, Athens was the host city of the first modern-day Olympic Games in 1896, and 108 years later it welcomed home the 2004 Summer Olympics. In Ancient Greek, the name of the city was Ἀθῆναι a plural, in earlier Greek, such as Homeric Greek, the name had been current in the singular form though, as Ἀθήνη. It was possibly rendered in the later on, like those of Θῆβαι and Μυκῆναι. During the medieval period the name of the city was rendered once again in the singular as Ἀθήνα, an etiological myth explaining how Athens has acquired its name was well known among ancient Athenians and even became the theme of the sculpture on the West pediment of the Parthenon. The goddess of wisdom, Athena, and the god of the seas, Poseidon had many disagreements, in an attempt to compel the people, Poseidon created a salt water spring by striking the ground with his trident, symbolizing naval power. However, when Athena created the tree, symbolizing peace and prosperity. Different etymologies, now rejected, were proposed during the 19th century. Christian Lobeck proposed as the root of the name the word ἄθος or ἄνθος meaning flower, ludwig von Döderlein proposed the stem of the verb θάω, stem θη- to denote Athens as having fertile soil. In classical literature, the city was referred to as the City of the Violet Crown, first documented in Pindars ἰοστέφανοι Ἀθᾶναι. In medieval texts, variant names include Setines, Satine, and Astines, today the caption η πρωτεύουσα, the capital, has become somewhat common
19.
RTCG
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Radio and Television of Montenegro is the public service broadcaster of Montenegro. A state-owned company with its headquarters in Podgorica, it is made up of Radio Montenegro and Montenegro Television, in July 2001, RTCG became a joint member of the European Broadcasting Union, and became a full member of the EBU upon the declaration of Montenegrin independence in 2006. Radio Cetinje commenced broadcasts on 27 November 1944 and in 1949, in 1990 it changed its name to Radio Crna Gora. In 1957, the first TV antenna was placed on Mount Lovćen and it was able to receive pictures from Italy. RTV Titograd was established in 1963 to produce original television programmes, the first broadcast by TVCG in Belgrade was a news program in 1964. Since October 2002, RTCG has been a member of the EGTA, RTCG is managed by a Council of 9 members, who are experts proposed by civil society organisations and appointed by the Parliament by simple majority. The RTCG Council appoints the Director General of the RTCG and advocates in the public interest, RTCG is widely seen as dependent from the Government, particularly after allegedly politically motivated dismissals of journalists in 2011. RTCG does not pay a licence fee and is financed directly from the State budget as well as from advertising revenues and sales reevenues. Its finances have been in trouble lately, and it edged bankruptcy in 2012, rTCGs financial viability is often at risk and relies heavily on the government as its primary source of funding. RTCGs debt stock was covered by the budget in 2014. RTCG has three TV Channels, two Terrestrial, one International, it also has a radio station, TV TVCG1 - News and domestic production. TVCG Sat - RTCG International Channel via satellite
20.
Serbia
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Serbia, officially the Republic of Serbia, is a sovereign state situated at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Pannonian Plain and the central Balkans. Relative to its territory, it is a diverse country distinguished by a transitional character, situated along cultural, geographic, climatic. Serbia numbers around 7 million residents, and its capital, Belgrade, following the Slavic migrations to the Balkans from the 6th century onwards, Serbs established several states in the early Middle Ages. The Serbian Kingdom obtained recognition by Rome and the Byzantine Empire in 1217, in the early 19th century, the Serbian Revolution established the nation-state as the regions first constitutional monarchy, which subsequently expanded its territory. During the breakup of Yugoslavia, Serbia formed a union with Montenegro which dissolved peacefully in 2006, in 2008 the parliament of the province of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence, with mixed responses from the international community. Serbia is a member of organizations such as the UN, CoE, OSCE, PfP, BSEC. An EU membership candidate since 2012, Serbia has been negotiating its EU accession since January 2014, the country is acceding to the WTO and is a militarily neutral state. Serbia is an income economy with dominant service sector, followed by the industrial sector. The country ranks high on the Social Progress Index as well as the Global Peace Index, relatively high on the Human Development Index, located at the crossroads between Central and Southern Europe, Serbia is found in the Balkan peninsula and the Pannonian Plain. Serbia lies between latitudes 41° and 47° N, and longitudes 18° and 23° E. The country covers a total of 88,361 km2, which places it at 113th place in the world, with Kosovo excluded, the area is 77,474 km2. Its total border length amounts to 2,027 km, all of Kosovos border with Albania, Macedonia and Montenegro are under control of the Kosovo border police. The Pannonian Plain covers the third of the country while the easternmost tip of Serbia extends into the Wallachian Plain. The terrain of the part of the country, with the region of Šumadija at its heart. Mountains dominate the third of Serbia. Dinaric Alps stretch in the west and the southwest, following the flow of the rivers Drina, the Carpathian Mountains and Balkan Mountains stretch in a north–south direction in eastern Serbia. Ancient mountains in the southeast corner of the country belong to the Rilo-Rhodope Mountain system, elevation ranges from the Midžor peak of the Balkan Mountains at 2,169 metres to the lowest point of just 17 metres near the Danube river at Prahovo. The largest lake is Đerdap Lake and the longest river passing through Serbia is the Danube, the climate of Serbia is under the influences of the landmass of Eurasia and the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea
21.
Eurovision Song Contest 2007
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The Eurovision Song Contest 2007 was the 52nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It was won by first-time appearance as an independent country Serbia and was held at the Hartwall Areena in Helsinki, Finland earned the right to host the event after heavy metal band Lordis victory at the Eurovision Song Contest 2006. It was the first time the Contest had been held in Finland, a budget of €13 million was presented for arranging the contest. Other bids to host the contest came from Espoo, Turku, the hosts were Finnish television personality Jaana Pelkonen and Finnish musician, stage performer and actor Mikko Leppilampi. Krisse Salminen acted as guest host in the room. A record number of 42 countries participated, the European Broadcasting Union put aside its limit of 40 countries, which would have meant excluding some countries using a ranking order scheme. This trend continued at the 2008 and 2009 Contests, on 12 March 2007, the draws for the running order for the semi-final, final and voting procedure took place. A new feature allowed five wild-card countries from the semi-final and three countries from the final to choose their starting position, the heads of delegation went on stage and chose the number they would take. In the semi-final, Austria, Andorra, Turkey, Slovenia and Latvia were able to choose their positions, in the final, Armenia, Ukraine and Germany were able to exercise this privilege. All countries opted for spots in the half of both evenings. Shortly after the draw, the entries were approved by the EBU, the United Kingdom chose their entry after the deadline because they were granted special dispensation from the EBU. The contest saw some changes to the voting time-frame. The compilation summary video of all entries including phone numbers was shown twice, the voting process was the same as 2006 except there was fifteen minutes to vote, an increase of five minutes on the 2006 Contest. In the final, the results from each country were once again shown from one to seven points automatically on screen and only eight, ten and twelve were read by the spokespeople. For the first time, the winner was awarded a promotion tour around Europe, visiting Denmark, Spain, Sweden, the tour was held between 16 May and 21 May. The event was sponsored by European communications group TeliaSonera, and — as with several previous contests — Nobel Biocare, apocalyptica were the interval act, and played a medley of songs, Worlds Collide, Faraway and finally Life Burns. The official logo of the contest remained the same as 2006, the stage was in the shape of a kantele, a traditional Finnish instrument. On 20 February 2007 a reworked official website for the contest was launched marking the first public exhibition of this years theme, an official CD and DVD were released
22.
Montenegrin independence referendum, 2006
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An independence referendum was held in Montenegro on 21 May 2006. It was approved by 55. 5% of voters, narrowly passing the 55% threshold, on 31 May the referendum commission officially confirmed the results of the referendum, verifying that 55. 5% of the population of Montenegrin voters had voted in favor of independence. The Assembly of the Republic of Montenegro made a formal Declaration of Independence on Saturday 3 June, the European Union, the United States, the Peoples Republic of China, and the Russian Federation all expressed their intentions to respect the referendum results. Article 60 of the constitution required that a minimum of three years pass after its ratification before one of the states could declare independence. The same article specified the referendum as necessary for this move, however, this constitution allowed member states to define their own referendum laws. It is also specified that the state which secedes forfeits any rights to political and legal continuity of the federation. No state objected to recognizing a newly formed state prior to the referendum, if Serbia had declared independence instead of Montenegro, Montenegro would have been the legal successor state. According to the Montenegrin Constitution, state status could not be changed without a referendum proposed by the President to the Parliament, President Filip Vujanović accordingly submitted such a bill, and it was unanimously passed by the Montenegrin Parliament on 2 March 2006. The Referendum Bill obliged the Parliament, which introduced the referendum and it had to declare the official results within 15 days following the voting day, and act upon them within 60 days. The dissolution of Parliament was required upon the passage of any bill proposing constitutional changes to the status of the state, for such changes to be enacted, the new Parliament was required to support the bill with a two-thirds majority. There has been controversy over suffrage and needed result threshold for independence. The Council of the European Union unanimously agreed to Lajčáks proposal, Milo Đukanović, Prime Minister of Montenegro, however, promised that he would declare independence if the votes passed 50%, regardless of whether the census was passed or not. On the other hand, he announced that if less than 50% voted for the independence option. Do you want the Republic of Montenegro to be an independent state with an international and legal personality. In the video clip they are seen and heard persuading Bušković to vote for the independence, when the video became public, two DPS activists claimed they were victims of manipulation and that Vasilije Mijović talked them into doing so. Mijović denied those claims saying the video had been authentic, DPS spokesperson Predrag Sekulić claimed the video was a montage and a cheap political setup. Mašan Bušković, the target of the attempted bribe, on the other hand said the video is authentic. Polling throughout the campaign was sporadic, with most polls showing pro-independence forces leading, only in the later weeks did polls begin to indicate the threshold would be passed, albeit barely
23.
Stevan Faddy
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Stevan Faddy is a Montenegrin singer. He took part in Montevizija 2006, singing Cipele and he also participated in Sunčane Skale 2003 singing Poslednja obala. On 25 February 2007, he won a victory in MontenegroSong 2007 with his song Ajde Kroči and won a ticket to represent Montenegro in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 held in Helsinki. Stevan was the first singer representing Montenegro after its independence and he is currently living in Croatia. The same year he received music award “Montefon” as the “breakthrough of the year” and he already participated two times at the national competition for the Eurovision Song Contest. At the Eurovision Song Contest 2007, he sang Ajde, Kroči, composed by Slaven Knezović and it failed to reach the final. Posljednja obala Utjeha Cipele Ajde, Kroči Dobri ljudi I to je sve. Actually, still in progress
24.
Serbian language
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Serbian is the standardized variety of the Serbo-Croatian language mainly used by Serbs. It is the language of Serbia and one of the three official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In addition, it is a minority language in Montenegro, Croatia, Macedonia, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia. Standard Serbian is based on the most widespread dialect of Serbo-Croatian, Shtokavian, which is also the basis of Standard Croatian, Bosnian, the other dialect spoken by Serbs is Torlakian in southeastern Serbia, which is transitional to Macedonian and Bulgarian. Serbian is practically the only European standard language with complete synchronic digraphia, the Serbian Cyrillic alphabet was devised in 1814 by Serbian linguist Vuk Karadžić, who created the alphabet on phonemic principles. The Latin alphabet was designed by Croatian linguist Ljudevit Gaj in 1830, Serbian is a standardized variety of Serbo-Croatian, a Slavic language, of the South Slavic subgroup. Other standardized forms of Serbo-Croatian are Bosnian, Croatian, and Montenegrin and it has lower intelligibility with the Eastern South Slavic languages Bulgarian and Macedonian, than with Slovene. The 2011 census show that 42. 88% still declare Serbian to be their native language, Standard Serbian language uses both Cyrillic and Latin script. Even in official government documents this constitutional requirement is rarely enforced, Serbian is a rare example of synchronic digraphia, a situation where all literate members of a society have two interchangeable writing systems available to them. Media and publishers typically select one alphabet or another, for example, the public broadcaster, Radio Television of Serbia, predominantly uses the Cyrillic script whereas the privately run broadcasters, like RTV Pink, predominantly use the Latin script. A survey from 2014 showed that 47% of the Serbian population favors the Latin alphabet whereas 36% favors the Cyrillic one and these are the tenses of the indicative mood. Apart from the mood, there is also the imperative mood. The conditional mood has two more tenses, the first conditional and the second conditional, Serbian has active and passive voice. As for the verb forms, Serbian has one infinitive. Most Serbian words are of native Slavic lexical stock, tracing back to the Proto-Slavic language, there are many loanwords from different languages, reflecting cultural interaction throughout history. Notable loanwords were borrowed from Greek, Latin, Italian, Turkish, Hungarian, Russian, Serbian literature emerged in the Middle Ages, and included such works as Miroslavljevo jevanđelje in 1192 and Dušanov zakonik in 1349. In the mid-15th century, Serbia was conquered by the Ottoman Empire, however, some of the greatest literary works in Serbian come from this time, in the form of oral literature, the most notable form being Serbian epic poetry. The epic poems were written down in the 19th century, and preserved in oral tradition up to the 1950s
25.
Lane moje
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Lane moje is the name of the song by Serbian singer, composer, musician Željko Joksimović. It was a song from the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 by Zeljko Joksimovic. After qualifying from the semi-final the song endured a close battle all night with Ukrainian singer Ruslanas energetic song Wild Dances. The song ended up coming second, despite having won in the semi-final, scoring 263 points, it was the first non-winning song in the contest, along with Greeces entry Shake it, to score over 200 points. Lane moje Good bye Lane moje Lane moje Lane moje Lane moje Official Video Clip Lane moje
26.
Montenegrin language
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Montenegrin /ˌmɒntᵻˈniːɡrᵻn/ is the standardized variety of the Serbo-Croatian language used as the official language of Montenegro. Montenegros language has historically and traditionally been called Serbian, the idea of a Montenegrin standard language separate from Serbian appeared in the 2000s after Serbia and Montenegro broke up, via proponents of Montenegrin independence. Montenegrin became the language of Montenegro with the ratification of a new constitution on 22 October 2007. The Montenegrin standard is still emerging and its orthography was established on 10 July 2009 with the addition of two letters to the alphabet, although the grammar and a school curriculum are yet to be approved. Their usage remained controversial and they achieved only limited public acceptance and they had been used for official documents since 2009, but in February 2017, the Assembly of Montenegro removed them from any type of governmental documentation. In January 2008, the government of Montenegro formed the Council for the Codification of the Montenegrin Language, proceeding documents will, after verification, become a part of the educational programme in Montenegrin schools. The first Montenegrin standard was proposed in July 2009. In addition to the Serbo-Croatian standard, the proposal introduced two additional letters, ⟨ś⟩ and ⟨ź⟩, to replace the digraphs ⟨sj⟩ and ⟨zj⟩. The Council has criticized this act, saying it comes from a small group, on 21 June 2010, the Council for General Education adopted the first Montenegrin Grammar. The language remains an issue in Montenegro. In the previous census of 1991, the vast majority of Montenegrin citizens,510,320 or 82. 97%, declared themselves speakers of the official language. The 1981 population census recorded a Serbo-Croatian-speaking majority. However, in the first Communist censuses, the vast majority of the population declared Serbian their native language, according to the Constitution of Montenegro, the official language of the republic since 1992 is Serbian of the Ijekavian standard. After World War II and until 1992, the language of Montenegro was Serbo-Croatian. Before that, in the previous Montenegrin realm, the language in use was called Serbian, the new constitution, adopted on 19 October 2007, deemed Montenegrin to be the official language of Montenegro. The most recent population census conducted in Montenegro was in 2011, according to it,36. 97% of the population declared Montenegrin their native language, and 42. 88% declared Serbian their native language. Mijat Šuković, a prominent Montenegrin lawyer, wrote a version of the constitution which passed the parliaments constitutional committee. Šuković suggested Montenegrin as the language of Montenegro
27.
Croatia in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Croatia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 22 times since making its debut at the 1993 contest. Between 1993 and 2011, the Croatian entrant was selected at the Dora pop festival, Croatias best result in the contest is fourth-place finishes in 1996 and 1999. Croatia first reached the top ten in 1995, when Magazin & Lidija Horvat-Dunjko finished sixth and this would be the first of six top ten results in seven years. Maja Blagdan was fourth in 1996, Danijela Martinović was fifth in 1998, Doris Dragović was fourth in 1999, Goran Karan was ninth in 2000, since then, Croatia has failed to reach the top ten. Since the introduction of the round in 2004, Croatia has failed to reach the final on five occasions. Croatia then withdrew from the contest in 2014 and 2015, on its return in 2016, Croatia reached the final for the first time in seven years. Croatia participated at Eurovision ten times as part of Yugoslavia, in 1963,1968,1969,1971,1972,1986,1987,1988,1989 and 1990. Apart from being the most successful Yugoslav republic in the contest, it gave the socialist republic its only win, Rock Me, sung by Riva in 1989, the Eurovision Song Contest 1990 was held in Zagreb as a result. After the dissolution of Yugoslavia in 1991, the Croatian national public broadcaster Croatian Radiotelevision had organised a festival to select a Croatian representative for the 1992 Contest. If HRT had been a member of the EBU in time for the contest, Croatias first entry as an independent state was in 1993 with the band Put, performing Dont Ever Cry which was, despite the English title, also partially performed in Croatian. The song came third in the Qualification for Millstreet, which allowed their participation in the 1993 contest, Croatias best position, as of 2016, has been with Maja Blagdans 1996 entry Sveta ljubav and Doris Dragovićs 1999 entry Marija Magdalena. Along with Malta and Cyprus and Portugal, Croatia was never relegated in the 1990s, the last time Croatia qualified for the grand final was in 2009. However, on 5 May 2015, HRT announced that it wont broadcast the 2015 contest and it was the first time since 1992 for HRT to not broadcast the contest. On 26 November 2015, it was announced that Croatia would return to the contest in 2016, nina Kraljić with the song Lighthouse qualified to the final, making it that Croatia qualified for the first time since 2009. After the successful return in 2016, Croatian national broadcaster Croatian Radiotelevision confirmed on 17 September 2016 that they would participate in 2017. Yugoslavian entries in 1963,1968,1969,1971,1972,1986,1987,1988,1989 and 1990 are Croatian entries that competed for Yugoslavia, ^ Spain originally gave its 12 points to Israel and 10 to Norway. After the broadcast it was announced that Spanish broadcaster wrongly tallied the votes and Germany should have got the top mark -12 points - instead of being snubbed, the mistake was corrected and so Germany was placed 7th over Norway. ^ In 2009, Croatia qualified through the back-up jury selection, if a country had won the previous year, they did not have to compete in the semi-finals the following year
28.
Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Greece has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 37 times since its debut in 1974, missing six contests in that time. Greece won for the first time in 2005 with My Number One, the national broadcaster, Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi broadcast the event each year and organised the process for the selection of the Greek entry. Greece has never finished last in the contest, in the 21st century, Greece has been more successful, with ten top-ten results, including third-place finishes for Antique in 2001, Sakis Rouvas in 2004 and Kalomira in 2008. Greece was disqualified from the Eurovision Song Contest 1982 after it was revealed that Themis Adamantidis was to sing Sarantapente Kopelies, a previously released song. A known Greek folk song had been revised for the competition, Greece was forced to pay a fine, and was allowed to return the following year. Had Adamantidis been allowed to perform Sarantapente Kopelies, he would have appeared second at Harrogate, after returning in 1983, ERT decided that all of the possible songs were of low quality and decided not to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 1984. Had she performed, she would have appeared eighteenth and she would have performed the song Wagon-lit, the following year ERT announced that it would not return at the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 due to financial reasons. The song also made Greece the first country not a member of Big Four to win the contest without going through a semifinal. Before Greeces win, the highest score was third place, achieved by duo Antique in 2001 with Die for You and then again by Sakis Rouvas in 2004 with Shake It. Greeces least successful result was at 20th place in 1998 with the song Mia Krifi Evesthisia by Thalassa, with 12 points, all from Cyprus, riskyKidd, with 35 points, but this time Cyprus was out of the contest. In 2006, the 51st Eurovision Song Contest was held in Athens, Greece, the two hosts were popular singer, and former contestant, Sakis Rouvas and Greek American presenter Maria Menounos. The singer representing Greece in their own country was popular Greek Cypriot artist Anna Vissi, for the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest, ERT was able to secure a high-profile artist once again and planned a national final to choose the song. Greece has been one of the most successful countries in the Eurovision Song Contest in the 21st century, including ninth in 2006, seventh in 2007, third in 2008, seventh in 2009, eighth in 2010 and seventh in 2011. In 2014, Greece finished in 20th place, which, along with 1998, is the countries worst result in the contest, Greece was one of only three countries to have never failed to qualify from the semifinals since their 2004 introduction. In addition, Greece also qualified from the 1996 audio-only pre-qualifying round, in 2015, Greece failed to reach the top-ten for the third time in four years, finishing 19th. Since 2013, the music channel MAD produces the Greek national final, for 2016, ERT selected the Eurovision entry internally. They selected the band Argo with the song Utopian Land For the first time since the semi-finals were introduced in 2004 and they finished 16th in the first semi-final. Greece is famous for, especially in recent years, always giving twelve points to Cyprus and this is one of many examples of the bloc voting seen in contest which also occurs between Iberian, Balkan, Scandinavian, ex-Soviet and Baltic countries
29.
Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Albania has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 13 times since its debut in 2004. In 2004, Albanias first entry at Eurovision, Anjeza Shahini and this remained the countrys best result in the contest until 2012, when Rona Nishliu placed fifth. RTSH first showed interest in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2003, however three more countries also applied to enter the contest for the first, and Albania was not allowed to compete in the contest, having been forced to wait another year before debuting. The first Albanian entrant to the Eurovision Song Contest was decided through the long-standing Albanian song contest, the winner of Festivali I Këngës 42 would go on to represent Albania in its first Eurovision Song Contest. The winner was Anjeza Shahini with the song Imazhi yt and this was translated into English, and performed at Eurovision as The Image of You. She qualified for the final, coming 4th, and received 106 points in the final and this placing allowed Albania to skip the semi-final of the 2005 contest, automatically qualifying for the final. The Albanian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 was again selected through Festivali I Këngës, the winner of Festivali I Këngës 43 was Ledina Çelo with Nesër shkoj, translated as Tomorrow I Go in English. Çelo could not replicate Shahinis 7th place, receiving only 53 points, in the semi-final of the 2006 contest he received 58 points, placing 14th of 23 in his semi-final and failing to qualify for the final. The 2007 entry was Frederik Ndoci with Hear My Plea, performed at Festivali I Këngës 45 as Balada e gurit, the song was performed at Eurovision in both English and Albanian. In the semi-final of the 2007 contest he received 49 points, placing 17th of 28 in his semi-final, the winner of Festivali I Këngës 46 was Zemrën e lamë peng by Olta Boka. Press reactions in Albania were not happy with the decision, despite this, Olta Bokas victory remained, and she sang for Albania at the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 in Belgrade, Serbia. At the contest she qualified Albania for the final, placing 9th in a field of 19 in the second semi-final, Albania was the first country to select both their artist and publicly present their song for Eurovision 2009. The winner was selected by Festivali I Këngës. The winner of Festivali I Këngës 47 was Kejsi Tola with the song Më merr në ëndërr, the song was performed in English as Carry Me in Your Dreams. Albania finished 7th out of 19 in the 2nd semifinal with 73 points, in the final, where both jury and televoting were used, Albania scored 48 points, finishing 17th in a field of 25. However, had only televoting been used Albania would have placed 11th in the contest, conversely if only jury voting had been used Albania would have placed 23rd. The winner of Festivali I Këngës 48 was decided on 27 December and she represented Albania at Eurovision 2010 in Oslo with the song Nuk mundem pa ty. The song is a typical composition, and has been compared to Christina Aguileras Keeps Gettin Better
30.
Austria in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Austria has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 49 times since its debut in 1957. The country has won twice, in 1966, with the song Merci Chérie by Udo Jürgens, Austria currently holds the record for longest gap between wins, with 48 years between victories. Austria finished last at its first attempt in the contest in 1957, before Liane Augustin gave the country its first top five result in 1958, having finished sixth in 1964 and fourth in 1965, Udo Jürgens won the contest at his third attempt in 1966. This would be Austrias only top three result of 20th century, the countrys best result over the next 46 years would be fifth place, which it achieved with Milestones in 1972, Waterloo & Robinson in 1976 and Thomas Forstner in 1989. Austria has finished last in the final a total of seven times, the country also finished last in the semi-final in 2012. After a three-year absence, ORF announced on 28 July 2010 that Austria would return to the contest in 2011, because of this, Austria became the first host country to receive nul points. Austria has opted out of participation in several Contests, the first of these was the 1969 Contest, which was staged in Madrid. As Spain was ruled at that time by Francisco Franco, Austria chose to boycott the Contest, the following year, Austria was again absent. This was due to the result in 1969 in which four songs tied for first place. From 1973 to 1975, Austria stayed away as well, the exact reason for this is unclear, however the scoring system in use at one of these Contests - allowing all entrants a guaranteed number of points - may have been a factor. The country was ineligible to compete in 1998 and 2001, as it had not achieved high placings in the five previous years. They returned for the 2007 contest in Helsinki, but came second to last in the semi-final, despite withdrawing, the final of the 2008 contest was screened on ORF. ORF decided not to participate in the 2009 contest, but did broadcast the final as in 2008, the EBU announced that they would work harder to bring Austria back to the contest in 2010, along with former participants Monaco and Italy. It was, however, confirmed that Austria would not participate in the 2010 Contest in Oslo, in July 2010, the chairman of ORF, Alexander Wrabetz, stated that Austria would return for the 2011 contest, due to it being held in its neighbour Germany. In 2011, Austria reached the final for the first time since 2004, ^ Specifically Styrian, a Southern Bavarian dialect spoken in Styria. ^ Specifically Mühlviertlerisch, a Central Bavarian dialect spoken in Upper Austria, ^ While Austria and Germany both finished with no points, Austria is listed as finishing ahead of Germany due to the tiebreaker rule that favours the song performed earliest in the running order. Therefore, Germany finished in 27th place, with Austria in 26th, if a country had won the previous year, they did not have to compete in the semi-finals the following year. In addition, back in 2004-2007, the top ten countries who were not members of the big four did not have to compete in the finals the following year
31.
Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Switzerland has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 57 times since making its debut at the first contest in 1956, missing only four contests, in 1995,1999,2001 and 2003. Switzerland hosted the first contest in 1956, and won it themselves, Switzerland won the contest again in 1988. Lys Assia won the very first contest in Lugano in 1956 with the song Refrain and she returned to place second in 1958. In 1993, Annie Cotton gave the country its eighth top three result, when she placed third, in the 21st century, Switzerland has only once reached the top ten, in 2005 with the girl band Vanilla Ninja finishing eighth. Since the introduction of the round in 2004, Switzerland has failed to qualify for the final nine times. At the 2014 contest, Sebalter gave the country its second best result of the century, Switzerland had been absent from Eurovision four times since their participation began in the first contest. These absences, in 1995,1999,2001 and 2003 were caused by poor results in previous contests that relegated Switzerland from the contest, Switzerland has four official languages, French, German, Italian, and Romansh. For decades, the requirements stated that the song had to be performed in a national language. Out of their 55 appearances in the Contest, Switzerland has sent 52 songs,24 of which were in French,12 in German, nine in Italian, nine in English, both of Switzerlands winning songs have been sung in French. ^ The full results for the first contest in 1956 are unknown, the official Eurovision site lists all the other songs as being placed second. If a country had won the year, they did not have to compete in the semi-finals the following year. In addition from 2004-2007, the top ten countries who were not members of the big four did not have to compete in the semi-finals the following year. If, for example, Germany and France placed inside the top ten, as of 2016, Switzerlands voting history is as follows, Over the years Switzerland has broadcast the Eurovision Song Contest on three television stations, SRF, RTS and RSI. Table key Points to and from Switzerland eurovisioncovers. co. uk
32.
Slovenia in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Slovenia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 22 times since its debut in 1993. Since then, the country has missed two contests, in 1994 and 2000. Slovenias best result in the contest is seventh place, both in 1995 with Darja Švajger and 2001 with Nuša Derenda, the countrys only other top ten result being a tenth-place finish for Tanja Ribič in 1997. Since the introduction of the round in 2004, Slovenia has failed to reach the final on nine occasions. Slovenia had previously represented at the contest as Yugoslavia between 1961 and 1991. Four of the 27 entries were from Slovene artists, the Slovene national final to select their entry is EMA, broadcast, along with Eurovision, by Radiotelevizija Slovenija. Table key NOTE, If a country had won the previous year, in addition from 2004–2007, the top ten countries who were not members of the big four did not have to compete in the semi-finals the following year. If, for example, Germany and France placed inside the top ten, the countries who placed 11th and 12th were advanced to the following years grand final along with the rest of the top ten countries
33.
Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Ukraine has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 13 times since making its debut in 2003, winning twice. Ukraines first victory came in 2004 with Wild Dances by Ruslana, the 2005 contest was then held in the countrys capital, Kyiv. Its second victory at the 2016 contest with the song 1944 by Jamala, Ukraine made its debut in 2003, when Oleksandr Ponomaryov finished 14th. Ukraine won the contest at the attempt in 2004, when Ruslana won with the song Wild Dances, defeating second-placed Serbia. On 19 September 2014, state broadcaster NTU announced that it would sit out the 2015 Contest because of difficulties in relation to the ongoing Ukrainian crisis. However, Ukraine broadcast the contest despite not taking part, on 23 May 2015, Ukrainian Broadcaster NTU pledged to bring Ukraine back to the contest for 2016. On 16 September 2015, it was announced that Ukraine would return to the contest in 2016, on its return to the contest in 2016, Ukraine became the first Eastern European country to win the contest twice, when Jamala won with her song 1944. Since the introduction of the round in 2004, Ukraine has never failed to qualify for the final when they have participated. The country has a score of 143 points per contest,233 if including the semi-finals. If a country had won the year, they did not have to compete in the semi-finals the following year
34.
Istanbul
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Istanbul, historically known as Constantinople and Byzantium, is the most populous city in Turkey and the countrys economic, cultural, and historic center. Istanbul is a city in Eurasia, straddling the Bosphorus strait between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea. Its commercial and historical center lies on the European side and about a third of its population lives on the Asian side, the city is the administrative center of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, both hosting a population of around 14.7 million residents. Istanbul is one of the worlds most populous cities and ranks as the worlds 7th-largest city proper, founded under the name of Byzantion on the Sarayburnu promontory around 660 BCE, the city developed to become one of the most significant in history. After its reestablishment as Constantinople in 330 CE, it served as a capital for almost 16 centuries, during the Roman and Byzantine, the Latin. Overlooked for the new capital Ankara during the period, the city has since regained much of its prominence. The population of the city has increased tenfold since the 1950s, as migrants from across Anatolia have moved in, arts, music, film, and cultural festivals were established at the end of the 20th century and continue to be hosted by the city today. Infrastructure improvements have produced a complex transportation network, considered a global city, Istanbul has one of the fastest-growing metropolitan economies in the world. It hosts the headquarters of many Turkish companies and media outlets and accounts for more than a quarter of the gross domestic product. Hoping to capitalize on its revitalization and rapid expansion, Istanbul has bid for the Summer Olympics five times in twenty years, the first known name of the city is Byzantium, the name given to it at its foundation by Megarean colonists around 660 BCE. The name is thought to be derived from a personal name, ancient Greek tradition refers to a legendary king of that name as the leader of the Greek colonists. Modern scholars have hypothesized that the name of Byzas was of local Thracian or Illyrian origin. He also attempted to promote the name Nova Roma and its Greek version Νέα Ῥώμη Nea Romē, the use of Constantinople to refer to the city during the Ottoman period is now considered politically incorrect, even if not historically inaccurate, by Turks. By the 19th century, the city had acquired other names used by foreigners or Turks. Europeans used Constantinople to refer to the whole of the city, pera was used to describe the area between the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus, but Turks also used the name Beyoğlu. The name İstanbul is commonly held to derive from the Medieval Greek phrase εἰς τὴν Πόλιν and this reflected its status as the only major city in the vicinity. The importance of Constantinople in the Ottoman world was reflected by its Ottoman name Der Saadet meaning the gate to Prosperity in Ottoman. An alternative view is that the name evolved directly from the name Constantinople, with the first, a Turkish folk etymology traces the name to Islam bol plenty of Islam because the city was called Islambol or Islambul as the capital of the Islamic Ottoman Empire
35.
Kiev
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Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population in July 2015 was 2,887,974, Kiev is an important industrial, scientific, educational, and cultural centre of Eastern Europe. It is home to many industries, higher education institutions. The city has an infrastructure and highly developed system of public transport. The citys name is said to derive from the name of Kyi, during its history, Kiev, one of the oldest cities in Eastern Europe, passed through several stages of great prominence and relative obscurity. The city probably existed as a centre as early as the 5th century. A Slavic settlement on the trade route between Scandinavia and Constantinople, Kiev was a tributary of the Khazars, until seized by the Varangians in the mid-9th century. Under Varangian rule, the city became a capital of the Kievan Rus, completely destroyed during the Mongol invasion in 1240, the city lost most of its influence for the centuries to come. It was a capital of marginal importance in the outskirts of the territories controlled by its powerful neighbours, first the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, followed by Poland. The city prospered again during the Russian Empires Industrial Revolution in the late 19th century, in 1917, after the Ukrainian National Republic declared independence from the Russian Empire, Kiev became its capital. From 1919 Kiev was an important center of the Armed Forces of South Russia and was controlled by the White Army. From 1921 onwards Kiev was a city of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, which was proclaimed by the Red Army, during World War II, the city again suffered significant damage, but quickly recovered in the post-war years, remaining the third largest city of the Soviet Union. During the countrys transformation to an economy and electoral democracy. Kievs armament-dependent industrial output fell after the Soviet collapse, adversely affecting science, Kiev emerged as the most pro-Western region of Ukraine where parties advocating tighter integration with the European Union dominate during elections. As a prominent city with a history, its English name was subject to gradual evolution. The early English spelling was derived from Old East Slavic form Kyjev, the name is associated with that of Kyi, the legendary eponymous founder of the city. Early English sources use various names, including Kiou, Kiow, Kiew, on one of the oldest English maps of the region, Russiae, Moscoviae et Tartariae published by Ortelius the name of the city is spelled Kiou. On the 1650 map by Guillaume de Beauplan, the name of the city is Kiiow, in the book Travels, by Joseph Marshall, the city is referred to as Kiovia
36.
Greece
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Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, historically also known as Hellas, is a country in southeastern Europe, with a population of approximately 11 million as of 2015. Athens is the capital and largest city, followed by Thessaloniki. Greece is strategically located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, situated on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the northeast. Greece consists of nine regions, Macedonia, Central Greece, the Peloponnese, Thessaly, Epirus, the Aegean Islands, Thrace, Crete. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of the mainland, the Ionian Sea to the west, the Cretan Sea and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean Basin and the 11th longest coastline in the world at 13,676 km in length, featuring a vast number of islands, eighty percent of Greece is mountainous, with Mount Olympus being the highest peak at 2,918 metres. From the eighth century BC, the Greeks were organised into various independent city-states, known as polis, which spanned the entire Mediterranean region and the Black Sea. Greece was annexed by Rome in the second century BC, becoming a part of the Roman Empire and its successor. The Greek Orthodox Church also shaped modern Greek identity and transmitted Greek traditions to the wider Orthodox World, falling under Ottoman dominion in the mid-15th century, the modern nation state of Greece emerged in 1830 following a war of independence. Greeces rich historical legacy is reflected by its 18 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, among the most in Europe, Greece is a democratic and developed country with an advanced high-income economy, a high quality of life, and a very high standard of living. A founding member of the United Nations, Greece was the member to join the European Communities and has been part of the Eurozone since 2001. Greeces unique cultural heritage, large industry, prominent shipping sector. It is the largest economy in the Balkans, where it is an important regional investor, the names for the nation of Greece and the Greek people differ from the names used in other languages, locations and cultures. The earliest evidence of the presence of human ancestors in the southern Balkans, dated to 270,000 BC, is to be found in the Petralona cave, all three stages of the stone age are represented in Greece, for example in the Franchthi Cave. Neolithic settlements in Greece, dating from the 7th millennium BC, are the oldest in Europe by several centuries and these civilizations possessed writing, the Minoans writing in an undeciphered script known as Linear A, and the Mycenaeans in Linear B, an early form of Greek. The Mycenaeans gradually absorbed the Minoans, but collapsed violently around 1200 BC and this ushered in a period known as the Greek Dark Ages, from which written records are absent. The end of the Dark Ages is traditionally dated to 776 BC, the Iliad and the Odyssey, the foundational texts of Western literature, are believed to have been composed by Homer in the 7th or 8th centuries BC. With the end of the Dark Ages, there emerged various kingdoms and city-states across the Greek peninsula, in 508 BC, Cleisthenes instituted the worlds first democratic system of government in Athens
For the most recent participation see
Serbia and Montenegro in the Eurovision Song Contest
