Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Eurovision Song Contest explained

Bosnia and Herzegovina
Contest:ESC
Member Station:Radio and Television of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BHRT; 2005–2016) Suspended
Esc Apps:19 (18 finals)
Esc Best:3rd:
Current:2016

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

Bosnia and Herzegovina's best result was in, when "Lejla" performed by Hari Mata Hari finished third. This remains the country's only top five result in the contest. The country also achieved five other top ten results: with "Bosnian: [[Putnici]]|i=no" by Dino Merlin (seventh), with "In the Disco" by Deen (ninth), with "Bosnian: [[Pokušaj]]|i=no" by Laka (tenth), with "Bosnian: [[Bistra voda]]|i=no" by Regina (ninth), and with "Love in Rewind" again by Dino Merlin (sixth). Bosnia and Herzegovina returned to the contest for the first time since 2012 at the contest, where it failed to advance from the semi-finals for the first time. The country then withdrew once again from the contest and has yet to return.

Participation

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

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

History

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

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

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

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

Participation overview

Prior to Yugoslavia's dissolution, artists from the SR Bosnia and Herzegovina represented Yugoslavia in,,,, and .

Table key
-1First place-->
2Second place
3Third place
Last place
XEntry selected but did not compete
Upcoming event-->
YearArtistSongLanguageFinalPointsSemiPoints
Fazla"Bosnian: [[Sva bol svijeta]]|i=unset"Bosnian1627252
Alma and Dejan"Bosnian: [[Ostani kraj mene]]|i=unset"Bosnian1539colspan="2" rowspan="2"
Davor Popović"Bosnian: [[Dvadeset prvi vijek]]|i=unset"Bosnian1914
Amila Glamočak"Bosnian: [[Za našu ljubav]]|i=unset"Bosnian22132129
Alma Čardžić"Goodbye"Bosnian1822rowspan="5" colspan="2"
Dino and Béatrice"Bosnian: [[Putnici]]|i=unset"Bosnian, French786
Nino"Bosnian: [[Hano (song)|Hano]]|i=unset"Bosnian, English1429
Maja"Serbian: [[Na jastuku za dvoje]]|i=unset" Serbian, English1333
Mija Martina"Croatian: [[Ne brini]]|i=unset"Croatian, English1627
Deen"In the Disco"English9917133
Feminnem"Call Me"English1479colspan="2"
Hari Mata Hari"Bosnian: [[Lejla (Hari Mata Hari song)|Lejla]]|i=unset"Bosnian32292267
Marija Šestić"Serbian: [[Rijeka bez imena]]|i=unset" Serbian11106colspan="2"
Laka"Bosnian: [[Pokušaj]]|i=unset"Bosnian10110972
Regina"Bosnian: [[Bistra voda]]|i=unset"Bosnian91063125
Vukašin Brajić"Thunder and Lightning"English1751859
Dino Merlin"Love in Rewind"English61255109
Maya Sar"Bosnian: [[Korake ti znam]]|i=unset"Bosnian1855677
Dalal and Deen Ana Rucner and Jala"Bosnian: [[Ljubav je]]|i=unset"Bosnian11104

Songs by language

SongsLanguageYears
12Bosnian,,,,,,,,,,,
7English,,,,,,
2Serbian,
1Croatian
1French

Awards

Marcel Bezençon Awards

YearCategorySongComposer(s)
PerformerFinalPointsHost city
Composer Award"Lejla"Željko Joksimović (m), Fahrudin Pecikoza (l), Dejan Ivanović (l)Hari Mata Hari3229 Athens
"Bistra voda"Aleksandar Čović (m & l)Regina9106 Moscow

Related involvement

Conductors

YearConductor
1993 (KzM)Esad Arnautalić
Noel Kelehan
Sinan Alimanović

Commentators and spokespersons

For the show's broadcast in the country, various commentators have provided commentary on the contest in the Bosnian language. At the Eurovision Song Contest after all points are calculated, the presenters of the show call upon each voting country to invite each respective spokesperson to announce the results of their vote on-screen.[10]

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

YearChannelCommentatorSpokesperson
RTVBiHDejan Zagorac
Diana Grković-Foretić
Segmedina Srna
Segmedina Srna
PBSBiHDejan KukrićSegmedina Srna
PBSBiH, RTVFBiH (FTV1)
BHTV 1, BH Radio 1 (all shows)
FTV (final)
Mija Martina
BHT 1 (all shows)
Vesna Andree-Zaimović
Melina Garibović
BHT 1, BH Radio 1 (all shows)Elvir Laković Laka
BHT 1 (all shows)Ivana Vidmar
Elvir Laković Laka
BHT 1, BH Radio 1 (all shows)
BHT 1, BHT HD, BH Radio 1 (all shows)Dejan KukrićIvana Crnogorac

Other shows

ShowCommentatorChannel
BHT 1
Maja Čengić Miralem

References

Works cited

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Sanjay. Jiandani. Bosnia and Herzegovina will not be in Malmö. ESCToday. 14 December 2012. 14 December 2012.
  2. Web site: Sanjay. Jiandani. Bosnia Herzegovina: BHRT confirms participation in Copenhagen. ESCToday. 18 November 2013. 18 November 2013.
  3. Web site: Sanjay. Jiandani. Eurovision 2014: Bosnia & Herzegovina will not compete in Copenhagen. ESCToday. 19 December 2013. 19 December 2013.
  4. Web site: Jiandani. Sanjay. Bosnia & Herzegovina: BHRT confirms participation in Eurovision 2015. esctoday.com. ESCToday. 9 September 2014. 9 September 2014.
  5. Web site: Jiandani. Sanjay. Bosnia & Herzegovina: Participation in Vienna uncertain; deadline extended. esctoday.com. ESCToday. 31 October 2014. 31 October 2014.
  6. Web site: Sanjay. Jiandani. Bosnia & Herzegovina: BHRT will not return to Eurovision in 2015. esctoday.com. ESCToday. 17 November 2014. 17 November 2014.
  7. Web site: Sanjay. Jiandani. Bosnia & Herzegovina: BHRT will not participate in Eurovision 2017. esctoday.com. ESCToday. 29 September 2016. 29 September 2016.
  8. Web site: Granger. Anthony. Bosnia & Herzegovina: BHRT Remains Sanctioned by the EBU. Eurovoix. 13 November 2023. 13 November 2023.
  9. Web site: Bosnia & Herzegovina's "primary goal" is Eurovision comeback but 2020 return "difficult". 29 December 2018. 29 December 2018.
  10. 18 May 2019. Eurovision Song Contest 2019. Tel Aviv, Israel.