Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 1997 explained

Year:1997
Country:Estonia
Preselection:Eurolaul 1997
Preselection Date:15 January 1997
Entrant:Maarja-Liis Ilus
Song:Keelatud maa
Final Result:8th, 82 points

Estonia made their third Eurovision Song Contest appearance in 1997. The preselection for the Eurovision Song Contest 1997 final would follow the same format of previous years, with a judging panel selecting the song and artist that would represent Estonia in the final. The judges would eventually choose Maarja-Liis Ilus again, making her the first Estonian entrant to have made back-to-back appearances in the Eurovision Song Contest. In the final, Ilus finished 8th.

Before Eurovision

Eurolaul 1997

The final took place at the Linnahall in Tallinn, Estonia, and was hosted by Marko Reikop and Anu Välba. Eight different songs were entered, with Pearu Paulus, Hanna-Liina Võsa and Maarja-Liis Ilus performing on more than one entry. A panel of international judges voted on each song, with Ilus' "Keelatud maa" winning by a large margin of 32 points.[1]

Despite this large margin, a public telephone poll had voted the night before that "Aeg" by Ilus, Võsa and Anne Värvimann was the nation's favourite. Despite this, "Keelatud maa" became the Estonian entrant for the 1997 contest.

Final – 15 January 1997
Draw Artist Song Songwriter(s)Points Place
1 "Keelatud maa"Kaari Sillamaa, Harmo Kallaste 72 1
2 "Liiga noor, et armuda"Leelo Tungal, Ivar Must38 3
3 Tanya "Homme" Heldur Karmo, Heini Vaikmaa29 8
4 Code One "Tantsupalavik" Kaari Sillamaa, Mikk Targo38 3
5 Hanna Pruuli"Üksik hing" Hanna Pruuli40 2
6 "Meeletu soov" Anneli Tõevere, Toomas Vanem32 5
7 Maarja-Liis Ilus, Hanna-Liina Võsa and Anne Värvimann "Aeg"Kaari Sillamaa, Priit Pajusaar31 7
8 Kate "Perpetuum mobile" Leelo Tungal, Aivar Joonas32 5
Detailed International Jury Votes
DrawSong
Joan Maria Clavaguera

Maria G

Enrico Nuti

Hans C. Anderssen

Pia Kalischer

Hans Cuny

Dušan Popovič

Gabriella Faludi
Total
1"Keelatud maa"10101010888872
2"Liiga noor, et armuda"84136310338
3"Homme"5162153629
4"Tantsupalavik"6386346238
5"Üksik hing"253810111040
6"Meeletu soov"1254465532
7"Aeg"4645524131
8"Perpetuum mobile"38212102432

There were supposed to be nine jurors, but the Russian juror (Vladimir Matetsky) did not receive the tape with the songs on time to judge them.[2]

At Eurovision

Ahead of the contest, Estonia were considered one of the favourites among bookmakers to win the contest, featuring alongside the entries from,, and .[3] On the night of the final, Ilus performed 13th, following Poland and preceding Bosnia and Herzegovina. She performed strongly again and at the end of the voting she received 82 points, placing 8th in a field of 25.[4] The Estonian jury awarded its 12 points to France.

Alongside with Ilus on stage, Evelin Samuel and Airi Allvee were providing back vocals.

Voting

Notes and References

  1. Web site: ESTONIAN NATIONAL FINAL 1997.
  2. http://mylittleworld.nfshost.com/edb/estoni97.htm 1997 Estonian national final report
  3. Web site: What are the Odds? . Radio Telefís Éireann . 20 November 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/19990224192111/http://events.rte.ie/eurovision97/odds.html . 24 February 1999 . dead.
  4. Web site: Final of Dublin 1997 . European Broadcasting Union . 14 April 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210414084557/https://eurovision.tv/event/dublin-1997/final . 14 April 2021 . live.
  5. Web site: Results of the Final of Dublin 1997 . European Broadcasting Union . 14 April 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210414112929/https://eurovision.tv/event/dublin-1997/final/results/estonia . 14 April 2021 . live.