| Year: | 1996 |
| Country: | Macedonia |
| Preselection: | Skopje Fest 1996 |
| Preselection Date: | 3 March 1996 |
| Entrant: | Kaliopi |
| Song: | Samo ti |
| Final Result: | Failed to qualify (26th) |
Macedonia attempted to enter the Eurovision Song Contest 1996, the first time the country tried to enter the Eurovision Song Contest. Macedonia selected Kaliopi to represent them in Norway, after winning the national final selection with the song "Samo ti". However, Macedonia was one of seven countries which failed to qualify for the Eurovision final from a pre-qualifying round, so they were not present in Oslo.
The final was held on 3 March 1996 at the Makedonska Narodna Theatre in Skopje, hosted by Biljana Debarlieva and Borce Nikolovski. The winner was chosen by a combination of votes from an "expert" jury, radio stations across Macedonia, and the audience in the hall.[1]
| Draw | Artist | Song | Points | Place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marjan Nečak | "Marija" (Macedonian: Марија) | 10 | 14 | |
| 2 | Erol Redžepagić | "Koga kje prestanat solzite" (Macedonian: Кога ќе престанат солзите) | 0 | 18 | |
| 3 | Margica Antevska | "Te nema da go slušame Šopen" (Macedonian: Те нема да го слушаме Шопен) | 6 | 15 | |
| 4 | Jon Ilija Apelgrin | "Spomeni" (Macedonian: Спомени) | 17 | 12 | |
| 5 | Leonarda and Trio Eka | "Kambanite vo nokjta zvonat" (Macedonian: Камбаните во ноќта ѕвонат) | 45 | 7 | |
| 6 | Kiril Kotevski | "Dali nokjva si sonuvala" (Macedonian: Дали ноќва си сонувала) | 3 | 16 | |
| 7 | Katerina Micanova and Goce | "Zarobeni od džezot" (Macedonian: Заробени од џезот) | 0 | 18 | |
| 8 | Miki Jovanovski-Džafer | "Kolku vredi ljubovta" (Macedonian: Колку вреди љубовта) | 11 | 13 | |
| 9 | Karolina Gočeva | "Ma ajde kazi mi" (Macedonian: Ма ајде кажи ми) | 29 | 9 | |
| 10 | Sašo Kaimovski | "Zaboravi" (Macedonian: Заборави) | 87 | 6 | |
| 11 | Silvi Band | "Srekjna karta" (Macedonian: Среќна карта) | 2 | 17 | |
| 12 | Dejan Kuzmanovski and Petar Reinov | "Gospod prostuva" (Macedonian: Господ простува) | 0 | 18 | |
| 13 | Duo Marotov | "Tugja žena" (Macedonian: Туѓа жена) | 24 | 11 | |
| 14 | Intervali | "Pak e prolet" (Macedonian: Пак е пролет) | 143 | 4 | |
| 15 | Cvetanka Gligorova | "Vo tvojot pogled" (Macedonian: Во твојот поглед) | 127 | 5 | |
| 16 | Tanja Carovska | "Kade li leta" (Macedonian: Каде ли лета) | 28 | 10 | |
| 17 | Tijana Todevska | "Ti prostuvam" (Macedonian: Ти простувам) | 223 | 3 | |
| 18 | Kaliopi | "Samo ti" (Macedonian: Само ти) | 411 | 1 | |
| 19 | Avantura | "Ti se budiš utrovo" (Macedonian: Ти се будиш утрово) | 34 | 8 | |
| 20 | Maja Odžaklievska | "Prosti mi" (Macedonian: Прости ми) | 329 | 2 |
In 1996, for the only time in Eurovision history, an audio-only qualifying round (from which hosts Norway were exempt) was held on 20 March as 29 countries wished to participate in the final but the European Broadcasting Union had set a limit of 22 (plus Norway). The countries occupying the bottom seven places after the pre-qualifier would be unable to take part in the main contest.[2] Kaliopi was not among those to qualify, placing joint 26th with 14 points and bringing Macedonia's participation in 1996 to a premature end.[3] [4]
Macedonia would eventually debut two years later, in 1998.