La selezione dei partecipanti all’Eurovision Song Contest spetta alle emittenti televisive competenti dei singoli stati. A loro spetta la scelta del metodo di selezione: una selezione interna (quindi cantante e/o brano vengono scelti dall’emittente stessa), come accade solitamente per San Marino o Australia, oppure può organizzare un festival musicale (il pubblico sceglie un vincitore che viene invitato a partecipare all’Eurovision Song Contest), come accade in Norvegia (Norsk Melodi Grand Prix), Svezia (Melodifestivalen), Italia (Festival di Sanremo), Grecia (Ellinikós Telikós) e molti altri. Il vincitore dell’eventuale festival però non è obbligato a partecipare all’Eurovision Song Contest né tanto meno è obbligato ad esibirsi con la canzone vincitrice, ad esempio Iva Zanicchi ha vinto il Festival di Sanremo nel 1969, in coppia con Bobby Solo, con la canzone “Zingara”, ma all’Eurovision Song Contest si presentò da sola con il brano “Due grosse lacrime bianche”. Con il tempo buona parte delle emittenti sta abbandonando la selezione interna in favore del festival musicale.
I partecipanti non devono obbligatoriamente avere vincoli di nazionalità (ad esempio nel 1988 la Svizzera vinse con la cantante canadese Céline Dion) e le canzoni non hanno restrizioni riguardanti la lingua (anche se nelle prime edizioni vigeva un obbligo di cantare in una delle lingue ufficiali del proprio paese).
L’Eurovision Song Contest 2023 sarà la 67ª edizione dell’annuale concorso canoro. Il concorso si svolgerà presso la Liverpool Arena di Liverpool, nel Regno Unito, dopo che l’Ucraina, vincitrice dell’edizione precedente in seguito alla vittoria della Kalush Orchestra con “Stefania”, è stata dichiarata non in grado di ospitare il concorso a causa dell’invasione russa del territorio ucraino; sarà la nona edizione della manifestazione musicale a svolgersi in terra britannica, dopo le edizioni del 1960, 1963, 1968, 1972, 1974, 1977, 1982 e 1998.
A seguito della vittoria ucraina all’edizione 2022, ospitata dalla città italiana di Torino, l’EBU-UER ha invitato il paese, come da tradizione, a ospitare l’evento l’anno seguente, divenendo così la terza edizione della manifestazione musicale a svolgersi in Ucraina dopo quelle del 2005 e del 2017. Tuttavia, alla luce dell’invasione russa del territorio ucraino, è stato ipotizzato che un paese facente parte dei Big Five (Francia, Germania, Italia, Regno Unito e Spagna) avrebbe ospitato l’evento in cooperazione con l’emittente UA:PBC. A stretto giro ha seguito l’interesse ad ospitare l’evento di diversi paesi tra cui il Belgio (RTBF), l’Italia (Rai), i Paesi Bassi (NPO/AVROTROS), la Polonia (TVP), il Regno Unito (BBC) e la Svezia (SVT). Originariamente anche la Spagna (RTVE) aveva mostrato interesse a ospitare l’evento ma il 14 giugno 2022 ha ufficialmente ritirato la sua candidatura.
Il 17 giugno 2022 l’EBU-UER tramite un comunicato ha annunciato che l’Ucraina non sarebbe stata in grado di ospitare l’evento, facendone così la prima edizione dal 1980 a non essere ospitata dal paese vincitore, e che sarebbero state avviate discussioni con la BBC per una potenziale organizzazione nel Regno Unito, secondo classificato nell’edizione 2022.
Il 25 luglio successivo l’EBU-UER ha annunciato che il Regno Unito, con un’organizzazione congiunta tra BBC e UA:PBC, avrebbe organizzato la manifestazione, confermando inoltre che l’Ucraina avrebbe avuto un posto automatico nella finale in qualità di vincitrice dell’edizione precedente.
Dopo che l’EBU-UER ha annunciato che sarebbero iniziate le discussioni con la BBC, a stretto giro ha seguito l’interesse a ospitare l’evento di venti città britanniche: Aberdeen (P&J Live), Belfast (SSE Odyssey Arena), Birmingham (Resorts World Arena e Utilita Arena Birmingham), Brighton (Brighton Centre), Bristol (YTL Arena), Cardiff (Principality Stadium), Darlington (Darlington Arena), Derry (Millennium Forum), Edimburgo (Highland Hall), Glasgow (OVO Hydro), Leeds (First Direct Arena), Liverpool (Liverpool Arena), Londra (O2 Arena, Copper Box e Wembley Arena), Manchester (Manchester Arena), Newcastle (Utilita Arena), Nottingham (Motorpoint Arena), Prudhoe, Sheffield (Sheffield Arena), Sunderland (Stadium of Light) e Wolverhampton (Molineux Stadium, Dunstall Park e Civic Halls).
Il 5 agosto la BBC e l’EBU-UER hanno annunciato e presentato il bando per ospitare la manifestazione, tramite il quale tutte le città interessate avrebbero potuto presentare ufficialmente la propria candidatura. Le prime città ad annunciare una mancanza d’interesse sono state Cardiff (citando la lista già ampia degli eventi previsti all’interno della città), Derry (che avrebbe appoggiato la candidatura di Belfast in assenza di una sede adatta), Nottingham (poiché la città non rispettava i criteri di disponibilità),[46] Brighton (per la mancanza di una sede idonea) e Sunderland (per la mancanza di disponibilità della sede proposta).
Il 12 agosto la BBC e l’UER hanno annunciato che la scelta era stata ristretta alle città di Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle e Sheffield. Queste città sono passate alla seconda fase della selezione, dove hanno avuto tempo fino all’8 settembre per sviluppare un dossier dettagliato, che rispettava tutte le necessità per ospitare il concorso, da sottoporre alla valutazione della BBC, che avrebbe successivamente visitato le città candidate.
Il 27 settembre la BBC e l’EBU-UER hanno comunicato che la scelta era stata ristretta ulteriormente alle città di Glasgow e Liverpool, che rispettavano tutte le necessità del concorso, scartando di conseguenza Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle e Sheffield.
Il successivo 7 ottobre, durante il programma di BBC One The One Show, è stato confermato che la sede dell’Eurovision Song Contest 2023 sarebbe stata la Liverpool Arena dell’omonima città.
Eurovision Song Contest 2021 ← Eurovision Song Contest 2022 → Eurovision Song Contest 2023 Contest
🇳🇴 Norway • 🇲🇹 Malta • 🇷🇸 Serbia • 🇱🇻 Latvia • 🇵🇹 Portugal • 🇮🇪 Ireland •🇭🇷 Croatia • 🇨🇭 Switzerland • 🇮🇱 Israel • 🇲🇩 Moldova • 🇸🇪 Sweden • 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan • 🇨🇿 Czechia • 🇳🇱 The Netherlands • 🇫🇮 Finland
• Country: 🇳🇴 Norvegia
• National selection:
- Selection process: ‘Norsk’ Melodi Grand Prix – MGP 2023 (Norwegian Melodi Grand Pris)
- Selection date(s): Semi-finals: Semi-final 1: 14 January 2023; Semi-final 2: 21 January 2023; Semi-final 3: 28 January 2023 Ι Final: 4 February 2023
- Host venue: Semi-finals: Screen Studios, Nydalen Ι Final: Trondheim Spektrum, Trondheim
- Presenter(s): Arianrhod «Arian» Engebø, Stian «Staysman» Thorbjørnsen
- Host broadcaster: NRK
- Participants – Number of entries: 21 (9 FI)
- Voting system: 100% televoting (Semifinals); 50% televoting
50% international jury (Finale) - Selection entrant: Alessandra (Alessandra Watle Mele)
- Selection song: “Queen of Kings” (Dronningen av Konger)
- Selected songwriter(s): Henning Olerud, Stanley Ferdinandez, Alessandra Mele, Linda Dale
• Final performance:
- Semi-final result: 1º SF 1: Qualified (6th, 102 points)
- Final result: 5th, 268 points
Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool, United Kingdom, with “Queen of Kings” performed by Alessandra. The Norwegian broadcaster Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix 2023 in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 2023 contest. 21 entries were selected to compete in the national final, which consists of four shows: three semi-finals and a final. Nine entries ultimately qualified to compete in the final on 4 February 2023, and the winner was determined following the combination of votes from ten international jury groups and a public online vote. Norway qualified from the first semi-final to compete in the grand final on 13 May, ultimately finishing in fifth place with 268 points, the country’s highest placing since 2013.
1.Background. Prior to the 2023 contest, Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest sixty-one times since its first entry in 1960. Norway has won the contest on three occasions: in 1985 with the song “La det swinge” performed by Bobbysocks!, in 1995 with the song “Nocturne” performed by Secret Garden and in 2009 with the song “Fairytale” performed by Alexander Rybak. Norway also has the two dubious distinctions of having finished last in the Eurovision final more than any other country and for having the most nul points (zero points) in the contest, the latter being a record the nation shared together with Austria. The country has finished last eleven times and has failed to score a point in four contests. Following the introduction of semi-finals for 2004, Norway has finished in the top ten nine times. In 2022, “Give That Wolf a Banana” performed by Subwoolfer qualified to the final and placed tenth.
The Norwegian national broadcaster, Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK), broadcasts the event within Norway and organises the selection process for the nation’s entry. NRK confirmed their intentions to participate at the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest on 6 June 2022. The broadcaster has traditionally organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix, which has selected the Norwegian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest in all but one of their participations. Along with their participation confirmation, the broadcaster revealed details regarding their selection procedure and announced the organization of Melodi Grand Prix 2023 in order to select the 2023 Norwegian entry.
2.Before Eurovision.
Melodi Grand Prix 2023: Melodi Grand Prix 2023 was the 61st edition of the Norwegian national final Melodi Grand Prix which selected Norway’s entry for the 2023 contest. The competition consisted of three semi-finals at Screen Studios in Nydalen on 14, 21 and 28 February 2023 and a final at the Trondheim Spektrum in Trondheim. The four shows were hosted by Arian Engebø and Stian Thorbjørnsen and were televised on NRK1 and NRK TV as well as streamed online at NRK’s official website nrk.no. In each semi-final, seven songs competed and the top three entries were selected to proceed to the final. The results in the semi-finals were determined exclusively by online voting, while the results in the final were determined by online voting and ten international jury groups.
Semi-finals:
- The first semi-final took place on 14 January 2023. “Queen of Kings” performed by Alessandra, “Geronimo” performed by Umami Tsunami and “Honestly” performed by Ulrikke Brandstorp advanced to the final, while “Wave” performed by Eirik Næss, “Tresko” performed by Rasmus Thall, “Tårer i paradis” performed by Kate Gulbrandsen and “Freaky for the Weekend” performed by Byron Williams Jr. & Jowst were eliminated.
- The second semi-final took place on 21 January 2023. “Ekko inni meg” performed by Jone, “Prohibition” performed by Swing’it and “Love You in a Dream” performed by Elsie Bay advanced to the final, while “Drøm d bort” performed by Sandra Lyng, “Fuego” performed by Alejandro Fuentes, “Waist” performed by Ella and “Turn Off My Heart” performed by Bjørn Olav Edvardsen were eliminated.
- The third semi-final took place on 28 January 2023. “Love Again” performed by Skrellex, “Not Meant to Be” performed by Eline Thorp and “Masterpiece” performed by Atle Pettersen advanced to the final, while “Triumph” performed by Akuvi, “Break It” performed by Tiril, “Someday” performed by Stig van Eijk and “Freya” performed by Maria Celin were eliminated.
Final. The final took place on 4 February 2023.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Jury | Televote | Total | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jone | “Ekko inni meg“ | 40 | 30 | 70 | 5 |
| 2 | Eline Thorp | “Not Meant to Be” | 42 | 18 | 60 | 6 |
| 3 | Skrellex | “Love Again” | 14 | 40 | 54 | 7 |
| 4 | Ulrikke Brandstorp | “Honestly” | 60 | 78 | 138 | 2 |
| 5 | Umami Tsunami | “Geronimo” | 19 | 30 | 49 | 9 |
| 6 | Atle Pettersen | “Masterpiece” | 94 | 28 | 122 | 3 |
| 7 | Swing’it | “Prohibition” | 8 | 43 | 51 | 8 |
| 8 | Elsie Bay | “Love You in a Dream” | 49 | 34 | 83 | 4 |
| 9 | Alessandra | “Queen of Kings” | 104 | 129 | 233 | 1 |
2.0.Melodi Grand Prix 2023. Melodi Grand Prix 2023 was the 61st edition of Melodi Grand Prix (MGP), the annual Norwegian music competition that serves as the country’s preselection for the Eurovision Song Contest. It was organised by Norway’s public broadcaster NRK, and consisted of three semi-finals and a final, held throughout January and February 2023. The winner of the competition, Alessandra with “Queen of Kings”, went on to represent Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool, United Kingdom in May 2023.
2.0.1.Format. The contest consisted of three semi-finals at Screen Studios in Nydalen, and a final at Trondheim Spektrum. From 2020 to 2022, a number of artists were formerly pre-qualified for the final, but this was no longer the case in 2023. Moreover, there were no duels nor a “last chance” round, and voting began once all of the artists have performed. A total of 21 entries competed, with seven songs for each semi-final. The three performers who obtain the most votes qualified for the final. In addition, the international jury was re-introduced in the final, consisting of industry professionals from multiple countries. The jury and the public each contributed 50% to the final result.
According to Stig Karlsen, who is in charge of the organization of the event for NRK, the contest would “now [be] going for a competition model that is easier to understand, and where all the artists compete with the same starting point.”
In October 2022, it was announced that the contest would be hosted by Arian Engebø and Stian Thorbjørnsen.
Competing entries. About one month after the Eurovision Song Contest 2022, NRK officially opened submissions for songwriters to submit entries for Melodi Grand Prix 2023. The submission window closed on 18 September 2022.
The competition is open to all songwriters, and each songwriter can submit up to three songs. Each song should have at least one Norwegian contributor, in order to “prioritise and promote the Norwegian music scene”. In addition to the open submission, NRK also looked for possible entries through targeted search and direct dialogue with the Norwegian music industry, and through songwriting camps held in August 2022.
In October 2022, it was announced that 21 entries were selected to take part in the contest. The competing artists were announced on 4 January, with the respective entries to be released on a weekly basis, starting from 9 January. Among the competing artists are Kate Gulbrandsen, Stig van Eijk, Jowst and Ulrikke Brandstorp, winners of Melodi Grand Prix in 1987, 1999, 2017 and 2020, respectively.
| Artist | Song | Composer(s) |
|---|---|---|
| AKUVI | “Triumph” | Anderz Wrethov, Andreas Stone Johansson, Beatrice Akuvi Hosen Kumordzie, Konstantinos Vlastaras |
| Alejandro Fuentes (Alejandro Javiero Fuentes) | “Fuego” | Alejandro Fuentes, Chris Young, Mateo Camargo, Nermin Harambasic |
| Alessandra / (Alessandra Mele (Alessandra Watle Mele) | “Queen of Kings” | Alessandra Mele, Henning Olerud, Linda Dale, Stanley Ferdinandez |
| Atle Pettersen | “Masterpiece” | Andreas Stone Johansson, Atle Pettersen, Hannah Dorothy Bristow |
| Bjørn Olav Edvardsen | “Turn Off My Heart” | Bjørn Olav Edvardsen, Christian Ingebrigtsen, Henrik Thala |
| Byron Williams Jr. and JOWST (Joakim With Steen) | “Freaky for the Weekend” | Byron Williams Jr., Joachim With Steen |
| Eirik Næss | “Wave” | Amalie Olsen, Eirik Næss, Viktor Ljungqvist |
| Eline Thorp (Eline Thorp Steffensen) | “Not Meant to Be” | Andreas Stone Johansson, Eline Thorp, Elsa Søllesvik, Jonas Holteberg Jensen |
| Ella (Raphaela Antônia Souza Silva) | “Waist” | Isabell Røren Hannevig, Raphaela Antônia Souza Silva, Timothy John Adam Gosden, Tristan Henry |
| Elsie Bay | “Love You in a Dream” | Andreas Stone Johansson, Elsa Søllesvik, Tom Oehler |
| JONE | “Ekko inni meg“ | Audun Guldbransen, Christine Ekeberg, Christopher Colin Archer, Jonas Nes Steinset, Morten Franck, Silje Blandkjenn |
| Kate Gulbrandsen | “Tårer i paradis“ | Kate Gulbrandsen, Kjetil Mørland |
| Maria Celin (Maria Celin Strand) | “Freya” | Anna Timgren, Benjamin Alasu, Eirik Fjeld, Gaute Ormåsen, Sindre Timberlid Jenssen |
| Rasmus Thall (Rasmus Simon Vedvik Thallaug) | “Tresko” | Farida Louise Bolseth Benounis, Rasmus Simon Vedvik Thallaug, Robin Alexander Vedvik Helmersen |
| Sandra Lyng (Sandra Lyng Haugen) | “Drøm d bort“ | Erlend Torheim, Ferdinann West, Kristina Blakli, Sandra Lyng |
| Skrellex (Kai Thomas Larsen) | “Love Again” | Jonas Gladnikoff, Kai Thomas Ryen Larsen, Michael James Down, Primož Poglajen, Will Taylor |
| Stig van Eijk (Stig André van Eijk) | “Someday” | Beate Helen Thunes, Stig van Eijk |
| Swing’it (Martin Jarl Velsin, Leif Peter Vilhelm Grahn, Edvard Bondi Knowles, Jan Ivar Ekroll, Vebjørn Mamen, Håvard Mathisen Tanner og Håkon Kvam) | “Prohibition” | Jonah Charles Hitchens, Martin Jarl Velsin, Sam Peter Norris, Vebjørn Mamen |
| Tiril Beisland | “Break It” | Benjamin Pinkus, Emelie Hollow, Emma Steinbakken, Lars Rossnes |
| Ulrikke (Ulrikke Brandstorp) | “Honestly” | Ben Adams, Christoffer Gunnestad, Helge Moen, Jim Bergsted, Joshua Oliver, Ulrikke Brandstorp |
| Umami Tsunami featuring Kyle Alessandro, Kristian Haugstøyl & Magnus Winjum (Kyle Alessandro, Kristian Haux og Magnus Winjum) | “Geronimo” | Bjørn Olav Edvardsen, Carl-Henrik Wahl, Kristian Lund, Lasse Nymann, Sindre Jenssen, Torgeir Ryssevik |
Semi-finals
2.1.1.Semi-finals.
2.1.1.1.Semi-final 1. The first semi-final took place on 14 January 2023.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alessandra | “Queen of Kings” | Advanced |
| 2 | Eirik Næss | “Wave” | Eliminated |
| 3 | Rasmus Thall | “Tresko“ | Eliminated |
| 4 | Kate Gulbrandsen | “Tårer i paradis“ | Eliminated |
| 5 | Umami Tsunami | “Geronimo” | Advanced |
| 6 | Ulrikke Brandstorp | “Honestly” | Advanced |
| 7 | Byron Williams Jr. & Jowst | “Freaky for the Weekend” | Eliminated |
2.1.1.2.Semi-final 2. The first semi-final took place on 14 January 2023.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jone | “Ekko inni meg“ | Advanced |
| 2 | Sandra Lyng | “Drøm d bort“ | Eliminated |
| 3 | Alejandro Fuentes | “Fuego” | Eliminated |
| 4 | Swing’it | “Prohibition” | Advanced |
| 5 | Elsie Bay | “Love You in a Dream” | Advanced |
| 6 | Ella | “Waist” | Eliminated |
| 7 | Bjørn Olav Edvardsen | “Turn Off My Heart” | Eliminated |
2.1.1.3.Semi-final 3. The third semi-final will take place on 28 January 2023.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Akuvi | “Triumph” | Eliminated |
| 2 | Tiril | “Break It” | Eliminated |
| 3 | Skrellex | “Love Again” | Advanced |
| 4 | Eline Thorp | “Not Meant to Be” | Advanced |
| 5 | Stig van Eijk | “Someday” | Eliminated |
| 6 | Maria Celin | “Freya” | Eliminated |
| 7 | Atle Pettersen | “Masterpiece” | Advanced |
2.1.2.Final. The final took place on 4 February 2023. The winner was selected by a 50/50 combination of public televoting and ten international juries. In addition to the competing entries, Subwoolfer, who represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022, also performed as an interval act.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Jury | Televote | Total | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jone | “Ekko inni meg“ | 40 | 30 | 70 | 5 |
| 2 | Eline Thorp | “Not Meant to Be” | 42 | 18 | 60 | 6 |
| 3 | Skrellex | “Love Again” | 14 | 40 | 54 | 7 |
| 4 | Ulrikke Brandstorp | “Honestly” | 60 | 78 | 138 | 2 |
| 5 | Umami Tsunami | “Geronimo” | 19 | 30 | 49 | 9 |
| 6 | Atle Pettersen | “Masterpiece” | 94 | 28 | 122 | 3 |
| 7 | Swing’it | “Prohibition” | 8 | 43 | 51 | 8 |
| 8 | Elsie Bay | “Love You in a Dream” | 49 | 34 | 83 | 4 |
| 9 | Alessandra | “Queen of Kings” | 104 | 129 | 233 | 1 |
| Draw | Song |  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | “Ekko inni meg“ | 8 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | |||
| 2 | “Not Meant to Be” | 1 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 2 | |
| 3 | “Love Again” | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 1 | ||||
| 4 | “Honestly” | 4 | 8 | 1 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 8 | 6 |
| 5 | “Geronimo” | 10 | 1 | 4 | 4 | ||||||
| 6 | “Masterpiece” | 10 | 4 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 12 | 10 |
| 7 | “Prohibition” | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | ||||||
| 8 | “Love You in a Dream” | 6 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 9 | “Queen of Kings” | 12 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 2 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 12 |
| International Jury Spokespersons | |||||||||||
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| Country | Jury Members |
|---|---|
| Azerbaijan |
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| Czech Republic |
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| Finland |
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| France |
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| Iceland |
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| Netherlands |
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| Spain |
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| Sweden |
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| Ukraine |
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| United Kingdom |
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Ratings.
| Show | Air date | Viewers (millions) | Share (%) | -. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Final | 4 February 2023 | 0.957 | — | – |
3.At Eurovision. According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the “Big Five” (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 31 January 2023, an allocation draw was held, which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, and determined which half of the show they would perform in. Norway has been placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 9 May 2023, and has been scheduled to perform in the first half of the show.
Once all the competing songs for the 2023 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows’ producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Norway was set to perform in position 1, before the entry from Malta.
At the end of the show, Norway was announced as a qualifier for the final.
3.1.Voting.
3.1.1.Points awarded to Norway.
| Score | Televote |
|---|---|
| 12 points | – |
| 10 points |
|
| 8 points |  Moldova |
| 7 points | – |
| 6 points |  Croatia |
| 5 points |
|
| 4 points |  Latvia |
| 3 points |
|
| 2 points |
|
| 1 point | France |
3.2.1.Points awarded by Norway.
| Score | Televote | Jury |
|---|---|---|
| 12 points | Finland |
– |
| 10 points |
|
|
| 8 points |
|
Sweden |
| 7 points |
|
– |
| 6 points |
|
 Germany |
| 5 points |
|
– |
| 4 points |
|
|
| 3 points | Latvia |
– |
| 2 points |
|
|
| 1 point | France |
|
3.2.2.Points awarded by Norway.
|
| Score | Televote | Jury |
|---|---|---|
| 12 points | Finland |
Finland |
| 10 points | Sweden |
Sweden |
| 8 points | France |
Moldova |
| 7 points |  Italy |
 Cyprus |
| 6 points |  Poland |
Italy |
| 5 points |  Switzerland |
 Australia |
| 4 points |  Belgium |
Czech Republic |
| 3 points |  Israel |
Israel |
| 2 points | Cyprus |
Switzerland |
| 1 point | Ukraine |
Spain |
Detailed voting results. The following members comprised the Norwegian jury:
- Jonas Nes Steinset
- Raymond Enoksen
- Eli Kristin Hanssveen
- Emmy Kristine Guttulsrud Kristiansen
- Mimmi Tamba
| Draw | Country | Jury | Televote | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Juror 1 | Juror 2 | Juror 3 | Juror 4 | Juror 5 | Rank | Points | Rank | Points | ||
| 01 |  Austria |
19 | 22 | 8 | 21 | 4 | 12 | – | 19 | – |
| 02 |  Portugal |
10 | 8 | 23 | 16 | 16 | 16 | – | 24 | – |
| 03 | Switzerland |
5 | 10 | 15 | 6 | 22 | 9 | 2 | 6 | 5 |
| 04 | Poland |
15 | 21 | 14 | 18 | 9 | 18 | – | 5 | 6 |
| 05 |  Serbia |
22 | 14 | 16 | 7 | 6 | 13 | – | 20 | – |
| 06 | France |
7 | 15 | 11 | 19 | 19 | 15 | – | 3 | 8 |
| 07 | Cyprus |
11 | 2 | 3 | 17 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 2 |
| 08 | Spain |
9 | 24 | 18 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 1 | 23 | – |
| 09 | Sweden |
2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 2 | 10 |
| 10 |  Albania |
16 | 20 | 20 | 23 | 18 | 24 | – | 16 | – |
| 11 | Italy |
6 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 17 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 7 |
| 12 |  Estonia |
13 | 11 | 21 | 22 | 7 | 14 | – | 18 | – |
| 13 | Finland |
1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 12 |
| 14 | Czech Republic |
21 | 5 | 19 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 14 | – |
| 15 | Australia |
3 | 16 | 4 | 15 | 13 | 6 | 5 | 15 | – |
| 16 | Belgium |
12 | 18 | 17 | 20 | 12 | 20 | – | 7 | 4 |
| 17 |  Armenia |
20 | 13 | 22 | 14 | 20 | 23 | – | 25 | – |
| 18 | Moldova |
4 | 7 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 12 | – |
| 19 | Ukraine |
23 | 17 | 25 | 9 | 21 | 21 | – | 10 | 1 |
| 20 |  Norway |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 21 | Germany |
25 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 14 | 11 | – | 17 | – |
| 22 |  Lithuania |
18 | 9 | 9 | 24 | 15 | 17 | – | 13 | – |
| 23 | Israel |
8 | 12 | 5 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 3 |
| 24 |  Slovenia |
14 | 23 | 13 | 11 | 23 | 19 | – | 22 | – |
| 25 | Croatia |
24 | 25 | 24 | 13 | 24 | 25 | – | 11 | – |
| 26 | United Kingdom |
17 | 19 | 10 | 25 | 25 | 22 | – | 21 | – |
• Country: 🇲🇹 Malta
• National selection:
- Selection process: Artist: Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2023
- Selection date(s): MESC 2023: Quarter-finals: Quarter-final 1: 13 January 2023, Quarter-final 2: 20 January 2023, Quarter-final 3: 27 January 2023 Ι Semi-final: 9 February 2023 Ι Final: 11 February 2023
- Host venue: Malta Fairs and Conventions Centre, Ta’ Qali, Malta
- Presenter(s): Ryan Borg u Josmar (Quarter-finals), Amber Bondin u Glen Vella (Semi-final & Final)
- Host broadcaster: PBS
- Participants – Number of entries: 16 songs will compete in the Final (Quarter-finals: 10 songs will compete in Quarter-final 1, 10 songs will compete in Quarter-final 2, 10 songs will compete in Quarter-final 3, 10 songs will compete in Quarter-final 4, Semi-final: 24 songs will compete in the Semi-final, 16 songs will qualify for the Final)
- Voting system: 50% jury, 50% televoting
- Selection entrant: The Busker (David “Dav.Jr” Grech, Jean Paul Borg and Sean Meachen)
- Selection song: “Dance (Our Own Party)”
- Selected songwriter(s): David Meilak, Jean Paul Borg, Sean Meachen, Matthew James Borg, Michael Joe Cini
• Final performance:
- Semi-final result: 2º SF 1: Failed to qualify (3th, 15 points)
- Final result: —
Malta participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. The Maltese entry for the 2023 contest was performed by the band the Busker, who won the national final Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2023 with their song “Dance (Our Own Party)”, organised by the Maltese broadcaster Public Broadcasting Services (PBS). The competition consisted of three quarter-finals, a semi-final and a final, held in January and February 2023.
Malta was drawn to compete in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 9 May 2023. Performing during the show in position 2, “Dance (Our Own Party)” was not announced among the top 10 entries of the first semi-final and therefore did not qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Malta placed last out of the 15 participating countries in the semi-final with 3 points.
1.Background. Prior to the 2023 contest, Malta had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest thirty-four times since its first entry in 1971. Malta briefly competed in the Eurovision Song Contest in the 1970s before withdrawing for sixteen years. The country had competed in every contest between their return in 1991, and 2022. Malta’s best placing in the contest thus far was second, which it achieved on two occasions: in 2002 with the song “7th Wonder” performed by Ira Losco and in the 2005 contest with the song “Angel” performed by Chiara. In 2022, Malta failed to qualify for the final with the song “I Am What I Am” performed by Emma Muscat.
The Maltese national broadcaster, Public Broadcasting Services (PBS), broadcast the event within Malta and organised the selection process for the nation’s entry. The broadcaster opted to select the Maltese entry for the 2022 contest during a national selection show titled Malta Eurovision Song Contest, a process that will be continued for their 2023 entry.
2.Before Eurovision.
2.1.Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2023. Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2023 was the national final format developed by PBS to select the Maltese entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. The competition consisted of three quarter-finals, a semi-final and final held between 13 January 2023 and 11 February 2023. All shows were broadcast on Television Malta (TVM) as well as on the broadcaster’s website tvm.com.mt.
2.1.1.Format. The competition consisted of 40 songs competing in three quarter-finals on 13, 20 and 27 January 2023. The top twenty-four entries qualified to compete in the semi-final on 9 February 2023 where the top sixteen entries qualified to compete in the final on 11 February 2023. Five judges evaluated the songs during all phases and their votes were combined with the results of the public televote, each having an equal weighting in the final result. Ties in the final results were broken based on the entry which received the higher score from the judges. Monetary prizes were also given to the competing artists. The winner received €10,000, the runner-up received €4,000, the second runner-up received €2,000 and the remaining artists received €300 each. Former Maltese Eurovision entrants Paul Giordimaina (1991), Moira Stafrace (1994), Mike Spiteri (1995) and Ludwig Galea (2004) were appointed as consultants of the competition in order to offer support to the artists. The five members of the jury that evaluated the entries during all phases consisted of:
- Sergio Gor – Publisher
- Corazon Mizzi – Singer-songwriter
- Matthew Bugeja – Conductor
- Antoine Farrugia – Artistic director of Notte Bianca
- Dorothy Bezzina – Singer
2.1.2.Competing entries. Artists and composers were able to submit their entries between 17 October 2022 and 31 October 2022. Songwriters from any nationality were able to submit songs as long as the artist were Maltese or possessed Maltese citizenship. Artists were able to submit as many songs as they wished, however, they could only compete with one in the quarter-finals. 2022 Maltese Eurovision entrant Emma Muscat was unable to compete due to a rule that prevented the previous winner from competing in the following competition. The 40 songs selected to compete in the quarter-finals were announced on 21 November 2022. Among the selected competing artists are former Eurovision entrants Fabizio Faniello who represented Malta in the 2001 and 2006 contests, Jessika who represented San Marino in the 2018 contest, Francesca Sciberras who represented Malta in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2009, and Eliana Gomez Blanco who represented Malta in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2019.
| Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Andrè | “Broken Hill” | Toby Farrugia, David Cassar Torreggiani, Andre’ Portelli |
| Bradley Debono | “Blackout” | Christina Magrin |
| Brooke | “Checkmate” | Brooke Borg, Gerard James Borg, Christian Rabb, Dino Medanhodzic, Lukas Meijer |
| Cheryl Balzan | “La La Land” | David Cassar Torreggiani, Cheryl Balzan, Toby Farrugia |
| Chris Grech | “Indescribable” | Joakim Dubbelman, Gerard James Borg, Jesper Rune, Arve Furset |
| Christian Arding | “Eku ċar” (Clear echo) | Jan van Dijck, Emil Calleja Bayliss |
| Clintess | “Lura qatt” (Never backwards) | Dominic Cini, Etienne Micallef |
| Dan | “It’ll Be OK” | Daniel Muscat Caruana |
| Dario | “Pawn in a Game” | Henric Pierroff, Emil Vaker, Karin Pierroff |
| Dario Bezzina | “Bridle Road” | Martin Älenmark, Darren Michaels, Charlie Mason |
| Dominic and Anna | “Whatever the Wind May Blow” | Alexander Berger, Michael Tauben, Will Taylor, Jonas Gladnikoff |
| Eliana Gomez Blanco | “Guess What” | Ray Agius, Alfred C. Sant |
| Fabrizio Faniello | “Try to Be Better” | Johan Bejerholm |
| Francesca Sciberras | “Masquerade” | Macro Debono, Rita Pace |
| Geo Debono | “The Mirror” | Daniele Moretti, Natasha Turner, Niall Mooney |
| Giada | “I Depend on You” | Melanie Georgiou |
| Greta Tude | “Sound of My Stilettos” | Antoine Farrugia, Muxu, Cyprian Cassar |
| Haley | “Tik Tok” | Philip Vella, Gerard James Borg |
| Ian | “On My Own” | Melanie Georgiou |
| Jake | “Love You Like That” | Primož Poglajen, Jonas Gladnikoff, Michael James Down |
| James Louis | “Dream” | James Mifsud |
| Jason Scerri | “Anything Can Happen” | Jason Scerri |
| Jessika (Jessica Muscat) | “Unapologetic” | Jessica Muscat, Stefan Moessle |
| John Galea | “Trailblazer” | John Galea |
| Kirstie | “Girls Get Down” | Muxu, Cyprian Cassar |
| Klinsmann | “Piranah” (Piranha) | Mats Ygfors, Robin Svensson, Magdalena Ohlin, Gerard James Borg |
| Lyndsay | “Haunted” | Michael James Down, Will Taylor, Primož Poglajen, Jonas Gladnikoff, Johnny Sanchez, Sara Ljunggren |
| Maria Christina | “Our Flame” | Erik Horvath, Rickard Bonde Truumeel, Ylva Persson, Linda Persson, Emil Calleja Bayliss |
| Maria Debono | “X’allegrija” (What joy) | Maria Debono |
| Marie Claire | “Thankful” | Thorghy Landgren, Thomas Rodin, Rickard Bonde Truumeel, Ylva Persson, Linda Persson, Emil Calleja Bayliss |
| Mark Anthony Bartolo | “Tears” | Mark Anthony Bartolo |
| Matt Blxck | “Up” | Matthew Caruana, Cyprian Cassar |
| Maxine Pace | “Alone” | Shaun Farrugia, Steve Manovski |
| Mike | “Leħen fiċ-ċpar” (A voice in the fog) | Cyprian Cassar, Cliff Casha |
| Nathan | “Creeping Walls” | Dominic Cini, Jonas Gladnikoff, Emil Calleja Bayliss |
| Ryan Hili | “In the Silence” | Aaron Sibley, Natan Dragur, Cyprian Cassar |
| Stefan Xuereb | “What Do You Want?” | Richard Micallef, Aidan O’Connor |
| Stefan Galea (Stefan Paul Galea) | “Heartbreaker” | Stefan Galea, Rikki Lee Scicluna, Muxu |
| The Busker (David “Dav.Jr” Meilak, Jean Paul Borg, and Sean Meachen) | “Dance (Our Own Party)” | David Meilak, Jean Paul Borg, Sean Meachen, Matthew James Borg, Michael Joe Cini |
Shows.
Quarter-finals. The three quarter-finals took place on 13, 20 and 27 January 2023 were hosted by Ryan and Josmar. On 23 January 2023, Aidan was disqualified from the quarter-finals for violating the competition’s social media promotion policy. The remaining thirty-nine songs competed for twenty-four qualifying spots in the semi-final. The allocation for the quarter-finals was announced on 6 January 2023.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Haley | “Tik Tok” | Eliminated |
| 2 | Stefan Xuereb | “What Do You Want?” | Eliminated |
| 3 | Clintess | “Lura qatt“ | Eliminated |
| 4 | Fabrizio Faniello | “Try to Be Better” | Advanced |
| 5 | Eliana Gomez Blanco | “Guess What” | Advanced |
| 6 | Christian Arding | “Eku ċar“ | Advanced |
| 7 | Jason Scerri | “Anything Can Happen” | Eliminated |
| 8 | Maria Debono | “X’allegrija“ | Eliminated |
| 9 | Geo Debono | “The Mirror” | Advanced |
| 10 | Mikhail | “Leħen fiċ-ċpar“ | Advanced |
| Disqualified | |||
| 12 | Nathan | “Creeping Walls” | Advanced |
| 13 | Klinsmann | “Piranha” | Advanced |
| Draw | Artist | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Francesca Sciberras | “Masquerade” | Eliminated |
| 2 | The Busker | “Dance (Our Own Party)” | Advanced |
| 3 | Lyndsay | “Haunted” | Eliminated |
| 4 | Maxine Pace | “Alone” | Advanced |
| 5 | Marie Claire | “Thankful” | Eliminated |
| 6 | Ian | “On My Own” | Advanced |
| 7 | Kirstie | “Girls Get Down” | Eliminated |
| 8 | Dario Bezzina | “Bridle Road” | Advanced |
| 9 | Brooke | “Checkmate” | Advanced |
| 10 | Mark Anthony Bartolo | “Tears” | Advanced |
| 11 | Dan | “It’ll Be OK” | Advanced |
| 12 | Dario | “Pawn in a Game” | Eliminated |
| 13 | Matt Blxck | “Up.” | Advanced |
| Draw | Artist | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andre’ | “Broken Hill” | Advanced |
| 2 | Bradley Debono | “Blackout” | Advanced |
| 3 | Cheryl Balzan | “La La Land” | Advanced |
| 4 | James Louis | “Dream” | Eliminated |
| 5 | Dominic and Anna | “Whatever Wind May Blow” | Advanced |
| 6 | Greta Tude | “Sound of My Stilettos” | Advanced |
| 7 | Ryan Hili | “In the Silence” | Advanced |
| 8 | Jessika | “Unapologetic” | Eliminated |
| 9 | Stefan Galea | “Heartbreaker” | Advanced |
| 10 | Giada | “I Depend on You” | Advanced |
| 11 | John Galea | “Trailblazer” | Eliminated |
| 12 | Jake | “Love You Like That” | Eliminated |
| 13 | Chris Grech | “Indescribable” | Advanced |
| 14 | Maria Christina | “Our Flame” | Eliminated |
2.1.3.Semi-final. The semi-final took place on 9 February 2023 at the Malta Fairs and Conventions Centre in Ta’ Qali and was hosted by former Maltese Eurovision entrants Glen Vella, who represented Malta in 2011, and Amber, who represented Malta in 2015. The twenty-four entries that qualified from the quarter-finals competed for sixteen qualifying spots in the final. The show was opened with a guest performance by Paul Giordimaina, Moira Stafrace, Mike Spiteri and Ludwig Galea, while the interval act featured a guest performance by the 2022 Maltese Junior Eurovision entrant Gaia Gambuzza performing “Diamonds in the Skies”, and a medley of past non-winning songs in the Malta Eurovision Song Contest performed by Catherine Vigar, Claudia Faniello, Eleanor Cassar, Janice Mangion, Lawrence Gray, Olivia Lewis, Pamela Bezzina, Richard Micallef and Pamela Bezzina.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greta Tude | “Sound of My Stilettos” | Eliminated |
| 2 | Fabrizio Faniello | “Try to Be Better” | Advanced |
| 3 | Eliana Gomez Blanco | “Guess What” | Advanced |
| 4 | Andre’ | “Broken Hill” | Eliminated |
| 5 | Dan | “It’ll Be OK” | Advanced |
| 6 | Ian | “On My Own” | Advanced |
| 7 | Ryan Hili | “In the Silence” | Advanced |
| 8 | Mark Anthony Bartolo | “Tears” | Eliminated |
| 9 | Cheryl Balzan | “La La Land” | Advanced |
| 10 | Dario Bezzina | “Bridle Road” | Eliminated |
| 11 | Nathan | “Creeping Walls” | Advanced |
| 12 | Chris Grech | “Indescribable” | Advanced |
| 13 | Brooke | “Checkmate” | Advanced |
| 14 | Christian Arding | “Eku ċar“ | Advanced |
| 15 | Klinsmann | “Piranha” | Eliminated |
| 16 | Bradley Debono | “Blackout” | Eliminated |
| 17 | Geo Debono | “The Mirror” | Advanced |
| 18 | The Busker | “Dance (Our Own Party)” | Advanced |
| 19 | Maxine Pace | “Alone” | Advanced |
| 20 | Dominic and Anna | “Whatever Wind May Blow” | Eliminated |
| 21 | Giada | “I Depend on You” | Advanced |
| 22 | Stefan Galea | “Heartbreaker” | Advanced |
| 23 | Mikhail | “Leħen fiċ-ċpar“ | Eliminated |
| 24 | Matt Blxck | “Up.” | Advanced |
2.1.4.Final. The final took place on 11 February 2023 at the Malta Fairs and Conventions Centre in Ta’ Qali and was hosted by former Maltese Eurovision entrants Glen Vella, who represented Malta in 2011, and Amber, who represented Malta in 2015. The sixteen entries that qualified from the semi-final were performed again and the 50/50 combination of votes of a five-member jury panel and the results of public televoting determined the winner. The show was opened with a guest performance by the Annalise Dance Studio, while the interval act featured the show hosts Glen Vella and Amber, and performances by Aidan and the 2022 Maltese Eurovision entrant Emma Muscat performing “I Am What I Am”. After the votes from the jury panel and televote were combined, “Dance (Our Own Party)” performed by the Busker was the winner.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Jury | Televote | Total | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nathan | “Creeping Walls” | 3 | 9 | 12 | 11 |
| 2 | Chris Grech | “Indescribable” | 27 | 7 | 34 | 6 |
| 3 | Maxine Pace | “Alone” | 28 | 45 | 73 | 4 |
| 4 | Fabrizio Faniello | “Try to Be Better” | 12 | 9 | 21 | 8 |
| 5 | Geo Debono | “The Mirror” | 0 | 3 | 3 | 15 |
| 6 | Brooke | “Checkmate” | 39 | 31 | 70 | 5 |
| 7 | Ian | “On My Own” | 19 | 3 | 22 | 7 |
| 8 | Eliana Gomez Blanco | “Guess What” | 10 | 10 | 20 | 9 |
| 9 | The Busker | “Dance (Our Own Party)” | 41 | 80 | 121 | 1 |
| 10 | Giada | “I Depend on You” | 1 | 2 | 3 | 14 |
| 11 | Matt Blxck | “Up.” | 45 | 31 | 76 | 3 |
| 12 | Cheryl Balzan | “La La Land” | 5 | 4 | 9 | 13 |
| 13 | Christian Arding | “Eku ċar“ | 11 | 6 | 17 | 10 |
| 14 | Ryan Hili | “In the Silence” | 41 | 44 | 85 | 2 |
| 15 | Dan | “It’ll Be OK” | 8 | 2 | 10 | 12 |
| 16 | Stefan | “Heartbreaker” | 0 | 3 | 3 | 16 |
| Draw | Song | S. Gor | C. Mizzi | M. Bugeja | A. Farrugia | D. Bezzina | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | “Creeping Walls” | 2 | 1 | 3 | |||
| 2 | “Indescribable” | 6 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 27 |
| 3 | “Alone” | 2 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 4 | 28 |
| 4 | “Try to Be Better” | 4 | 1 | 2 | 12 | ||
| 5 | “The Mirror” | 0 | |||||
| 6 | “Checkmate” | 12 | 5 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 39 |
| 7 | “On My Own” | 8 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 19 | |
| 8 | “Guess What” | 7 | 3 | 10 | |||
| 9 | “Dance (Our Own Party)” | 5 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 12 | 41 |
| 10 | “I Depend on You” | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 11 | “Up.” | 10 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 45 |
| 12 | “La La Land” | 3 | 2 | 5 | |||
| 13 | “Eku ċar“ | 8 | 1 | 2 | 11 | ||
| 14 | “In the Silence” | 3 | 12 | 12 | 7 | 7 | 41 |
| 15 | “It’ll Be OK” | 4 | 3 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 16 | “Heartbreaker” | 0 |
2.2.Ratings.
| Show | Date | Viewers | -. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Final | 11 February 2023 | 265,000 | – |
Controversy.
Disqualification of Aidan. On 23 January 2023, Aidan was disqualified from the competition due to “the engagement of marketing personnel, marketing officials, marketing companies or the engagement into some sort of marketing or promotional campaign or activity by the artists to promote themselves, the song, their participation, or in some way to influence the public vote” and “the publication of any social media posts, promotion material, interviews or any media presence from the announcement of the quarter-finalists onwards”, which is in breach of the rules. Aidan had posted multiple unauthorised social media posts, despite having been warned repeatedly by PBS of potential disqualificaiton. An online petition was launched to bring the singer back into the competition, gaining over one thousand signatures. In response, Aidan’s team threatened to take legal steps, unless he was allowed to participate in the contest, arguing that he had been singled out for punishment by the broadcaster, and claiming other contestants had also published a number of unauthorised social media posts.[11] Aiden dropped his threat of a lawsuit on 31 January, citing the possibility that such an action could cause the cancelation of the entire selection event. The singer was instead invited to perform as an interval act during the final of Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2023, with the stipulation that he not sing his disqualified entry “Reġina”.
3.At Eurovision. According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the “Big Five” (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 31 January 2023, an allocation draw was held, which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, and determined which half of the show they would perform in. Malta has been placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 9 May 2023, and has been scheduled to perform in the first half of the show.
Once all the competing songs for the 2023 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows’ producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Malta was set to perform in position 2, following the entry from Norway and before the entry from Serbia.
At the end of the show, Malta was not among the ten countries announced as qualifiers for the final.
3.1.Voting.
3.1.1.Points awarded to Malta.
| Score | Televote |
|---|---|
| 12 points | |
| 10 points | |
| 8 points | |
| 7 points | |
| 6 points | |
| 5 points | |
| 4 points | |
| 3 points | |
| 2 points | Israel |
| 1 point |  Rest of the World |
3.1.2.Points awarded by Malta.
| Score | Televote |
|---|---|
| 12 points | Sweden |
| 10 points | Norway |
| 8 points | Israel |
| 7 points | Finland |
| 6 points | Switzerland |
| 5 points | Serbia |
| 4 points | Portugal |
| 3 points |  Ireland |
| 2 points | Czech Republic |
| 1 point | Moldova
|
| Score | Televote | Jury |
|---|---|---|
| 12 points | Italy |
Sweden |
| 10 points | Sweden |
Italy |
| 8 points | Finland |
Finland |
| 7 points | Norway |
Israel |
| 6 points | Israel |
Switzerland |
| 5 points | Ukraine |
Cyprus |
| 4 points | United Kingdom |
Lithuania |
| 3 points | Albania |
Portugal |
| 2 points | Serbia |
Norway |
| 1 point | France |
Austria |
3.1.3.Detailed voting results. The following members comprised the Maltese jury:
- Emil Calleja Bayliss
- Gerard James Borg
- Ludwig Galea
- Brooke Borg
- Moira Stafrace
| Draw | Country | Jury | Televote | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Juror 1 | Juror 2 | Juror 3 | Juror 4 | Juror 5 | Rank | Points | Rank | Points | ||
| 01 | Austria |
17 | 4 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 13 | |
| 02 | Portugal |
6 | 22 | 18 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 25 | |
| 03 | Switzerland |
4 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 11 | |
| 04 | Poland |
20 | 25 | 17 | 23 | 14 | 22 | 12 | ||
| 05 | Serbia |
19 | 26 | 24 | 26 | 12 | 21 | 9 | 2 | |
| 06 | France |
15 | 17 | 7 | 15 | 18 | 15 | 10 | 1 | |
| 07 | Cyprus |
9 | 6 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 14 | |
| 08 | Spain |
16 | 24 | 19 | 14 | 25 | 20 | 26 | ||
| 09 | Sweden |
3 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 10 |
| 10 | Albania |
22 | 15 | 20 | 11 | 19 | 17 | 8 | 3 | |
| 11 | Italy |
1 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 12 |
| 12 | Estonia |
21 | 23 | 23 | 17 | 24 | 25 | 24 | ||
| 13 | Finland |
2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 8 |
| 14 | Czech Republic |
24 | 11 | 21 | 25 | 26 | 19 | 22 | ||
| 15 | Australia |
12 | 9 | 14 | 16 | 10 | 13 | 23 | ||
| 16 | Belgium |
7 | 16 | 15 | 20 | 13 | 14 | 20 | ||
| 17 | Armenia |
13 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 15 | 11 | 15 | ||
| 18 | Moldova |
14 | 21 | 22 | 18 | 23 | 23 | 18 | ||
| 19 | Ukraine |
11 | 12 | 10 | 13 | 8 | 12 | 6 | 5 | |
| 20 | Norway |
8 | 8 | 5 | 10 | 17 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 7 |
| 21 | Germany |
25 | 20 | 26 | 24 | 22 | 26 | 16 | ||
| 22 | Lithuania |
10 | 18 | 11 | 2 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 19 | |
| 23 | Israel |
5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 6 |
| 24 | Slovenia |
23 | 13 | 25 | 21 | 21 | 24 | 21 | ||
| 25 | Croatia |
26 | 19 | 6 | 22 | 20 | 16 | 17 | ||
| 26 | United Kingdom |
18 | 14 | 16 | 19 | 16 | 18 | 7 | 4 | |
• Country: 🇷🇸 Serbia
• National selection:
- Selection process: Pesma za Evroviziju ’23 (Песма за Евровизију ’23)
- Selection date(s): Semi-finals: Semi-final 1 – 1 March 2023, Semi-final 2 – 2 March 2023 Ι Final: 4 March 2023
- Host venue: Studios 8 and 9 of RTS in Košutnjak, Beograd, Serbia
- Presenter(s): Dragana Kosjerina, Milan Marić / Драгана Косјерина, Милан Марић; Stefano Popović, Kristina Radenković / Стефан Поповић, Кристина Раденковић (GreenRoom)
- Host broadcaster: RTS / PTC (RTS1, RTS Planeta, rts.rs)
- Participants – Number of entries: 32
- Voting system: 50% jury, 50% public voting. The jury and the televoting award one set of 12, 10 & 8–1 points each.
- Selection entrant: Luke Black
- Selection song: “Samo mi se spava” (Само ми се спава)
- Selected songwriter(s): Luka Ivanović (Luke Black)
• Final performance:
- Semi-final result: 3º SF 1: Qualified (10th, 37 points)
- Final result: 24th, 30 points
Serbia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool, United Kingdom, with “Samo mi se spava” performed by Luke Black. The Serbian national broadcaster, Radio Television of Serbia (RTS), organised the national final Pesma za Evroviziju ’23 in order to select the Serbian entry for the 2023 contest. The final took place on 4 March 2023, with a combination of jury voting and televoting selecting Black to represent Serbia at the 2023 contest in Liverpool.
Serbia was drawn to compete in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 9 May 2023 and was later selected to perform in position 3. At the end of the show, “Samo mi se spava” was announced among the top 10 entries of the second semi-final and hence qualified to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Serbia placed tenth out of the fifteen participating countries in the semi-final with 37 points. In the final, Serbia performed in position 5 and placed twenty-fourth out of the 26 participating countries, scoring a total of 30 points, marking Serbia’s worst result ever in a Eurovision grand final
1.Background. Prior to the 2023 contest, Serbia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 14 times since its first entry in 2007, winning the contest with their debut entry “Molitva” performed by Marija Šerifović. Since 2007, 11 out of 14 of Serbia’s entries have featured in the final with the nation failing to qualify in 2009, 2013 and 2017. Serbia’s 2022 entry, “In corpore sano” performed by Konstrakta, qualified to the final and placed fifth.
The Serbian national broadcaster, Radio Television of Serbia (RTS), broadcasts the event within Serbia and organises the selection process for the nation’s entry. The broadcaster confirmed Serbia’s participation in the 2023 contest in Liverpool on 25 August 2022. Between 2007 and 2009, Serbia used the Beovizija national final in order to select their entry. However, after their 2009 entry, “Cipela” performed by Marko Kon and Milaan, failed to qualify Serbia to the final, the broadcaster shifted their selection strategy to selecting specific composers to create songs for artists. In 2010, RTS selected Goran Bregović to compose songs for a national final featuring three artists, while in 2011 Kornelije Kovač, Aleksandra Kovač and Kristina Kovač were tasked with composing one song each. In 2012, the internal selection of Željko Joksimović and the song “Nije ljubav stvar” secured the country’s second highest placing in the contest to this point, placing third. In 2013, RTS returned to an open national final format and organized the Beosong competition. The winning entry, “Ljubav je svuda” performed by Moje 3, failed to qualify Serbia to the final. In 2015, RTS selected Vladimir Graić, the composer of Serbia’s 2007 winning entry “Molitva”, to compose songs for a national final featuring three artists.[9] RTS internally selected the Serbian entries in 2016 and 2017 with the decision made by RTS music editors. In 2018 and 2019, RTS returned to using the Beovizija national final in order to select their entry, managing to qualify to the final on both occasions. In 2022, RTS returned to organising a national final under the name Pesma za Evroviziju ’23. On 1 September 2022, RTS confirmed that Pesma za Evroviziju would be organised for a second time in order to select the country’s entry to the 2023 contest.
2.Before Eurovision.
2.1.Pesma za Evroviziju ’23 (Песма за Евровизију ’23). The 2023 edition of Pesma za Evroviziju featured two semi-finals and a final, and saw 32 acts compete. All three shows took place at Studios 8 and 9 of RTS in Košutnjak, Belgrad.
Pesma za Evroviziju ’23 was the second edition of Pesma za Evroviziju, Serbia’s national final organised by Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) to select the Serbian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. The selection consisted of two semi-finals held on 1 and 2 March 2023, respectively, and a final on 4 March 2023.All shows were hosted by Milan Marić and Dragana Kosjerina with backstage interviews conducted by Kristina Radenković and Stefan Popović. The three shows were broadcast on RTS1, RTS Svet and RTS Planeta as well as streamed online via the broadcaster’s website rts.rs and the broadcaster’s Eurovision dedicated Youtube channel.
Format. In 2023, RTS decided to once again organize Pesma za Evroviziju to decide its representative at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. On the same day as the submission window had opened, the rulebook was published. The selection consisted of two semi-finals, held on 1 and 2 March, and a final on 4 March 2023.
Voting.In all 3 shows, the jury and the televoting award one set of 12, 10 & 8–1 points each to their 10 favourite entries. Eight entries that scored the most points in each semi-final progressed to the final. The act with the most points in the final is declared the winner.
Hosts. All shows were hosted by Milan Marić and Dragana Kosjerina with greenroom interviews conducted by Kristina Radenković and Stefan Popović.
2.1.1.Competing entries. The submission window for competing entries opened on the 1st of September 2022, and was due to close on the 15th of November the same year, but was later pushed back to the 1st of December. Artists were required to be Serbian citizens and submit entries in one of the official languages of the Republic of Serbia, while songwriters of any nationality were allowed to submit songs.[10] At the closing of the deadline, 200 submissions were received.
A selection committee consisting of RTS music editors reviewed the submissions and selected 32 entries to proceed to the national final. The selected competing entries were announced on 9 January 2023 and among the competing artists are Tijana Dapčević, who represented Macedonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014, and Hurricane (albeit with a different line-up), which represented Serbia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 and 2021
| Artist | Song | Songwriter (s) |
|---|---|---|
| Nađa
Нађа (Нађа Ордагић) |
Moj prvi ožiljak na duši
Мој први ожиљак на души |
Kristina Kovač, Tim Gosden
Кристина Ковач, Тим Госден |
| Angellina
Анђелина (Анђела Вујовић) |
Lanac
Ланац |
Anđela Vujović – Angellina
Анђела Вујовић – Angellina |
| Filip Baloš
Филип Балош |
Novi plan drugi san
Колико те сада желим |
Filip Baloš
Филип Балош |
| Hurricane
Hurricane (Jovana Radić/Јована Радић, Sara Kourouma/Сара Курума, Miona Srećković/Миона Срећковић) |
Zumi zimi zami
Зуми зими зами |
Nemanja Antonić, Ivan Vukajlović, Snežana Antić
Немања Антонић, Иван Вукајловић, Снежана Антић |
| Tijana Dapčević
Тијана Дапчевић |
Mamim
Мамим |
Ana Radonjić (Zoe Kida)
Ана Радоњић (Зое Кида) |
| Petar Pupić
Петар Пупић |
Ako shvatim
Ако схватим |
Petar Pupić
Петар Пупић |
| Princ (Stefan Zdravković)
Принц (Стефан Здравковић) |
Cvet sa Istoka
Цвет са Истока |
Dušan Bačić
Душан Бачић |
| The Frajle
Фрајле (Наташа Михајловић, Невена Буча, Јелена Буча) |
Neka, neka
Нека, нека |
Nataša Mihajlović, Nevena Buča
Наташа Михајловић, Невена Буча |
| Eegor
Eegor |
Starac dana
Старац дана |
Igor Mišković – Eegor
Игор Мишковић – Eegor |
| Boris Subotić
Борис Суботић |
Nedostupan
Недоступан |
Milenko Škarić, Nemanja Antonić, Filip Nestorović
Миленко Шкарић |
| Nađa Terzić
Нађа Терзић |
Devojka tvog dečka
Девојка твог дечка |
Konstantin Arsić, Nađa Terzić, Aleksa Vučković, Dimitrije Borčanin
Константин Арсић, Нађа Терзић, Алекса Вучковић, Димитрије Борчанин |
| Luke Black
Luke Black (Luka Ivanović, Лука Ивановић) |
Samo mi se spava
Само ми се спава |
Luke Black
Luke Black |
| Filip Baloš
Филип Балош |
Novi plan drugi san
Нови план други сан |
Filip Baloš
Филип Балош |
| Zejna
Зејна (Зејна Муркић) |
Rumba
Румба |
Nikola Burovac, Miloš Roganović
Никола Буровац, Милош Рогановић |
| Dzipsii
Džipsii (Јован Живадиновић) |
Greh
Грех |
Ahmed Hajdarović (Rep Gorila), Jovan Živadinović (Dzipsii)
Ахмед Хајдаровић (Рeп Горила), Јован Живадиновић – Dzipsii |
| Igor Vins i Bane Lalić
Игор Винс и Бане Лалић (Бранислав Бане Лалић, Бане Лалић MВП) |
Zato što volim
Зато што волим |
Igor Vins, Bane Lalić
Игор Винс, Бане Лалић |
| Gift
Гифт (Јован Матић, Оливера Будошан, Дејан Тошков, Лука Пулетић, Жарко Дунић, Живко Грчић) |
Liberta
Либерта |
Jovan Matić
Јован Матић |
| Ivona
Ивона (Ивона Пантелић) |
U noćima
У ноћима |
Ivona Pantelić
Ивона Пантелић |
| Filarri
Filarri (Филип Маринков) |
Posle mene
После мене |
Teya Dora – Teodora Pavlovska, Yungkulovski – Miloš Janošević
Теодора Павловска (Teya Dora), Милош Јаношевић – Yungkulovski |
| Mattia Zanatta & Angela Kassiani
Матија Цаната и Ангела Касијани |
Novi svet
Нови свет |
Michele Bonivento, Mattia Zanatta, Predrag Cvetković
Michele Bonivento, Mattia Zanatta, Предраг Цветковић |
| Bend “Hercenšlus”
Херценшлус |
Vremenska zona
Временска зона |
Boban Dževerdanović
Бобан Џевердановић |
| Adem Mehmedović
Адем Мехмедовић |
Osmeh
Осмех |
Adem Mehmedović
Адем Мехмедовић |
| Igor Stanojevi
Игор Станојевић |
Iza duge
Иза дуге |
Vladimir Graić
Владимир Граић |
| Aleksandar Simić i Nenad Osmanović
Александар Симић и Ненад Османовић |
Viva la vida
Viva la vida |
Nino Ademović, Goran Ratković Rale, Branislav Glušac
Нино Адемовић, Горан Ратковић Рале, Бранислав Глушац |
| Doris Milošević
Дорис Милошевић (Дорис Радић) |
Tišina
Тишина |
Ognjan Milošević
Огњан Милошевић |
| Milan Bujaković, Zoran Todorović i Sanja Anastasija
Милан Бујаковић, Зоран Тодоровић и Сања Анастасија |
Fenomen
Феномен |
Alek Aleksov, Miro Buljan, Nenad Ćeranić, Dragiša Baša
Алек Алексов, Миро Буљан, Ненад Ћеранић, Драгиша Баша |
| Empathy Soul Project
Emphaty Soul Project (Ненад Радаковић, Раде Радојчић, Игор Величковић) |
Indigo
Индиго |
Nenad Radaković
Ненад Радаковић |
| Filip Žmaher
Филип Жмахер |
Čujemo se sutra
Чујемо се сутра |
Boban Janković, Filip Tančić, Aleksandar Mastelica
Бобан Јанковић, Филип Танчић, Александар Мастелица |
| Stefan Maljković Shy
Стефан Маљковић Shy |
Od jastuka do jastuka
Од јастука до јастука |
Slavko Milovanović, Ana Sekulić
Славко Миловановић, Ана Секулић |
| CHEGI & Braća bluz bend
CHEGI & браћа Блуз бенд (Stefan „Čegi”; Dušan „Čegi”; Željko „Čegi”; Marina; Josip; Neš; Stefan; Jovana; Georgije u Aleksandar) |
Svadba ili kavga
Свадба или кавга |
Željko Čeganjac, Dušan Čeganjac, Stefan Čeganjac, Boris Kapetanović
Жељко Чегањац, Душан Чегањац, Стефан Чегањац, Борис Капетановић |
| Jovana Tomašević
Јована Томашевић |
Kao grom iz vedra neba
Као гром из ведра неба |
Aleksandar Filipović, Branko Klanšček
Александар Филиповић, Бранко Кланшчек |
| Drai
Drai |
Loše procene
Лоше процене |
Ivan Milanov, Nemanja Antonić, Asal Ksinatović, Ana Sekulić
Иван Миланов, Немања Антонић, Асал Ксинатовић, Ана Секулић |
| Savo Perović
Саво Перовић |
Presidente
Presidente |
Mahdi, Sajsi MC
Mahdi, Сајси MC |
Shows.
Semi-finals. The two semi-finals took place at the Studios 8 and 9 of RTS in Košutnjak, Belgrade on 1 and 2 March 2023. In each semi-final 16 songs competed and the eight qualifiers for the final were decided by a combination of votes from a jury panel consisting of Maja Cvetković (singer-songwriter), Ana Stanić (singer-songwriter), Vojislav Aralica (producer), Filip Bulatović (conductor) and Zoran Lesendrić (musician), and the Serbian public via SMS voting.
2.1.2.Semi-finals. The first semi-final took place on 1 March 2023. “Moj prvi ožiljak na duši” performed by Nađa, “Od jastuka do jastuka” performed by Stefan Shy, “Cvet sa Istoka” performed by Princ, “Novi plan drugi san” performed by Filip Baloš, “Svadba ili kavga” performed by Chegi & Braća Bluz Band, “Samo mi se spava” performed by Luke Black, “Indigo” performed by Empathy Soul Project and “Nedostupan” performed by Boris Subotić advanced to the final, while “Novi svet” performed by Mattia Zanatta & Angela Kassiani, “Mamim” performed by Tijana Dapčević, “Iza duge” performed by Igor Stanojević, “Lanac” performed by Angellina, “Vremenska zona” performed by Hercenšlus, “Presidente” performed by Savo Perović, “Osmeh” performed by Adem Mehmedović and “Čujemo se sutra” performed by Filip Žmaher were eliminated from the contest.
The second semi-final took place on 2 March 2023. “Greh” performed by Dzipsii, “Devojka tvog dečka” performed by Nadia, “Rumba” performed by Zejna, “Posle mene” performed by Filarri, “Neka, neka” performed by Frajle, “Zumi zimi zami” performed by Hurricane, “Viva la Vida” performed by Duo Grand and “Liberta” performed by Gift advanced to the final, while “Ako shvatim kasno” performed by Egret, “Starac dana” performed by Eegor, “Fenomen” performed by Milan Bujaković, “Kao grom iz vedra neba” performed by Jelena Vlahović, “Zato što volim” performed by Igor Vins & Bane Lalić, “Loše procene” performed by Andjela, “U noćima” performed by Ivona and “Tišina” performed by Doris Milošević were eliminated from the contest.
Semi-final 1. In addition to the competing entries, former Eurovision contestant Konstrakta, who represented Serbia in 2022, was featured as the guest performer in the first semi-final.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Jury | Televote | Total | Place | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | Points | Votes | Points | |||||
| 1 | Mattia Zanatta & Angela Kassiani | “Novi svet“ | 34 | 7 | 742 | 0 | 7 | 9 |
| 2 | Adem Mehmedović | “Osmeh“ | 10 | 1 | 445 | 0 | 1 | 15 |
| 3 | Nađa | “Moj prvi ožiljak na duši“ | 48 | 10 | 3,178 | 7 | 17 | 1 |
| 4 | Tijana Dapčević | “Mamim“ | 24 | 6 | 471 | 0 | 6 | 10 |
| 5 | Princ | “Cvet sa Istoka“ | 7 | 0 | 5,911 | 12 | 12 | 3 |
| 6 | Filip Baloš | “Novi plan drugi san“ | 21 | 5 | 2,712 | 6 | 11 | 4 |
| 7 | Filip Žmaher | “Čujemo se sutra“ | 4 | 0 | 830 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 8 | Luke Black | “Samo mi se spava“ | 11 | 2 | 4,388 | 8 | 10 | 6 |
| 9 | Angellina | “Lanac“ | 11 | 3 | 1,004 | 0 | 3 | 12 |
| 10 | Empathy Soul Project | “Indigo“ | 38 | 8 | 794 | 0 | 8 | 7 |
| 11 | Stefan Shy | “Od jastuka do jastuka“ | 58 | 12 | 1,893 | 4 | 16 | 2 |
| 12 | Hercenšlus | “Vremenska zona“ | 0 | 0 | 1,402 | 2 | 2 | 13 |
| 13 | Savo Perović | “Presidente” | 0 | 0 | 1,145 | 1 | 1 | 14 |
| 14 | Igor Stanojević | “Iza duge“ | 8 | 0 | 2,598 | 5 | 5 | 11 |
| 15 | Boris Subotić | “Nedostupan“ | 16 | 4 | 1,527 | 3 | 7 | 8 |
| 16 | Chegi & Braća Bluz Band | “Svadba ili kavga“ | 0 | 0 | 4,389 | 10 | 10 | 5 |
| Draw | Song | M. Cvetković | A. Stanić | V. Aralica | F. Bulatović | Z. Lesendrić | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | “Novi svet“ | 7 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 34 |
| 2 | “Osmeh“ | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 10 | |
| 3 | “Moj prvi ožiljak na duši“ | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 48 |
| 4 | “Mamim“ | 3 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 24 |
| 5 | “Cvet sa Istoka“ | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 | ||
| 6 | “Novi plan drugi san“ | 5 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 21 | |
| 7 | “Čujemo se sutra“ | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 8 | “Samo mi se spava“ | 6 | 2 | 3 | 11 | ||
| 9 | “Lanac“ | 3 | 8 | 11 | |||
| 10 | “Indigo“ | 12 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 38 |
| 11 | “Od jastuka do jastuka“ | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 58 |
| 12 | “Vremenska zona“ | 0 | |||||
| 13 | “Presidente” | 0 | |||||
| 14 | “Iza duge“ | 4 | 1 | 3 | 8 | ||
| 15 | “Nedostupan“ | 6 | 5 | 5 | 16 | ||
| 16 | “Svadba ili kavga“ | 0 |
Semi-final 2. In addition to the competing entries, former Eurovision contestant Sanja Vučić, who represented Serbia in 2016 and as part of Hurricane in 2020 and 2021, singers Alen Ademović, Ivana Peters, Stevan Anđelković and Zorja, the bands Zbogom Brus Li and Biber, as well as the assemble Iskaz and the vocal chorus Luča were featured as guest performers in the second semi-final.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Jury | Televote | Total | Place | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | Points | Votes | Points | |||||
| 1 | Hurricane | “Zumi zimi zami“ | 27 | 6 | 1,607 | 3 | 9 | 6 |
| 2[a] | Nadia | “Devojka tvog dečka“ | 26 | 5 | 3,020 | 12 | 17 | 2 |
| 3 | Filarri | “Posle mene“ | 28 | 7 | 1,779 | 5 | 12 | 4 |
| 4 | Zejna | “Rumba” | 43 | 10 | 1,754 | 4 | 14 | 3 |
| 5 | Frajle | “Neka, neka“ | 22 | 3 | 2,125 | 7 | 10 | 5 |
| 6 | Igor Vins & Bane Lalić | “Zato što volim“ | 6 | 1 | 504 | 0 | 1 | 13 |
| 7 | Egret | “Ako shvatim kasno“ | 37 | 8 | 1,011 | 0 | 8 | 9 |
| 8 | Dzipsii | “Greh“ | 58 | 12 | 2,887 | 10 | 22 | 1 |
| 9 | Eegor | “Starac dana“ | 23 | 4 | 1,091 | 0 | 4 | 10 |
| 10 | Jelena Vlahović | “Kao grom iz vedra neba“ | 0 | 0 | 1,138 | 1 | 1 | 12 |
| 11 | Ivona | “U noćima“ | 2 | 0 | 781 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| 12 | Gift | “Liberta“ | 18 | 2 | 1,849 | 6 | 8 | 8 |
| 13 | Milan Bujaković | “Fenomen“ | 0 | 0 | 1,600 | 2 | 2 | 11 |
| 14 | Duo Grand | “Viva la Vida” | 0 | 0 | 2,164 | 8 | 8 | 7 |
| 15 | Andjela | “Loše procene“ | 0 | 0 | 956 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| 16 | Doris Milošević | “Tišina“ | 0 | 0 | 703 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Draw | Song | M. Cvetković | A. Stanić | V. Aralica | F. Bulatović | Z. Lesendrić | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | “Zumi zimi zami“ | 2 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 27 |
| 2 | “Devojka tvog dečka“ | 5 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 26 |
| 3 | “Posle mene“ | 8 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 28 |
| 4 | “Rumba” | 6 | 10 | 5 | 12 | 10 | 43 |
| 5 | “Neka, neka“ | 4 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 22 |
| 6 | “Zato što volim“ | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | |
| 7 | “Ako shvatim kasno“ | 7 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 37 |
| 8 | “Greh“ | 12 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 58 |
| 9 | “Starac dana“ | 10 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 23 | |
| 10 | “Kao grom iz vedra neba“ | 0 | |||||
| 11 | “U noćima“ | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||
| 12 | “Liberta“ | 3 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 18 |
| 13 | “Fenomen“ | 0 | |||||
| 14 | “Viva la Vida” | 0 | |||||
| 15 | “Loše procene“ | 0 | |||||
| 16 | “Tišina“ | 0 |
2.1.3.Final. The final took place on 4 March 2023. The winner was selected based on the 50/50 combination of votes from five jurors and from a public televote.
The final took place at the Studios 8 and 9 of RTS in Košutnjak, Belgrade on 4 March 2023 and featured the 16 qualifiers from the preceding two semi-finals. The winner, “Samo mi se spava” performed by Luke Black, was decided by a combination of votes from a jury panel consisting of Lena Kovačević (singer-songwriter), Dragan Đorđević (cellist), Nevena Božović (represented Serbia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 as part of Moje 3 and in 2019), Slobodan “Coby” Veljković (rapper, songwriter and producer) and Aleksandar Lokner (pianist), and the Serbian public via SMS voting. All funds collected from the viewer votes were donated to charity for the purchase of equipment for the Health Center in the municipality of Bojnik. The show was opened by a rendition of the British Eurovision Song Contest 1981 winning entry “Making Your Mind Up” by the four hosts, while the interval act featured a medley of songs by the Beatles to honour the hosting of the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool, performed by singers Dejan Cukić, Gordan Kičić, Iva Lorens, Naiva, Oliver Nektarijević and Srđan Gojković as well as the tribute band The Bestbeat
| Draw | Artist | Song | Jury | Televote | Total | Place | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | Points | Votes | Points | |||||
| 1 | Stefan Shy | “Od jastuka do jastuka“ | 32 | 7 | 6,131 | 4 | 11 | 6 |
| 2 | Boris Subotić | “Nedostupan“ | 7 | 0 | 2,204 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| 3 | Nadia | “Devojka tvog dečka“ | 8 | 2 | 4,424 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| 4 | Duo Grand | “Viva la Vida” | 4 | 0 | 3,005 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| 5 | Nađa | “Moj prvi ožiljak na duši“ | 52 | 12 | 8,111 | 6 | 18 | 3 |
| 6 | Frajle | “Neka, neka“ | 3 | 0 | 3,715 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| 7 | Hurricane | “Zumi zimi zami“ | 0 | 0 | 3,874 | 1 | 1 | 12 |
| 8 | Chegi & Braća Bluz Band | “Svadba ili kavga“ | 2 | 0 | 5,144 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 9 | Dzipsii | “Greh“ | 25 | 5 | 11,582 | 8 | 13 | 5 |
| 10 | Luke Black | “Samo mi se spava“ | 49 | 10 | 20,070 | 10 | 20 | 1 |
| 11 | Filip Baloš | “Novi plan drugi san“ | 41 | 8 | 8,529 | 7 | 15 | 4 |
| 12 | Princ | “Cvet sa Istoka“ | 31 | 6 | 20,398 | 12 | 18 | 2 |
| 13 | Filarri | “Posle mene“ | 0 | 0 | 2,414 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| 14 | Gift | “Liberta“ | 17 | 4 | 3,155 | 0 | 4 | 9 |
| 15 | Empathy Soul Project | “Indigo“ | 12 | 3 | 2,170 | 0 | 3 | 11 |
| 16 | Zejna | “Rumba” | 7 | 1 | 7,195 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| Draw | Song | L. Kovačević | D. Đorđević | N. Božović | S. Veljković | A. Lokner | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | “Od jastuka do jastuka“ | 7 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 32 | |
| 2 | “Nedostupan“ | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 3 | “Devojka tvog dečka“ | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 8 | |
| 4 | “Viva la Vida” | 4 | 4 | ||||
| 5 | “Moj prvi ožiljak na duši“ | 10 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 12 | 52 |
| 6 | “Neka, neka“ | 1 | 2 | 3 | |||
| 7 | “Zumi zimi zami“ | 0 | |||||
| 8 | “Svadba ili kavga“ | 2 | 2 | ||||
| 9 | “Greh“ | 5 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 25 |
| 10 | “Samo mi se spava“ | 12 | 12 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 49 |
| 11 | “Novi plan drugi san“ | 8 | 6 | 12 | 7 | 8 | 41 |
| 12 | “Cvet sa Istoka“ | 4 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 4 | 31 |
| 13 | “Posle mene“ | 0 | |||||
| 14 | “Liberta“ | 6 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 17 | |
| 15 | “Indigo“ | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 12 | |
| 16 | “Rumba” | 2 | 5 | 7 |
3.At Eurovision. According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the “Big Five” (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top 10 countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 31 January 2023, an allocation draw was held, which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, and determined which half of the show they would perform in. Serbia was placed into the first semi-final, held on 9 May 2023, and was scheduled to perform in the first half of the show.
Once all the competing songs for the 2023 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows’ producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Serbia was set to perform in position 3, following the entry from Malta and before the entry from Latvia. Immediately after the close of the second semi-final, a press conference was held in which each of the artists drew the half of the final of which they would perform in. Serbia was drawn into the first half of the final and was later selected by the EBU to perform in position number 5, following the entry from Poland and before the entry from France.
In Serbia, the two semi-finals were broadcast on RTS 3 and RTS Svet, with commentary by Duška Vučinić. Due to technical issues, Tijana Lukić commentated from Belgrade during the first 15 minutes of the first semi-final. The semi-finals were initially due to be broadcast on RTS 1, however, due to the Belgrade school shooting, broadcast of the semi-finals was deferred to RTS 3 to allow for news coverage on RTS 1. The final was broadcast on RTS 1, with further commentary by Duška Vučinić. The Serbian spokesperson, who announced the top 12-point score awarded by the Serbian jury during the final, was Dragana Kosjerina.
Other awards.
OGAE Serbia Award. OGAE Serbia Award for the best song on Pesma za Evroviziju ’23 is voted on by the association members. The award was won by the winning song “Samo mi se spava” with 275 points. In second place, with 262 points, was “Novi plan drugi san” by Filip Baloš, while the third place went to Zejna and her song “Rumba” with 174 points.
Baloš was also the designated as the Serbian entrant to the OGAE Second Chance Contest.
| Artist | Song | Points | Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luke Black | “Samo mi se spava“ | 275 | 1 |
| Filip Baloš | “Novi plan drugi san” | 262 | 2 |
| Zejna | “Rumba” | 174 | 3 |
| Nađa | “Moj prvi ožiljak na duši” | 148 | 4 |
| Princ | “Cvet sa Istoka” | 144 | 5 |
| Dzipsii | “Greh” | 144 |
Broadcasts. The three shows were broadcast on RTS1, RTS Svet and RTS Planeta as well as streamed online via the broadcaster’s website rts.rs, and the broadcaster’s Eurovision dedicated Youtube channel.
| Show | Viewership | -. |
|---|---|---|
| Semi-final 1 | 1.2 | – |
| Semi-final 2 | 1.1 | – |
| Final | 1.5 | – |
Notes.
- [a] ^ Due to technical difficulties during her first performance, Nadia performed again after the last song.
Semi-final. Luke Black took part in technical rehearsals on 30 April and 2 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 8 and 9 May. This included the jury show on 8 May where the professional back-up juries of each country watched and voted in a result used if any issues with public televoting occurred.
At the end of the show, Serbia was announced as having finished in the top 10 and subsequently qualifying for the grand final. It was later revealed that Serbia placed tenth out of the fifteen participating countries in the second semi-final with 37 points, qualifying by just 3 points over Latvia.
Final. Shortly after the first semi-final, a winners’ press conference was held for the ten qualifying countries. As part of this press conference, the qualifying artists took part in a draw to determine which half of the grand final they would subsequently participate in. This draw was done in the order the countries appeared in the semi-final running order. Serbia was drawn to compete in the first half. Following this draw, the shows’ producers decided upon the running order of the final, as they had done for the semi-finals. Serbia was subsequently placed to perform in position number 5, following the entry from Poland and before the entry from France.
Luke Black once again took part in dress rehearsals on 12 and 13 May before the final, including the jury final where the professional juries cast their final votes before the live show on 12 May. He performed a repeat of his semi-final performance during the final on 13 May. Serbia placed 24th in the final, scoring 30 points; 16 points from the public televoting and 14 points from the juries. This marked Serbia’s worst ever result in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest.
3.1.Voting. Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Serbia in the first semi-final and in the final. Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding sets of points from 1-8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting in the final vote, while the semi-final vote was based entirely on the vote of the public. The exact composition of the professional jury, and the results of each country’s jury and televoting were released after the final. The Serbian jury consisted of Dragan Đorđević, Zoran Živanović, Konstrakta, who represented Serbia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022, Sandra Perović and Sara Jo. In the first semi-final, Slovenia placed 10th with 37 points. This marked Serbia’s fifth consecutive qualification to the grand final. In the final, Serbia placed 24th with 30 points. Over the course of the contest, Serbia awarded its 12 points to Croatia in the second semi-final, and to Slovenia (jury) and Finland (televote) in the final.
3.1.1.Points awarded to Serbia.
| SCOre | Televote |
|---|---|
| 12 points | |
| 10 points | Croatia |
| 8 points | |
| 7 points | |
| 6 points | Switzerland |
| 5 points |  Malta |
| 4 points | Finland |
| 3 points |
|
| 2 points |
|
| 1 point |
|
| Score | Televote | Jury |
|---|---|---|
| 12 points | ||
| 10 points | ||
| 8 points | ||
| 7 points | Croatia |
|
| 6 points | Slovenia |
|
| 5 points | ||
| 4 points |
|
|
| 3 points | Germany |
|
| 2 points | Malta |
|
| 1 point | Switzerland |
|
3.1.2.Points awarded by Serbia.
|
| Score | Televote | Jury |
|---|---|---|
| 12 points | Finland |
Slovenia |
| 10 points | Croatia |
Israel |
| 8 points | Slovenia |
Croatia |
| 7 points | Israel |
Finland |
| 6 points | Sweden |
Austria |
| 5 points | Norway |
Sweden |
| 4 points | Czech Republic |
France |
| 3 points | Austria |
Spain |
| 2 points | Italy |
Italy |
| 1 point | France |
Czech Republic |
3.1.3.Detailed voting results. Each nation’s jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song’s composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member as well as the nation’s televoting results were released shortly after the grand final.
The following members comprised the Serbian jury:
- Dragan Đorđević (Драган Ђорђевић) – music expert
- Zoran Živanović (Žika Zana) (Зоран Живановић (Жика Зана)) – keyboardist, producer
- Ana Đurić (Konstrakta) (Ана Ђурић (Констракта)) – singer-songwriter
- Sandra Perović (Сандра Перовић) – film critic, journalist
- Sara Jo (Сара Јо) – singer, model, actress
| Draw | Country | Jury | Televote | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Juror 1 | Juror 2 | Juror 3 | Juror 4 | Juror 5 | Rank | Points | Rank | Points | ||
| 01 | Austria |
3 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 19 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 3 |
| 02 | Portugal |
22 | 19 | 20 | 24 | 15 | 20 | 19 | ||
| 03 | Switzerland |
12 | 18 | 17 | 15 | 13 | 15 | 18 | ||
| 04 | Poland |
23 | 15 | 19 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 13 | ||
| 05 | Serbia |
|||||||||
| 06 | France |
7 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 10 | 1 |
| 07 | Cyprus |
16 | 17 | 16 | 7 | 8 | 12 | 15 | ||
| 08 | Spain |
6 | 12 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 14 | |
| 09 | Sweden |
15 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
| 10 | Albania |
25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 12 | ||
| 11 | Italy |
11 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 9 | 2 |
| 12 | Estonia |
19 | 22 | 18 | 19 | 23 | 22 | 20 | ||
| 13 | Finland |
2 | 3 | 3 | 20 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 12 |
| 14 | Czech Republic |
8 | 14 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 7 | 4 |
| 15 | Australia |
18 | 21 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 23 | 22 | ||
| 16 | Belgium |
10 | 10 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 21 | ||
| 17 | Armenia |
9 | 11 | 9 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 16 | ||
| 18 | Moldova |
21 | 24 | 12 | 14 | 17 | 18 | 11 | ||
| 19 | Ukraine |
14 | 13 | 13 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 24 | ||
| 20 | Norway |
17 | 20 | 14 | 17 | 16 | 19 | 6 | 5 | |
| 21 | Germany |
24 | 23 | 24 | 21 | 22 | 24 | 17 | ||
| 22 | Lithuania |
20 | 16 | 22 | 11 | 12 | 16 | 25 | ||
| 23 | Israel |
4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 4 | 7 |
| 24 | Slovenia |
1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 3 | 8 |
| 25 | Croatia |
5 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 10 |
| 26 | United Kingdom |
13 | 8 | 21 | 16 | 20 | 14 | 23 | ||
• Country: 🇱🇻 Latvia
• National selection:
- Selection process: Supernova 2023
- Selection date(s): Semi-final: 04 February 2023 Ι Final: 11 February 2023
- Host venue: LTV studios (Latvijas Televīzijas augstceltne), Rīga
- Presenter(s): Ketija Šēnberga, Lauris Reiniks
- Host broadcaster: Latvijas Televīzija (LTV)
- Participants – Number of entries: 14
15(121) - Voting system: 50% jury, 50% televoting
- Selection entrant: Sudden Lights (Kārlis Vārtiņš, Mārtiņš Matīss Zemītis, Andrejs Reinis Zitmanis un Kārlis Matīss Zitmanis)
- Selection song: “Aijā“
- Selected songwriter(s): Andrejs Reinis Zitmanis, Kārlis Matīss Zitmanis, Kārlis Vārtiņš, Mārtiņš Matīss Zemītis
• Final performance:
- Semi-final result: 4º SF 1:Failed to qualify (11th, 34 points)
- Final result: —
Latvia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool, United Kingdom, with “Aijā” performed by Sudden Lights. The Latvian broadcaster Latvijas Televīzija (LTV) organised the national selection Supernova 2023 in order to select their entry for the contest.
Latvia was drawn to compete in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 9 May 2023. Performing during the show in position 4, “Aijā” was not announced among the top 10 entries of the first semi-final and therefore did not qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Latvia placed 11th out of the 15 participating countries in the semi-final with 34 points.
1.Background. Prior to 2023, Latvia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 22 times since its first entry in 2000. Latvia won the contest once in 2002 with the song “I Wanna” performed by Marie N. Following the introduction of semi-finals in 2004, Latvia was able to qualify for the final between 2005 and 2008. Between 2009 and 2014, the nation had failed to qualify to the final for six consecutive years before managing to qualify to the final in 2015 and 2016. Latvia had failed to qualify to the final for five consecutive contests since 2017, including with their 2022 entry “Eat Your Salad” performed by Citi Zēni.
2.Before Eurovision.
2.1.Supernova 2023. On 3 August 2022, LTV confirmed its participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. On 21 September 2022, it was announced by LTV that Supernova had been confirmed as the national final format to select Latvia’s entry for the Eurovision Song Contest, and opened submissions for the selection.
2.1.1.Format. The format of the competition consisted of two shows: a semi-final and a final. The semi-final, which was held on 4 February 2023, featured 15 competing entries from which the top ten entries advanced to the final. The final, held on 12 February 2023, selected the Latvian entry for Liverpool from the remaining entries. Results during the semi-final and final shows were determined by the 50/50 combination of votes from a jury panel and a public vote, with both the jury and public vote assigning points from 1–8, 10, and 12 based on the number of competing songs in the respective show. Viewers were able to vote via telephone or via SMS.
2.1.2.Competing entries. On 21 September 2022, the broadcaster opened the song submission for artists to apply, with the deadline set for 1 December 2022. It was later announced that 121 songs were submitted at the conclusion of the submission period. The submitted songs were evaluated by a jury panel appointed by LTV and selected 15 performers and songs, which were announced on 5 January 2023. Among the competing artists is Justs, who represented Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016. On 6 January 2023, Saule was disqualified from the competition due to the song being previously performed in 2021.
| Artist | song | language | translate | Composer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24. Avēnija (Kārlis Grīnbergs, Ernests Vīgners) | “You said” | Angļu | “Tu teici” | Kārlis Grīnbergs, Ernests Vīgners |
| Adriana Miglāne | “Ļike I Wanna”‘ | Angļu | “Kā es vēlos” | Adriana Miglāne, Darens Maikls, Martins Ēlenmarks |
| Alise Haijima | “Tricky” | Angļu | “Viltīgs” | Alise Haijima |
| Artūrs Hatti (Artūrs Dominiks Hatuļevs) | “Love Vibes” | “Mīlestības noskaņas” | Agnese Rozniece, Matīss Repsis, Karlīne Anna Ērgle, Toms Kalderauskis, Baiba Ozoliņa | |
| Avéi | “Let Me Go” | Angļu | “Laid mani vaļā” | Raitis Aukšmuksts, Ieva Kudlāne, Daniela Brilovska |
| Inspo (Aivars Lietaunieks, Nadīna Stirniniece) | “Sway” | Angļu | “Šūpoties” | Aivars Lietaunieks, Nadīna Stirniece |
| Justs (Justs Sirmais) | “Stranger” | Angļu | “Svešinieks” | Justs Sirmais, Veronika Marija Gabrielčika, Uku Moldau |
| Katrine Miller (Katrīne Millere) | “Beaten Down” | Angļu | “Piekaut” | Katrīne Millere, Andris Lūkins |
| Luīze ( Luīze Vītola) | “You To Hold Me” | Angļu | “Tu turi mani” | Luīze Vītola |
| Markus Riva (Miķelis Ļaksa) | “Forever” | Angļu | “Mūžīģi” | Markus Riva |
| Patrisha (Patriša, Patrīcija Ksenija Cuprijanoviča) | “Hush” | Angļu | “Klusu!” | Patrīcija Ksenija Cuprijanoviča, Krists Indrišonoks, Nanna Pripa Pedersena, Rūdolfs Budze, Jūlijs Melngailis |
| RAUM (Reinis Straume) | “Fake Love” | Angļu | “Viltus mīlestība” | Reinis Straume, Daniels Levijs Viinalass, Jānis Jačmenkins |
| Sudden Lights (Andrejs Reinis Zitmanis, Kārlis Matīss Zitmanis, Mārtiņš Matīss Zemītis, Kārlis Vārtiņš) | “Aijā” | Angļu, latviešu | — | Andrejs Reinis Zitmanis, Kārlis Vārtiņš, Kārlis Matīss Zitmanis, Mārtiņš Matīss Zemītis |
| Toms Kalderauskis | “When It All Falls” | Angļu | “Kad tas viss krīt” | Toms Kalderauskis, Julianna Tīruma |
2.1.3.Shows.
2.1.4.Semi-finals. The semi-final took place on 4 February 2023. In the semi-final, 14 acts competed and the top ten entries qualified to the final based on the combination of votes from a jury panel and the Latvian public.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Artūrs Hatti | “Love Vibes” | Advanced |
| 2 | Alise Haijima | “Tricky” | Advanced |
| 3 | Inspo | “Sway” | Eliminated |
| 4 | Toms Kalderauskis | “When It All Falls” | Advanced |
| 5 | Katrine Miller | “Beaten Down” | Eliminated |
| 6 | Justs | “Stranger” | Eliminated |
| 7 | Adriana Miglāne | “Like I Wanna” | Eliminated |
| 8 | 24. Avēnija | “You Said” | Advanced |
| 9 | Markus Riva | “Forever” | Advanced |
| 10 | Avéi | “Let Me Go” | Advanced |
| 11 | Patrisha | “Hush” | Advanced |
| 12 | Raum | “Fake Love” | Advanced |
| 13 | Luīze | “You to Hold Me” | Advanced |
| 14 | Sudden Lights | “Aijā“ | Advanced |
2.1.5.Final. The final took place on 11 February 2023. The ten entries that advanced from the semi-final will compete. The song with the highest number of votes based on the combination of votes from a jury panel and the Latvian public, “Aijā” by Sudden Lights, was declared the winner. In addition to the competing entries, the show featured guest performances from Eurovision Song Contest 2019 winner Duncan Laurence, and Elīza Legzdiņa and Beanie from Rudimental.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Jury | Televote | Total | Place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | Points | ||||||
| 1 | Alise Haijima | “Tricky” | 3 | 5,607 | 3 | 6 | 8 |
| 2 | Luīze | “You to Hold Me” | 2 | 2,384 | 1 | 3 | 10 |
| 3 | Raum | “Fake Love” | 4 | 6,986 | 5 | 9 | 6 |
| 4 | Toms Kalderauskis | “When It All Falls” | 7 | 2,608 | 2 | 9 | 7 |
| 5 | Artūrs Hatti | “Love Vibes” | 1 | 6,251 | 4 | 5 | 9 |
| 6 | Patrisha | “Hush” | 10 | 50,958 | 10 | 20 | 2 |
| 7 | Sudden Lights | “Aijā“ | 12 | 66,307 | 12 | 24 | 1 |
| 8 | 24. Avēnija | “You Said” | 8 | 8,735 | 7 | 15 | 3 |
| 9 | Avéi | “Let Me Go” | 5 | 8,294 | 6 | 11 | 5 |
| 10 | Markus Riva | “Forever” | 6 | 27,302 | 8 | 14 | 4 |
3.At Eurovision. According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the “Big Five” (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 31 January 2023, an allocation draw was held, which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, and determined which half of the show they would perform in. Latvia has been placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 9 May 2023, and has been scheduled to perform in the first half of the show.
Once all the competing songs for the 2023 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows’ producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Latvia was set to perform in position 4, following the entry from Serbia and before the entry from Portugal.
At the end of the show, Latvia was not among the ten countries announced as qualifiers for the final, and therefore failed to qualify to the final. It was later revealed that Latvia placed 11th with 34 points.
3.2.Voting.
3.2.1.Points awarded to Latvia.
| Score | Televote |
|---|---|
| 12 points | |
| 10 points | |
| 8 points | Rest of the World |
| 7 points | |
| 6 points | Azerbaijan |
| 5 points | |
| 4 points |
|
| 3 points |
|
| 2 points | Serbia |
| 1 point |
|
3.2.2.Points awarded by Latvia.
| Score | Televote |
|---|---|
| 12 points | Finland |
| 10 points | Sweden |
| 8 points | Israel |
| 7 points | Croatia |
| 6 points | Moldova |
| 5 points | Czech Republic |
| 4 points | Norway |
| 3 points | Switzerland |
| 2 points | Azerbaijan |
| 1 point | Ireland |
| Score | Televote | Jury |
|---|---|---|
| 12 points | Finland |
Estonia |
| 10 points | Lithuania |
Sweden |
| 8 points | Sweden |
Spain |
| 7 points | Ukraine |
Lithuania |
| 6 points | Estonia |
Cyprus |
| 5 points | Israel |
Israel |
| 4 points | Croatia |
Ukraine |
| 3 points | Norway |
Italy |
| 2 points | Slovenia |
Belgium |
| 1 point | Czech Republic |
Armenia |
3.2.3.Detailed voting results. The following members comprised the Latvian jury:
- Jānis Stībelis
- Kristaps Vanadziņš
- Aminata Savadogo
- Asnate Rancāne
| Draw | Country | Jury | Televote | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Juror 1 | Juror 2 | Juror 3 | Juror 4 | Rank | Points | Rank | Points | ||
| 01 | Austria |
12 | 13 | 7 | 18 | 13 | 21 | ||
| 02 | Portugal |
13 | 10 | 9 | 26 | 15 | 23 | ||
| 03 | Switzerland |
14 | 8 | 15 | 14 | 16 | 20 | ||
| 04 | Poland |
16 | 20 | 25 | 19 | 24 | 16 | ||
| 05 | Serbia |
25 | 25 | 12 | 20 | 21 | 18 | ||
| 06 | France |
23 | 9 | 11 | 9 | 12 | 14 | ||
| 07 | Cyprus |
4 | 7 | 16 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 22 | |
| 08 | Spain |
10 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 24 | |
| 09 | Sweden |
3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 3 | 8 |
| 10 | Albania |
22 | 17 | 23 | 17 | 23 | 26 | ||
| 11 | Italy |
5 | 6 | 24 | 10 | 8 | 3 | 15 | |
| 12 | Estonia |
1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 5 | 6 |
| 13 | Finland |
24 | 11 | 21 | 21 | 19 | 1 | 12 | |
| 14 | Czech Republic |
15 | 16 | 8 | 12 | 14 | 10 | 1 | |
| 15 | Australia |
7 | 18 | 14 | 23 | 17 | 13 | ||
| 16 | Belgium |
8 | 15 | 5 | 13 | 9 | 2 | 19 | |
| 17 | Armenia |
6 | 14 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 1 | 17 | |
| 18 | Moldova |
11 | 24 | 26 | 24 | 20 | 11 | ||
| 19 | Ukraine |
17 | 23 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 7 |
| 20 | Norway |
18 | 19 | 17 | 25 | 22 | 8 | 3 | |
| 21 | Germany |
21 | 21 | 19 | 22 | 26 | 12 | ||
| 22 | Lithuania |
2 | 12 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 10 |
| 23 | Israel |
9 | 5 | 18 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 |
| 24 | Slovenia |
20 | 22 | 22 | 16 | 25 | 9 | 2 | |
| 25 | Croatia |
26 | 4 | 20 | 15 | 11 | 7 | 4 | |
| 26 | United Kingdom |
19 | 26 | 10 | 11 | 18 | 25 | ||
• Country: 🇵🇹 Portogallo
• National selection:
- Selection process: Festival da Cançao (57ª Festival RTP da Canção) 2023
- Selection date(s): Semi-finals: Semi-final 1 – 25 February 2023, Semi-final 2 – 4 March 2023 Ι Final: 11 March 2023
- Host venue: Studio 1 RTP, Lisbon
- Presenter(s): SF 1 (José Carlos Malato e Tânia Ribas de Oliveira), SF 2 (Jorge Gabriel e Sónia Araújo), FI (Filomena Cautela e Vasco Palmeirim), GreenRoom (Inês Lopes Gonçalves)
- Host broadcaster: Rádio e Televisão de Portugal – RTP (Antena 1, RTP1, RTP Internacional, RTP África, RTP Play)
- Participants – Number of entries: 20 (10 songs will compete in Semi-final 1. 6 songs will qualify for the Final; 10 songs will compete in Semi-final 2. 6 songs will qualify for the Final; 12 songs will compete in the Final)
- Voting system: Semi-finals: First round: 5 songs selected by 50% jury, 50% televoting. Second round: 1 song selected by 100% televoting; Final: 50% jury, 50% televoting
- Selection entrant: Mimicat
- Selection song: “Ai coração”
- Selected songwriter(s): Marisa Mena, Luís Pereira
• Final performance:
- Semi-final result: 5º SF 1: Qualified (9th, 74 points)
- Final result: 23rd, 59 points
Portugal participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool, United Kingdom, with “Ai coração” performed by Mimicat. The Portuguese broadcaster Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP) organised the national final Festival da Canção 2023 in order to select the Portuguese entry for the 2023 contest. After two semi-finals and a final which took place in February–March 2023, “Ai coração” emerged as the winner after achieving the highest score following the combination of votes from seven regional juries and a public televote.
Portugal was drawn to compete in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 9 May 2023. Performing during the show in position 5, “Ai coração” was announced as one of the top 10 entries and therefore qualified to compete in the final on 13 May. In the final, Portugal performed in position 2 and placed 23rd out of the 26 countries with 59 points (43 from the jury vote and 16 from the public vote).
1.Background. Prior to the 2023 contest, Portugal has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 53 times since its first entry in 1964. Portugal had won the contest on one occasion: in 2017 with the song “Amar pelos dois” performed by Salvador Sobral. Following the introduction of semi-finals for the 2004, Portugal had featured in only seven finals. Portugal’s least successful result has been last place, which they have achieved on four occasions, most recently in 2018 with the song “O jardim” performed by Cláudia Pascoal. Portugal has also received nul points on two occasions; in 1964 and 1997. In 2022, Portugal placed ninth with the song “Saudade, saudade” performed by Maro.
The Portuguese national broadcaster, Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP), broadcasts the event within Portugal and organises the selection process for the nation’s entry. RTP confirmed Portugal’s participation in the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest on 2 September 2022.[2] The broadcaster has traditionally selected the Portuguese entry for the Eurovision Song Contest via the music competition Festival da Canção, with exceptions in 1988 and 2005 when the Portuguese entries were internally selected. Along with their participation confirmation, the broadcaster announced the organization of Festival da Canção 2023 in order to select the 2023 Portuguese entry.
2.Before Eurovision.
2.1.Festival da Canção 2023. The 2023 edition of Festival da Canção featured two semi-finals and a final, and saw 20 acts compete. All three shows took place at RTP’s Studio 1 in Lisbon.
Festival da Canção 2023 was the 57th edition of Festival da Canção, a television song contest organised and broadcast by Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP) to determine Portugal’s entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. The competition consisted of two semi-finals on 25 February and 4 March 2023 and a final on 11 March 2023, with twenty entries competing in total. The winner was “Ai coração” by Mimicat, who represented Portugal in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.
2.1.1.Format. The format of the competition consisted of three shows: two semi-finals and a final. Each semi-final featured 10 competing entries from which six advanced from each show to complete the 12-song lineup in the final. Results during the semi-finals were determined by the votes from a jury panel appointed by RTP and public televoting; the first five qualifiers were based on the 50/50 combination of jury and public voting where both streams of voting assign points from 1–8, 10 and 12 based on ranking, while the sixth qualifier was determined by a second round of public televoting from the remaining entries. Results during the final were determined by the 50/50 combination of votes from seven regional juries and public televoting, which was opened following the second semi-final and closed during the final show. Both the public televote and the juries assign points from 1–8, 10 and 12 based on the ranking developed by both streams of voting.
All three shows of the competition took place at RTP’s Studio 1 in Lisbon and were broadcast on RTP1 and RTP Internacional as well as on radio via Antena 1 and online via RTP Play. The shows were also broadcast on RTP Acessibilidades with presentation in Portuguese Sign Language and in Spain online via RTVE Play.
2.1.2.Competing entries. Twenty composers were selected by RTP through two methods: 15 invited by RTP for the competition and five selected from 667 submissions received through an open call for songs. The composers, which both create the songs and select its performers, were required to submit the demo and final versions of their entries by 31 October and 30 November 2022, respectively. Songs could be submitted in any language. The selected composers were revealed on 9 November 2022, while the competing artists and songs were revealed on 19 January 2023. Among the competing artists was Cláudia Pascoal, who represented Portugal in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018.
| Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) | Selection |
|---|---|---|---|
| April Ivy (Mariana Barreiros Dos Santos Gonçalves) | “Modo voo“ | Mariana Gonçalves, João Maia Ferreira, Francisco Santos, Manuel Morgado, Ricardo Moreira, Matheus Paraízo, Francisco Andrade | Invited by RTP |
| Bandua | “Bandeiras“ | Bernardo Adário, Edgar Valente | |
| Bárbara Tinoco | “Goodnight” | Bárbara Tinoco, Mateus Seabra | |
| BOLHA | “Sonhos de liberdade“ | Jacinta, Joana Gil | |
| Churky | “Encruzilhada“ | Churky | |
| Cláudia Pascoal (Cláudia Rafaela Teixeira Pascoal) | “Nasci Maria“ | Cláudia Pascoal | |
| DAPUNKSPORTIF | “World Needs Therapy” | João Guincho, Paulo Franco | |
| Edmundo Inácio | “A festa“ | Edmundo Inácio | Open call winner |
| Esse Povo | “Sapatos de cimento“ | Quim Albergaria | Invited by RTP |
| INÊS APENAS | “Fim do mundo“ | Inês Apenas | Open call winner |
| Ivandro | “Povo“ | Ivandro | Invited by RTP |
| Lara Li (Lara Pires Amendoeira) | “Funâmbula“ | André Henriques | |
| Mimicat (Marisa Isabel Lopes Mena) | “Ai coração“ | Marisa Mena, Luís Pereira | Open call winner |
| Moyah | “Too Much Sauce” | Moyah, Kensaye, Miguel Gutierrez | |
| Neon Soho | “Endless World” | Neon Soho | Invited by RTP |
| SAL | “Viver“ | Sérgio Pires, SAL | |
| Teresinha Landeiro | “Enquanto é tempo“ | Pedro de Castro, Teresinha Landeiro | |
| The Happy Mess (Miguel Ribeiro, Joana Duarte, Zé Vieira, João Pascoal, Alfonso Carvalho, Hugo Azevedo) | “O impossível“ | João Pascoal, Afonso Carvalho, Miguel Ribeiro, Paulo Mouta Pereira, Bruno Vieira Amaral | |
| Voodoo Marmalade | “Tormento“ | Voodoo Marmalade | Open call winner |
| You Can’t Win, Charlie Brown (Afonso Cabral, David Santos, Pedro Branco, Salvador Menezes, João Gil, Tomás Sousa) | “Contraste mudo“ | Afonso Cabral, David Santos, João Gil, Pedro Branco, Salvador Menezes, Tomás Sousa | Invited by RTP |
Semi-finals. The two semi-finals took place on 25 February and 4 March 2023. In each semi-final, 10 entries competed and six advanced to the final: five based on the 50/50 combination of votes from the televote and a jury panel consisting of Alex D’Alva, Carlos Mendes, Márcia, Maro, Neev, Pedro Ribeiro and Sara Correia. One additional entry was then selected by televoting exclusively. The first semi-final was hosted by Tânia Ribas de Oliveira and José Carlos Malato. Throughout all shows, Inês Lopes Gonçalves was in charge of the green room alongside Wandson Lisboa, the social media correspondent. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, HMB together with Nena, Ana Bacalhau and Wander Isaac, Fernando Tordo and Spanish Eurovision 2023 entrant Blanca Paloma performed as guests in the first semi-final. The second semi-final was hosted by Jorge Gabriel and Sónia Araújo, while Filipe Sambado together with Surma and Primeira Dama, juror Carlos Mendes, and Portuguese representative in Junior Eurovision 2022, Nicolas Alves, performed as guests.
Esse Povo, who took part in the first semi-final with their song “Sapatos de cimento“, automatically qualified from the jury and televote round due to a technical issue related to their televoting line discovered during the first semi-final, resulting in the final featuring 13 artists instead of the planned 12
The first semi-final took place on 25 February 2023. “Encruzilhada” performed by Churky, “Nasci Maria” performed by Cláudia Pascoal, “Viver” performed by SAL, “Ai coração” performed by Mimicat, and “Contraste mudo” performed by You Can’t Win, Charlie Brown qualified directly to the final. “Sapatos de cimento” performed by Esse Povo also qualified directly to the final due to a technical issue affecting their televoting line. “Endless World” performed by Neon Soho also qualified for the final through the second round of voting. “Too Much Sauce” performed by Moyah, “Sonhos de liberdade” performed by Bolha and “Modo voo” performed by April Ivy were eliminated from the contest.
The second semi-final took place on 4 March 2023. “A festa” performed by Edmundo Inácio, “Goodnight” performed by Bárbara Tinoco, “Fim do mundo” performed by Inês Apenas, “Povo” performed by Ivandro, and “Tormento” performed by Voodoo Marmalade qualified directly to the final. “World Needs Therapy” performed by Dapunksportif also qualified for the final through the second round of voting. “O impossível” performed by the Happy Mess, “Enquanto é tempo” performed by Teresinha Landeiro, “Bandeiras” performed by Bandua, and “Funâmbula” performed by Lara Li were eliminated from the contest.
Key: * Jury and televote round qualifier ** Televote-only round qualifier