BOSNIA and HERZEGOVINA in the Eurovision Song Contest – Participation history

Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Eurovision Song Contest
Participating broadcaster
Participation summary
Appearances
First appearance
Language
National Selections National final
Internal selection
Hostings
Highest placement Top 5 FINAL SEMI-FINALS
Highest placement Top 10 FINAL SEMI-FINALS
Worst placement (Bottom) FINAL SEMI-FINALS
Times qualified – Qualifiying rate
Victories
Nul points (Nil points) FINAL SEMI-FINALS
Participation history

Note: Entries scored out signify where Armenia did not compete
Years

1993 • 1994 • 1995 • 1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 • 2010 • 2011 • 2012 • 2013 • 2014 • 2015 • 2016 • 2017 – 2024 •

Artists Fazla (Фазла) • Alma and Dejan (Алма и Дејан; Alma Čardžić & Dejan Lazarević, Алма Чарџић и Дејан Лазаревић) • Davor Popović (Давор Поповић) • Amila Glamočak (Амила Гламочак) • Alma Čardžić (Алма Чарџић) • Dino and Béatrice (Dino & Béatrice Poulot, Дино и Беатрис Пуло) • Nino (Nino Pršeš, Нино Пршеш) • Maja (Maja Tatić, Маја Татић) • Mija Martina (Мија Мартина Барбарић, Mija Martina Barbarić) • Deen (Дин) • Feminnem (Феминем) • Hari Mata Hari (Хари Мата Хари) • Marija Šestić (Марија Шестић) • Laka (Лака) • Regina (Регина) • Vukašin Brajić (Вукашин Брајић) • Dino Merlin (Дино Мерлин) • Maya Sar (Маја Сар) • Dalal and Deen feat. Ana Rucner and Jala (Далал, Дин, Ана Руцнер & Џала) •
Songs “Sva bol svijeta” (Сва бол свијета) • “Ostani kraj mene” (Остани крај мене) • “Dvadeset prvi vijek” (Двадесет први вијек) • “Za našu ljubav” (За нашу љубав) • “Goodbye” (Довиђења) • “Putnici” (Путници) • “Hano” (Хано) • “Na jastuku za dvoje” (На јастуку за двоје) • “Ne brini” (Не брини) • “In the Disco” (U diskoteci) • “Call Me” (Zovi, Зови) • “Lejla” (Лејла) • “Rijeka bez imena” (Ријека без имена) • “Pokušaj” (Покушај) • “Bistra voda” (Бистра вода) • “Thunder and Lightning” (Муња и гром) • “Love in Rewind” (Љубав уназад) • “Korake ti znam“ (Кораке ти знам) • “Ljubav je“ (Љубав је) •
  • Emittente televisiva: BHRT (Radio and Television of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosanskohercegovačka radiotelevizija, Радиотелевизија Босне и Херцеговине) in passato PBSBiH / RTVBIH / PBSBIH (Public Broadcasting Service of Bosnia and Herzegovina)
  • Processo di Selezione: Selezione Nazionale (BH Eurosong: 1993 –1997, 1999, 2001 – 2005) | Selezione Interna (2006–2012, 2016)
  • Organizzazione concorso – Paese ospite: 0
  • Numero di partecipazioni: 19 (18 finali)
  • Lingue: Bosniaco (10), Bosniaco / Francese (1), Bosniaco / Inglese (2), Serbio / Inglese (1), Croato / Inglese (2), Serbio (1), Inglese (2)
  • Prima partecipazione: Millstreet 1993: Fazla | Sva Bol Svijeta
  • Miglior piazzamento: Top 5: FI: 3° (2006) | SF: 2° (1993, 2006), 3° (2009), 5° (2011)
  • Miglior piazzamento Top 10: FI: 6° (2011), 7° (1999), 9° (2004, 2009), 10° (2008) | SF: 6° (2012), 7° (2004), 8° (2010), 9° (2008)
  • Peggior piazzamento (Bottom): FI: 22° (1996) | SF: 11° (2016)
  • Average place: 11,12
  • Qualificazioni per la Finale: 9 su 10 (dal 2004)
  • Numero di vittorie: 0
  • Nul points (Nil points): FI: 0 | SF: 0

Bosnia & Herzegovina debuted at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1993 alongside Croatia and Slovenia, following Yugoslavia’s dissolution.

With more nations than ever wanting to take part, they qualified for the Contest via a pre-selection show called Kvalifikacija za Millstreet (‘Qualification for Millstreet’) which also featured hopefuls from Slovakia, Estonia, Hungary and Romania who had to wait another year to join the party.

Before withdrawing from the competition following Stockholm 2016, the country had an enviable run of results, qualifying for the Saturday night Grand Final on all but one occasion.

To date, Bosnia & Herzegovina is the proud recipient of two Marcel Bezençon Awards; pop group Hari Mata Hari won the Composer Award in 2006 for “Lejla”, as did rock band Regina in 2009 for “Bistra Voda”.

Bosnia and Herzegovina has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 19 times since making its debut in 1993, after coming second in the qualification round “Kvalifikacija za Millstreet“. The current Bosnian-Herzegovinian participant broadcaster in the contest is the Radio and Television of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BHRT).

Bosnia and Herzegovina’s best result was in 2006, when “Lejla” performed by Hari Mata Hari finished third. This remains the country’s only top five result in the contest. The country also achieved five other top ten results: 1999 with “Putnici” by Dino Merlin (seventh), 2004 with “In the Disco” by Deen (ninth), 2008 with “Pokušaj” by Laka (tenth), 2009 with “Bistra voda” by Regina (ninth), and 2011 with “Love in Rewind” again by Dino Merlin (sixth). Bosnia and Herzegovina returned to the contest for the first time since 2012 at the 2016 contest, where it failed to advance from the semi-finals for the first time. The country then withdrew once again from the contest and has yet to return.

Participation

[edit]

The Radio Television of Bosnia and Herzegovina (RTVBiH) was a full member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) since 1 January 1993, thus eligible to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest since then. It participated in the contest representing Bosnia and Herzegovina since its 38th edition that same year. In 2000, RTVBiH’s EBU membership was transferred to a new parental broadcasting organisation, the Public Broadcasting Service of Bosnia and Herzegovina (PBSBiH), who participated in the contest representing the country from 2001 to 2004. On 13 August 2004, PBSBiH was succeeded by the Radio and Television of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BHRT), who has participated in the contest since then.

Before its independence in 1992, Bosnia and Herzegovina was part of Yugoslavia. Five Yugoslavian entrants in the Eurovision Song Contest came from the former SR Bosnia and Herzegovina (1964, 1965, 1973, 1976, and 1981). The contest was broadcast in the socialist republic by the Yugoslav Radio Television‘s (JRT) affiliate RTV Sarajevo.

History

[edit]

Low average scores meant Bosnia and Herzegovina did not qualify for the contests in 1998 and 2000, and the country did not participate in the 2013 contest for financial reasons. BHRT had stated that it hoped to return to the contest in 2014,[1] and on 18 November 2013, it submitted a preliminary application to compete in the 2014 contest.[2] However, on 18 December 2013, it was announced that Bosnia and Herzegovina would not be returning for 2014.[3]

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

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

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

Participation overview

[edit]

For contestants prior to 1993, see Yugoslavia in the Eurovision Song Contest.

Prior to Yugoslavia’s dissolution, artists from the SR Bosnia and Herzegovina represented Yugoslavia in 1964, 1965, 1973, 1976, and 1981.

Table key
2 Second place
3 Third place

Note: Edizione | # | Artista (i) | Canzone [Musica (m) / Texto (t)] | Lingua (Traduzione) | Punteggio | Posizione | Processo di Selezione

NOTES:

  1. a^ Jump up to:a b Progressed through Kvalifikacija za Millstreet
  2. b^ Jump up to:a b According to the then-Eurovision rules, the top ten non-Big Four countries from the previous year along with the Big Four automatically qualified for the grand final without having to compete in semi-finals. For example, if Germany and France placed inside the top ten, the 11th and 12th spots were advanced to next year’s grand final along with all countries ranked in the top ten.
  3. c^ All conductors are of Bosnian nationality unless otherwise noted.
  4. d^ The spokesperson from the prequalifying round was Ismeta Dervoz-Krvavac

Photo gallery

Songs by language

  Bosnian (52.17%)
  English (30.43%)
  Serbian (8.69%)
  Croatian (4.35%)
  French (4.35%)
Songs Language Years
12 Bosnian 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2016
7 English 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2010, 2011
2 Serbian 2002, 2007
1 Croatian 2003
1 French 1999

Awards

[edit]

Marcel Bezençon Awards

[edit]

Year Category Song Composer(s)
lyrics (l) / music (m)		 Performer Final Points Host city Ref.
2006 Composer Award “Lejla“ Željko Joksimović (m), Fahrudin Pecikoza (l), Dejan Ivanović (l) Hari Mata Hari 3 229 Greece Athens
[10]
2009 “Bistra voda“ Aleksandar Čović (m & l) Regina 9 106 Russia Moscow
[11]

[edit]

Conductors

[edit]

Year Conductor[c]
1993 (KzM) Esad Arnautalić
1993 Republic of Ireland Noel Kelehan
1994 Sinan Alimanović
1995
1996
1997

Commentators and spokespersons

[edit]

For the show’s broadcast in the country, various commentators have provided commentary on the contest in the Bosnian language. At the Eurovision Song Contest after all points are calculated, the presenters of the show call upon each voting country to invite each respective spokesperson to announce the results of their vote on-screen.[12]

From 1961 until 1991, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina was part of Yugoslavia and JRT’s affiliate RTV Sarajevo broadcast the contest there.

Year Channel Commentator Spokesperson Ref.
1993 RTVBiH Unknown Dejan Zagorac[d]
[13]
1994 Diana Grković-Foretić
[13]
1995
[13]
1996 Segmedina Srna
[13]
1997
[14][15]
1998 Did not participate
[16]
1999 Segmedina Srna
[17]
2000 Did not participate
[18]
2001 PBSBiH Dejan Kukrić Segmedina Srna
[19][20]
2002 PBSBiH, RTVFBiH (FTV1)
[19][21]
2003 Ana Vilenica [hr]
[22][19]
2004 BHTV 1, BH Radio 1 (all shows)
FTV (final)		 Mija Martina
[23][19][24][25]
2005 BHT 1 (all shows) Ana Mirjana Račanović
[26][19]
2006 Vesna Andree-Zaimović
[27][28][19][29]
2007
[30][19][31]
2008 Melina Garibović
[32][33][19]
2009 BHT 1, BH Radio 1 (all shows) Elvir Laković Laka
[34][35][36][19]
2010 BHT 1 (all shows) Ivana Vidmar
[37][38][19][39]
2011
[19][40][41]
2012 Elvir Laković Laka
[42][19]
2013 BHT 1, BH Radio 1 (all shows) Did not participate
[43][44][45][46][47][19]
2014–2015 No broadcast
[48]
2016 BHT 1, BHT HD, BH Radio 1 (all shows) Dejan Kukrić Ivana Crnogorac
[49][50]
2017–2024 No broadcast Did not participate
[51][52][53][54][55][56][57]

Other shows

[edit]

Show Commentator Channel Ref.
Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest Unknown BHT 1
Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light Maja Čengić Miralem
[58]

Bosnia & Herzegovina’s average distribution of the given points (2010-2016)

# 2010 2010 SF1 2011 2011 SF2 2012 2012 SF2 2016 2016 * 2016 SF1 2016 SF1 * Total Partici-
pations		 Average
1 Serbia 12 12 10 X 10 10 8 12 X X 74 7 10,57
2 North Macedonia X 10 X 10 12 8 X X X X 40 4 10,00
3 Slovenia X X 12 12 X 5 X X X X 29 3 9,67
4 Australia X X X X X X 10 5 X X 18 2 9,00
5 Croatia X X X X X 12 4 10 5 12 43 5 8,60
6 Azerbaijan 7 X 8 X 7 X 1 8 6 10 47 7 6,71
7 Turkey 10 X X X 4 6 X X X X 20 3 6,67
8 Albania 5 7 X X 6 X X X X X 18 3 6,00
9 Czech Republic X X X X X X 6 12 4 22 4 5,50
10 Montenegro X X X X X X X X 3 8 11 2 5,50
11 San Marino X X X X X X X X 10 10 2 5,00
12 Sweden X X 5 5 8 7 X X 25 6 4,17
13 France 3 X 4 X 2 X 7 4 X X 20 5 4,00
14 Russia 2 X 3 X 5 6 8 7 31 8 3,88
15 Slovakia X 5 X 6 X X X X X 11 3 3,67
16 Ukraine X 4 2 12 7 X X 25 7 3,57
17 Austria X X 7 7 X X 6 20 6 3,33
18 Greece 6 8 X 1 X X X 15 6 2,50
19 Armenia X X X X X 2 7 3 12 5 2,40
20 Belgium 4 X 8 X X X X 12 5 2,40
21 Portugal 3 X X X 4 X X X X 7 3 2,33
22 Germany 8 X 3 X X X X 11 5 2,20
23 Bulgaria X X X X 3 3 2 X X 8 4 2,00
24 Malta X 6 X X 2 5 13 7 1,86
25 Italy X X 6 X X X X 6 4 1,50
26 Ireland X 2 3 X X X X X 5 4 1,25
27 Hungary X X X X 1 4 1 6 6 1,00
28 Spain X X 5 X X X 5 5 1,00
29 Georgia 4 X X X X X 4 5 0,80
30 Romania 2 X X X X X X 2 4 0,50
31 Belarus X 2 X X X X X 2 4 0,50
32 Norway X X X 1 X X X X 1 3 0,33
33 Cyprus X X X 2 2 7 0,29
34 Denmark X 1 X X X X X 1 4 0,25
35 Israel 1 X X X X X X 1 4 0,25
36 Netherlands X X X X 1 1 6 0,17
37 Iceland 1 X X X X 1 6 0,17
38 Estonia X 1 X X 1 7 0,14

Bosnia & Herzegovina’s average distribution of the received points (2010-2016)

# Country 2010 2010 SF1 2011 2011 SF2 2012 2012 SF2 2016 2016 * 2016 SF1 2016 SF1 * Total Partici-
pations		 Average
1 TR Turkey X 10 X 10 12 X X X X X 32 3 10,67
2 SK Slovakia 5 12 2 6 X X X X X 20 4 5,00
3 SI Slovenia X 12 12 7 5 X X X 36 8 4,50
4 MK North Macedonia 8 12 12 7 5 X X X 36 8 4,50
5 HR Croatia X 7 X 10 12 4 12 X 45 11 4,09
6 AT Austria X 12 12 7 X 12 X 43 11 3,91
7 RS Serbia 12 12 X 5 5 X X X 22 7 3,14
8 SE Sweden X 8 8 5 12 X 33 12 2,75
9 ME Montenegro X X X 6 X 6 12 X 24 9 2,67
10 NL Netherlands X 8 10 5 7 X 30 12 2,50
11 DE Germany 7 7 5 X X X 19 8 2,38
12 CH Switzerland X 12 X 1 X X X X 13 6 2,17
13 FR France 6 5 10 4 6 X 25 12 2,08
14 PT Portugal X 5 X X X X X 5 3 1,67
15 AZ Azerbaijan X X X 10 5 X 15 10 1,50
16 AL Albania 7 7 X X X X X 7 6 1,17
17 NO Norway X 4 X 4 X X X 8 7 1,14
18 IT Italy X 4 4 X X X X 8 7 1,14
19 CZ Czech Republic X X X X X 2 7 X 9 8 1,13
20 DK Denmark X 7 X X X X 7 7 1,00
21 BY Belarus 4 5 X X X 5 8 0,63
22 SM San Marino X X X 2 4 X 6 10 0,60
23 BE Belgium 4 X X X X 4 7 0,57
24 UA Ukraine X 4 X X X 4 8 0,50
25 BG Bulgaria X 2 1 X X X 3 8 0,38
26 GR Greece 5 3 X X X 3 10 0,30
27 LV Latvia 2 X X X X 2 7 0,29
28 GE Georgia X X 2 X X X 2 7 0,29
29 AM Armenia X X X X 1 1 X 2 9 0,22
30 GB United Kingdom X X 1 X X X 1 7 0,14
31 MD Moldova 1 X 1 X 1 11 0,09

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