Member station ERR First appearance 1994 Worst result Last: 2016 SF | Appearances 22 (14 finals) Best result 1st: 2001 | |
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National selection events National final
Eurolaul
1993–1994
1996–2008
Eesti Laul
2009–present | ||
Estonia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 22 times since making its debut in 1994. Its first appearance would have taken place in 1993, however a qualification round was installed for seven former Eastern bloc countries hoping to make their debut in the contest, with Estonia failing to qualify. Estonia has won the contest once, in 2001.
Contents
Estonia's first participation in 1994 was not a successful one, coming second last only to Lithuania. The country was then relegated from the 1995 contest. From its second entry in 1996, the country entered its best era in the contest, finishing in the top eight in six out of seven contests (1996–2002). Maarja-Liis Ilus and Ivo Linna's fifth place in 1996 was the first top five ranking for a former Soviet country. Maarja-Liis Ilus returned to finish eighth in 1997, Evelin Samuel and Camille were sixth in 1999 and Ines was fourth in 2000, before Tanel Padar, Dave Benton & 2XL gave Estonia its first victory in 2001. This made Estonia the first former Soviet country to win the contest and the second eastern European country to win, after Yugoslavia in 1989. The 2002 contest was held in Tallinn, with Sahlene finishing joint third for the hosts.
Since the introduction of the semi-final round in 2004, Estonia has failed to reach the final on eight occasions and has reached the top ten three times, with Urban Symphony in 2009, Ott Lepland in 2012, who both finished sixth, and Elina Born & Stig Rästa who finished seventh in 2015. Estonia's total of nine top ten results, is more than any other Baltic country.
History
Estonia's record at the contest was a successful one from 1996 to 2002, only failing once to make the top 10 (in 1998 when it ended up in 12th place). The country's first win came in 2001, when Tanel Padar and Dave Benton, along with 2XL, sang "Everybody" and received 198 points, therefore making Estonia the first former USSR country to win the Contest and the second country of eastern Europe after Yugoslavia. As such the 2002 contest was held in Estonia, in the capital city Tallinn.
From 2004 to 2008 Estonia failed to qualify to the finals, mostly receiving poor results – during that period its best entry was 11th place in the 2004 semi-final by Neiokõsõ with the "Tii" (The Way), sung in the Võro language, a southern-Estonian dialect.
Despite news that Estonia might withdraw from the 2009 contest, set to be held in Moscow, Russia, due to the war in South Ossetia, Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR) confirmed that, due to public demand, Estonia would send an entry to Moscow. After a new national final, Eesti Laul, was introduced to select the Estonian entry, the winner was Urban Symphony with "Rändajad" (Nomads or Travellers), which had beaten the televoting favourite, Laura, by the votes of a jury.
At the second semi-final of the 2009 contest, Urban Symphony qualified Estonia to the final of the contest for the first time since 2003, receiving 115 points and placing 3rd. The group performed 15th in the final, where it received 129 points, placing 6th of 25 competing entries as well as being the highest placing non-English language song at the 2009 competition.
In 2010, Estonia failed to qualify to the final, with the song "Siren" by Malcolm Lincoln.
In 2011, Estonia was represented by Getter Jaani with the song "Rockefeller Street". She was the bookmakers' pre-contest favorite for victory along with France. She qualified to the final but eventually placed 24th of 25 entries- tying Silvi Vrait's 1994 result for Estonia's worst placing in the contest final.
In 2012, Ott Lepland qualified Estonia to the final with his song "Kuula", ending up 4th in the second semi-final. In the final, he equalled Estonia's result of 1999 and 2009, ending up 6th. Together with "Urban Symphony" in 2009, "Kuula" gave Estonia its best result in the contest since 2009.
Contestants
Voting history
As of 2016, Estonia's voting history is as follows: