The festival was supposed to take place from March 23 - 25, 2003 but was delayed due to emergency rule in-force at the time in the country due to the assassination of the prime minister of Serbia Zoran Đinđić.
This Beovizija was planned to be the "rehearsal" for next years Eurovision selection. Beovizija 2003 was very different from the other ones that would follow. From 200 songs submitted to participate at the festival only 28 were chosen. They were sung over 2 night April 12 and 13, when the voting was conducted and the Serbian music awards handed out. On April 14 the "Winners review" show was broadcast where the best songs from the previous two nights were performed. The night was hosted by model Katarina Rebrača, television host Milica Gacin and actor Feđa Stojanović. It was the only time a 3 people team hosted Beovizija,
The interval act was performed by Vlado Georgiev and Dejan Najdanović Najda while the turn out of the public to the Sava Centar, where the event was hosted was noticeably low. The event (broadcast and produced by national television network RTS) was the most watched light-entertainment programme of the year in Serbia in term of ratings.
The jury was composed of Sanja Ilić (president), Slobodan Kovačević and Dragan Brajović (composers), Ivana Pavlović, Tanja Banjanin and Leo Martin (musicians), Bogomir Mijatović (singer) and Svetlana Đurašević and Aleksandar Filipović (music critics).
Winners, losers and the extravagant
With 75 points Toše Proeski was the first winner of Beovizija with the song Čija si("To Whom Do You Belong?"), composed by Leontina Vukomanović (who received an award of RSD300,000 (£2,700)). This song became a huge hit in Macedonia and the other former Yugoslav republics. This song was due to represent Serbia and Montenegro in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 but the EBU stated that too many countries wanted to enter in that year and so some would be forced to withdraw. Serbia and Montenegro (who participated as one country at the time) were one of them.
Null points were awarded to Tempo Slavija, Pasaž trio, Danijela Vranić, Husa, and Jellena by both the jury and public.
The most extravagant performance of the evening was performed last. The extremely popular turbo-folk singer Jelena Karleuša descended from the ceiling of Sava Centar. She performed her song "Manijak" in Madonna's unique style. During her performance a large bed was brought on to the stage by a group of nearly naked young men whom Karleuša danced with. She then jumped on the bed and started a pillow fight therefore ending Beovizija with feathers and confetti flying everywhere.
Željko Joksimović is a Serbian vocalist, composer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer. He plays 12 different musical instruments including accordion, piano, guitar and drums. Joksimović is multi-lingual, being fluent in Greek, English, Russian, Polish and French as well as his native Serbian.
Beovizija was a music festival established in 2003. Since 2007 it was the national selection for Serbia's representative at the Eurovision Song Contest. Beovizija is organised and broadcast live each year by RTS1, on RTRS in Bosnia, and internationally on Eurovision.tv and RTS SAT as of 2008. It was held during February and March at Belgrade's Sava Centar, and in RTS studios since 2019.
Evropesma or Europjesma was a pop song contest in Serbia and Montenegro which ran from 2004 to 2006. The winning song represented the country in the Eurovision Song Contest. It was organized by the Serbia and Montenegro union of broadcasters UJRT.
Serbia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 14 times since making its debut in 2007. Serbia previously participated as part of Yugoslavia and as Serbia and Montenegro (2004–2006). Serbia won the contest on its debut as an independent country in 2007, with "Molitva" by Marija Šerifović. The country's other top five results are third place in 2012 with "Nije ljubav stvar" by Željko Joksimović, and fifth place in 2022 with "In corpore sano" by Konstrakta. Serbia's other top ten results are sixth place (2008) and tenth place (2015).
Serbia and Montenegro participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with the song "Zauvijek moja" written by Milan Perić and Slaven Knezović. The song was performed by the band No Name. The union of public broadcasters of Serbia and Montenegro, Udruženje javnih radija i televizija (UJRT) organised the national final Evropesma-Europjesma 2005 in order to select the Serbian and Montenegrin entry for the 2005 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine. The Serbian national broadcaster, Radio Television of Serbia (RTS), and the Montenegrin broadcaster Radio i televizija Crne Gore (RTCG) each submitted twelve entries from their respective selections Beovizija 2005 and Montevizija 2005 with twenty-four entries in total competing in the national final on 4 March 2005. "Zauvijek moja" performed by No Name was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from an eight-member jury panel and a public televote.
Serbia debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 with the song "Molitva" written by Saša Milošević Mare and Vladimir Graić. The song was performed by Marija Šerifović. The Serbian national broadcaster, Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) organised the national final Beovizija 2007 in order to select the Serbian entry for the 2007 contest in Helsinki, Finland. The national final consisted of two shows: a semi-final and a final on 7 and 8 March 2007, respectively. Twenty entries competed in the semi-final where the top ten qualified to the final following the combination of votes from a three-member jury panel and a public televote. The ten qualifiers competed in the final which resulted in "Molitva" performed by Marija Šerifović as the winner following the combination of votes from a three-member jury panel and a public televote.
Jelena Tomašević is a Serbian pop singer of international career famed for her strong vocal performances. She has won numerous awards for her songs and represented Serbia at 2008 Eurovision Song Contest, coming sixth with the song "Oro".
Serbia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song "Oro" written by Željko Joksimović and Dejan Ivanović. The song was performed by Jelena Tomašević featuring Bora Dugić. In addition to participating in the contest, the Serbian national broadcaster, Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) also hosted the Eurovision Song Contest after winning the competition in 2007 with the song "Molitva" performed by Marija Šerifović. RTS organised the national final Beovizija 2008 in order to select the Serbian entry for the 2008 contest in Belgrade. The national final consisted of two shows: a semi-final and a final on 9 and 10 March 2008, respectively. Twenty entries competed in the semi-final where the top ten qualified to the final following the combination of votes from a three-member jury panel and a public televote. The ten qualifiers competed in the final which resulted in "Oro" performed by Jelena Tomašević featuring Bora Dugić as the winner following the combination of votes from a three-member jury panel and a public televote.
Serbia and Montenegro debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 with the song "Lane moje" written by Leontina Vukomanović and Željko Joksimović. The song was performed by Željko Joksimović and the Ad-Hoc Orchestra. The union of public broadcasters of Serbia and Montenegro, Udruženje javnih radija i televizija (UJRT) organised the national final Evrop(j)esma 2004 in order to select the Serbia and Montenegro entry for the 2004 contest in Istanbul, Turkey. UJRT, the Serbian national broadcaster, Radio Television of Serbia (RTS), and the Montenegrin broadcaster Radio i televizija Crne Gore (RTCG) submitted a total of twenty-four entries to compete in the national final on 21 February 2004. "Lane moje" performed by Željko Joksimović was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from an eight-member jury panel and a public televote.
Montenegro participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song "Zauvijek volim te" written by Grigor Koprov and Ognen Nedelkovski. The song was performed by Stefan Filipović. The Montenegrin broadcaster Radio i televizija Crne Gore (RTCG) organised the national final MontenegroSong 2008 in order to select the Montenegrin representative for the 2008 contest in Belgrade, Serbia. Six artists competed in the national final on 27 January 2008 where public televoting selected Stefan Filipović as the winner with 3,325 votes. His song, "Zauvijek volim te", was internally selected and presented to the public in a television special on 8 March 2008.
Serbia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "Cipela" written by Aleksandar Kobac, Marko Kon and Milan Nikolić. The song was performed by Marko Kon and Milaan. The Serbian national broadcaster, Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) organised the national final Beovizija 2009 in order to select the Serbian entry for the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia. The national final consisted of two shows: a semi-final and a final on 7 and 8 March 2009, respectively. Twenty entries competed in the semi-final where eleven qualified to the final following the combination of votes from a three-member jury panel and a public televote. The eleven qualifiers competed in the final which resulted in "Cipela" performed by Marko Kon and Milaan as the winner following the combination of votes from a three-member jury panel and a public televote.
Montenegro participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "Just Get Out of My Life" written by Ralph Siegel, Bernd Meinunger and José Juan Santana Rodríguez. The song was performed by Andrea Demirović, who was internally selected by the Montenegrin broadcaster Radio i televizija Crne Gore (RTCG) to represent the nation at the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia. Andrea Demirović was announced as the Montenegrin representative on 23 January 2009, while her song, "Just Get Out of My Life", was presented to the public on the same day. This was the first time that the Montenegrin song was performed entirely in the English language at the Eurovision Song Contest.
Serbia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with the song "Nije ljubav stvar" written by Željko Joksimović, Marina Tucaković and Miloš Roganović. The song was performed by Željko Joksimović, who had previously represented Serbia and Montentegro in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2004 where he placed second with the song "Lane moje". The Serbian national broadcaster, Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) internally selected the Serbian entry for the 2012 contest in Baku, Azerbaijan. Joksimović was announced as the Serbian representative on 18 November 2011, while the song, "Nije ljubav stvar", was presented on 10 March 2012 during a show titled Evropska pesma.
Serbia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "Beauty Never Lies" written by Vladimir Graić and Charlie Mason. The song was performed by Bojana Stamenov. The Serbian national broadcaster, Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) organised the national final Odbrojavanje za Beč in order to select the Serbian entry for the 2015 contest in Vienna, Austria. Vladimir Graić was selected to compose three songs for the national final which consisted of two shows on 14 and 15 February 2015. Two of the songs were performed by established artists, while one was performed by an undiscovered candidate selected through a scouting process. The second show resulted in "Ceo svet je moj" performed by Bojana Stamenov as the winner following the combination of votes from a three-member jury panel and a public televote. The song was later translated from Serbian to English for the Eurovision Song Contest and was titled "Beauty Never Lies".
Serbia and Montenegro originally planned to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006. The union of public broadcasters of Serbia and Montenegro, Udruženje javnih radija i televizija (UJRT) organised the national final Evropesma-Europjesma 2006 in order to select the Serbian and Montenegrin entry for the 2006 contest in Athens, Greece. The Serbian national broadcaster, Radio Television of Serbia (RTS), and the Montenegrin broadcaster Radio i televizija Crne Gore (RTCG) each submitted twelve entries from their respective selections Beovizija 2006 and Montevizija 2006 with twenty-four entries in total competing in the national final on 11 March 2006. The song "Moja ljubavi" written by Milan Perić and Dalibor Nedović performed by the band No Name, which had previously represented Serbia and Montenegro in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2005 where they placed seventh in the final with the song "Zauvijek moja", was initially selected as the winner following the combination of votes from an eight-member jury panel and a public televote. However the results were not recognized by UJRT due to controversy surrounding tactical voting of the Montenegrin jury, and the broadcaster ended up not submitting any entry.
Serbia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 with the song "Nova deca" written by Sanja Ilić, Tanja Ilić and Danica Krstajić. The song was performed by Sanja Ilić and the group Balkanika. The Serbian national broadcaster, Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) organised the national final Beovizija 2018 in order to select the Serbian entry for the 2018 contest in Lisbon, Portugal. Seventeen entries competed in the national final on 20 February 2018, which resulted in "Nova deca" performed by Sanja Ilić and Balkanika as the winner following the combination of votes from a five-member jury panel and a public televote.
Serbia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song "Kruna" written and performed by Nevena Božović who had previously represented Serbia in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2007 and in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2013 as part of the group Moje 3. The Serbian national broadcaster, Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) organised the national final Beovizija2019 in order to select the Serbian entry for the 2019 contest in Tel Aviv, Israel. The national final consisted of three shows: two semi-finals on 27 and 28 February 2019 and a final on 3 March 2019. Twelve entries competed in each semi-final where the top six qualified to the final from each semi-final following the combination of votes from a five-member jury panel and a public televote. The twelve qualifiers competed in the final which resulted in "Kruna" performed by Nevena Božović as the winner following the combination of votes from a five-member jury panel and a public televote.
Serbia originally planned to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song "Hasta la vista" written by Nemanja Antonić, Kosana Stojić and Sanja Vučić. The song was performed by the group Hurricane, which among its members included Sanja Vučić who had previously represented Serbia in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2016 where she placed eighteenth with the song "Goodbye (Shelter)". The Serbian national broadcaster, Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) organised the national final Beovizija 2020 in order to select the Serbian entry for the 2020 contest in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The national final consisted of three shows: two semi-finals on 28 and 29 February 2020 and a final on 1 March 2020. Twelve entries competed in each semi-final where the top six qualified to the final from each semi-final following the combination of votes from a five-member jury panel and a public televote. The twelve qualifiers competed in the final which resulted in "Hasta la vista" performed by Hurricane as the winner following the combination of votes from a five-member jury panel and a public televote.
Serbia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy, with "In corpore sano" performed by Konstrakta. The Serbian national broadcaster Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) organised the national final Pesma za Evroviziju'22 in order to select the Serbian entry for the 2022 contest. It was the first entry in the Eurovision Song Contest to contain a verse in Latin.
Serbia is set to participate 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.
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