The Eurovision Song Contest 1998 was the 43rd edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest, held on 9 May 1998 at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and presented by Irish television and radio broadcaster Terry Wogan and Swedish-British television presenter and model Ulrika Jonsson, the contest was held in the United Kingdom following the country's victory at the 1997 contest with the song "Love Shine a Light" by Katrina and the Waves.
Koit Toome, is an Estonian singer and musical actor.
Danijela Martinović represented Croatia in the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest after winning the national final selection with the song "Neka mi ne svane".
The Netherlands was represented by Willeke Alberti, with the song "Waar is de zon", at the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place in Dublin on 30 May. The song was chosen at the Dutch national final on 26 March.
Germany was represented by Bianca Shomburg, with the song "Zeit", at the 1997 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 3 May in Dublin. "Zeit", composed by prolific Eurovision duo Ralph Siegel and Bernd Meinunger, was the winner of the German national final, held on 27 February.
Norway was represented by Elisabeth Andreassen, with the song '"I evighet", at the 1996 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 18 May at the Oslo Spektrum, following Secret Garden's victory for Norway in Dublin the previous year. "I evighet" was chosen as the Norwegian entry at the Melodi Grand Prix on 30 March. This was the last of four Eurovision appearances as a main performer by Andreassen, a record shared with Lys Assia, Fud Leclerc, Valentina Monetta and Peter, Sue and Marc.
Norway was represented by Lars A. Fredriksen, with the song "Alltid sommer", at the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 9 May in Birmingham. "Alltid sommer" was chosen as the Norwegian entry at the Melodi Grand Prix on 28 February and, unusually, was performed in English at MGP although language rules in 1998 still required the song to be performed in Norwegian in Birmingham.
Norway was represented by Ketil Stokkan, with the song "Brandenburger Tor", at the 1990 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 5 May in Zagreb. "Brandenburger Tor" was chosen as the Norwegian entry at the Melodi Grand Prix on 24 March. Stokkan had previously represented Norway in 1986.
Hungary was represented by boyband V.I.P., with the song "Miért kell, hogy elmenj?", at the Eurovision Song Contest 1997, which took place on 3 May in Dublin. "Miért kell, hogy elmenj?" was chosen as the Hungarian entry at the national final on 28 February.
Estonia was represented by Tanel Padar, Dave Benton and 2XL, with the song '"Everybody", at the 2001 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 12 May in Copenhagen. "Everybody" was chosen as the Estonian entry at the national final, Eurolaul, on 3 February.
Estonia was represented by Ines, with the song "Once in a Lifetime", at the 2000 Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 13 May in Stockholm. "Once in a Lifetime" was chosen as the Estonian entry at the national final, Eurolaul, on 5 February.
Finland was represented by Nina Åström, with the song "A Little Bit", at the 2000 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 13 May in Stockholm. Finland returned to the Eurovision final after being forced to sit out the 1999 contest due to relegation after a poor result in 1998. "A Little Bit" was chosen as the Finnish entry at the national final on 12 February.
Finland was represented by the group Edea, with the song "Aava", at the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 9 May in Birmingham. "Aava" was chosen as the Finnish entry at the national final on 14 February and is noted for containing the fewest different words (six) of any Eurovision entry.
Finland was represented by Ami Aspelund, with the song "Fantasiaa", at the 1983 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 23 April in Munich. "Fantasiaa" was chosen as the Finnish entry at the national final organised by broadcaster Yle and held on 28 January.
Cyprus competed in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998, held on 9 May 1998 at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, United Kingdom. The Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CyBC) organised a public selection process to determine its entry for the contest. Eight songs competed in the national final, held on 11 March 1998, where a jury chose the winning song. Michalis Hatzigiannis with the song "Genesis" received the most votes and was selected to represent the nation in the contest. Hatzigiannis performed 17th at the international contest and at the close of the voting process, finished in 11th place, receiving 37 points from 10 countries.
Turkey took part in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998. The country was represented by Tüzmen with the song "Unutamazsın", written by Canan Tunç and composed by Erdinç Tunç.
Spain entered the Eurovision Song Contest 1998, held in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Televisión Española (TVE) internally selected Mikel Herzog to represent Spain with the song "¿Qué voy a hacer sin ti?".
Israel participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 with the song "Diva" performed by Dana International. The song was written by Svika Pick and Yoav Ginai.
Portugal participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 in Birmingham. Alma Lusa represented Portugal with the song "Se eu te pudesse abracar".
Estonia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Verona" written by Sven Lõhmus. The song was performed by Koit Toome, who had previously represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1998 where he placed twelfth with the song "Mere lapsed", and Laura, who had previously represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2005 as part of the group Suntribe where she failed to qualify to the final with the song "Let's Get Loud". The Estonian broadcaster Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR) organised the national final Eesti Laul 2017 in order to select the Estonian entry for the 2017 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine. The national final consisted of three shows: two semi-finals and a final. Ten songs competed in each semi-final and the top five from each semi-final as determined by a jury panel and public vote qualified to the final. In the final, the winner was selected over two rounds of voting. In the first round, a jury panel and a public vote selected the top three to qualify to the super final. In the super final, "Verona" performed by Koit Toome and Laura was selected as the winner entirely by a public vote.
Estonia 
