Hungary's first contest in 1994 remains its most successful, with Friderika Bayer finishing in fourth place. The country's only other top five result is a fifth-place finish by András Kállay-Saunders in 2014. Other top ten results are Magdi Rúzsa finishing ninth in 2007, ByeAlex tenth in 2013, and Joci Pápai eighth in 2017, giving Hungary a total of five top ten placements.
History
Hungary's first entry in the Eurovision Song Contest would have been "Árva reggel", performed by Andrea Szulák, in 1993, but a qualification round was held for former Eastern Bloc countries, and the song did not manage to qualify to the final. The first official Hungarian participation was with "Kinek mondjam el vétkeimet?", performed by Friderika Bayer, in 1994. Hungary received the maximum score of 12 points from the first three countries to vote. However, as the competition progressed, it attracted fewer votes and ultimately finished in fourth place.
The 1995 entry was not as successful, garnering only 3 points, narrowly beating last-place Germany. In 1996 Hungary again failed to qualify when "Fortuna", performed by Gjon Delhusa did not qualify from the pre-qualification round.
Hungary withdrew after the 1998 contest. It had planned to return in 2004,[1] but ultimately did not take part in the contest. They eventually returned in 2005, where they finished in 12th place in the final with "Forogj, világ!", performed by NOX. However, Hungary withdrew again in 2006, returning in 2007 with "Unsubstantial Blues", the first Hungarian entry in English, performed by Magdi Rúzsa, the winner of the 3rd season of the Hungarian talent show Megasztár. The song came 9th in Helsinki, receiving 128 points in the final.
After coming last in the semi-final in the 2008 contest, Magyar Televízió (MTV), the Hungarian broadcaster, confirmed Hungary's participation at the 2009 contest in Moscow. After MTV's original choice was revealed to have been released before 1 October 2008, breaking contest rules, it was decided that "Dance with Me", performed by Zoltán Ádok, would be Hungary's entry, after MTV's second choice to represent Hungary declined.[2][3] The song placed 15th in the second semi-final, failing to qualify for the grand final for the second time since the introduction of the semi-finals in 2004.
In October 2009, MTV confirmed that it would not participate in the 2010 contest due to financial limitations in the company which would prevent it from sending an entry.[4] Duna TV broadcast the event live and applied for EBU membership to send a representative to Düsseldorf in 2011. However, during the EBU's 65th conference, Duna TV's bid to become an active member was rejected. In December 2010, it was confirmed that MTV had agreed to return to the 2011 edition.[5] MTV internally selected the song "What About My Dreams?", performed by Kati Wolf. The song placed 7th in the first semi-final with 72 points and was the first entry representing Hungary to qualify for the final since 2007. In the final, the song placed 22nd with 53 points.
In 2012, MTV organised a national final, A Dal, to select the Hungarian entry for the contest in Baku. The song "Sound of Our Hearts", performed by Compact Disco, was selected. The song placed 10th in the first semi-final with 52 points, and 24th in the final with 19 points. A Dal had been used as the Hungarian selection process every year since.
In 2013, Hungary reached the top 10, when the song "Kedvesem (Zoohacker Remix)", performed by ByeAlex, placed 10th with 84 points. Hungary reached the top 5 in 2014, when the song "Running", performed by András Kállay-Saunders, placed 5th with 143 points, achieving the best result Hungary has had since their first participation in 1994.
Hungary made it to the top ten once again in 2017, when the song "Origo", performed by Joci Pápai, placed 8th with 200 points, achieving their best result in three years. Pápai represented Hungary again in 2019 with the song "Az én apám", but failed to qualify for the final, marking Hungary's first non-qualification since 2009.
Hungary did not appear on the final list of participants for the later-cancelled 2020 contest; it has been absent from the contest since.[6][7][8] MTVA stated that it would continue to organise A Dal to "support the valuable productions created by the talents of Hungarian pop music directly" instead of participating in the contest.[9] The withdrawal came during a rise of anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment among the leadership of Hungary and MTVA; while no official reason for the withdrawal was given by the broadcaster, an inside source speaking with the website Index.hu speculated that the contest was considered "too gay" for MTVA to participate.[10]
↑ A qualifying round was held for new countries looking to make their debut at the 1993 contest. Hungary failed to progress from this round; entries which failed to progress have subsequently been discounted by the EBU and do not feature as part of the countries' list of appearances.
↑ In order to reduce the number of participating countries at the 1996 event a qualifying round was held among all countries except the hosts. Hungary failed to progress from this round; entries which failed to progress have subsequently been discounted by the EBU and do not feature as part of the countries' list of appearances.
Related Research Articles
Germany has officially participated in every Eurovision Song Contest since its inaugural edition in 1956, except in 1996 when its entry did not qualify past the audio-only pre-selection round, and consequently was not seen in the broadcast final and does not count as one of Germany's 66 appearances. No other country has been represented as many times. Along with France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, Germany is one of the "Big Five" countries that are automatically prequalified for the final, due to being the largest financial contributors to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The final is broadcast in Germany on ARD's flagship channel, Das Erste.
Bulgaria has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 14 times since making its debut at the 2005 contest in Kyiv. The country's best result is a second-place finish for Kristian Kostov and the song "Beautiful Mess" at the 2017 contest also in Kyiv.
Slovakia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest seven times, debuting in 1994. It had attempted to debut in 1993, but did not pass through the qualifying round. In the first three finals that Slovakia participated in, it placed no better than 18th, which it achieved in 1996. Due to poor results, Slovakia was relegated in 1995 and 1997, and eventually withdrew in 1999. The country returned in 2009, although it withdrew again within four years, having failed to qualify for the final every year since its return.
Poland has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 25 times since its debut in 1994. Although Poland did not become a member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) until 1993, earlier contests had often been broadcast on Telewizja Polska (TVP), the Polish broadcaster.
Turkey has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 34 times since its debut in 1975. Since the introduction of the semi-finals in 2004, Turkey has only failed to qualify for the final once, in 2011. Turkey won the contest once in 2003, and hosted the 2004 contest in Istanbul.
Cyprus has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 39 times since making its debut in 1981. Cyprus' first entry was the group Island, who finished sixth. The country's best result in the contest is a second-place finish with Eleni Foureira in 2018.
Portugal has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 54 times since its debut at the 1964 contest. Since then it has missed five contests. The contest is broadcast in Portugal by Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP). Portugal won the contest for the first time in 2017 and hosted the 2018 contest in Lisbon.
Hungary participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 with the song "Unsubstantial Blues" written by Magdi Rúzsa and Imre Mózsik. The song was performed by Magdi Rúzsa, who was selected to represent Hungary at the 2007 contest in Helsinki, Finland through the "Discovery of the Year" category of the 2007 Fonogram Hungarian Music Awards, organised by the Hungarian public broadcaster Magyar Televízió (MTV). In December 2006, MTV announced that they would be returning to the Eurovision Song Contest after a one-year absence following their withdrawal in 2006 due to financial reasons. Six artists competed in the "Discovery of the Year" category of the awards and Magdi Rúzsa was selected as the winner based entirely on a public televote. The Hungarian song, "Unsubstantial Blues", was internally selected and announced on 12 March 2007.
Hungary participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song "Candlelight" written by Viktor Rakonczai, Jánosi and Imre Mózsik. The song was performed by Csézy. Songwriter Viktor Rakonczai represented Hungary in the Eurovision Song Contest 1997 as part of the band V.I.P. where they placed twelfth in the competition with the song "Miért kell, hogy elmenj?". The Hungarian entry for the 2008 contest in Belgrade, Serbia was selected through the national final Eurovíziós Dalverseny 2008: Magyarországi döntő, organised by the Hungarian public broadcaster Magyar Televízió (MTV). 15 entries competed in the national final where "Szívverés" performed by Csézy was selected as the winner based on the votes of a four-member jury panel as well as the votes from the public. The song was later translated from Hungarian to English for the Eurovision Song Contest and was titled "Candlelight".
Hungary participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "Dance with Me" written by Zé Szabó and Kasai. The song was performed by Zoli Ádok. The Hungarian entry for the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia was selected internally by the Hungarian public broadcaster Magyar Televízió (MTV). "If You Wanna Party" performed by Márk Zentai was initially announced as the Hungarian entry on 3 February 2009, however, the song was withdrawn on 4 February 2009 as it was presented in 2004 as the Swedish Big Brother theme song "We Became Friends". "Magányos csónak" performed by Kátya Tompos was announced as the replacement entry on the same day, however, the song was also withdrawn on 10 February 2009 and "Dance with Me" performed by Zoli Ádok was announced as the final replacement on 23 February 2009.
Hungary participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 with the song "What About My Dreams?" written by Viktor Rakonczai, Gergő Rácz, Johnny K. Palmer and Péter Geszti. The song was performed by Kati Wolf. Songwriters Viktor Rakonczai and Gergő Rácz represented Hungary in the Eurovision Song Contest 1997 as part of the boy band V.I.P., placing twelfth in the competition with the song "Miért kell, hogy elmenj?". In December 2010, the Hungarian public broadcaster Magyar Televízió (MTV) announced that they would be returning to the Eurovision Song Contest after a one-year absence following their withdrawal in 2010 due to financial difficulties. The Hungarian entry for the 2011 contest in Düsseldorf, Germany was selected internally by MTV, and "What About My Dreams?" performed by Kati Wolf was announced as the Hungarian entry on 9 March 2011.
Hungary participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö, Sweden. The Hungarian entry was selected through a national selection format titled again A Dal, consisting of three heats, two semi-finals and a final, organised by the Hungarian broadcaster MTVA. ByeAlex represented Hungary with the song "Kedvesem", which qualified from the second semi-final of the competition and finished in 10th place in the final, scoring 84 points.
Hungary participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Their entry was selected through the national competition A Dal, organised by the Hungarian broadcaster Magyar Televízió (MTV). András Kállay-Saunders represented Hungary with the song "Running", which qualified from the first semi-final and placed 5th in the final, scoring 143 points. It is the second best position ever for Hungary, after 4th place in their debut year 1994.
Hungary participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "Wars for Nothing", written by Áron Sebestyén, Boglárka Csemer and Sára Hélène Bori. The song was performed by Boggie. The Hungarian broadcaster Media Services and Support Trust Fund (MTVA) in collaboration with the Hungarian public broadcaster Magyar Televízió (MTV), organised the national final A Dal 2015 in order to select the Hungarian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria. Following a six-week long selection process, Boggie emerged as the winner with the acoustic guitar driven ballad "Wars for Nothing". In the first of the Eurovision semi-finals "Wars for Nothing" placed eighth out of the 16 participating countries, securing its place among the 27 other songs in the final. In Hungary's thirteenth Eurovision appearance on 23 May, "Wars for Nothing" finished in twentieth place, receiving 19 points.
Hungary participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Pioneer" written by Zé Szabó and Borbála Csarnai. The song was performed by Freddie. The Hungarian entry for the 2016 contest in Stockholm, Sweden was selected through the national final A Dal 2016, organised by the local Media Services and Support Trust Fund (MTVA) and the Hungarian public broadcaster Duna Media Service. An initial 30 entries competed in the national final which consisted of six shows: three heats, two semi-final and a final. Entries were selected to advance in the competition based on the votes of a four-member judging panel as well as the votes from the public. Eight entries qualified to compete in the final of A Dal 2016 where the judging panel first selected four of the entries to proceed to a second round of voting. In the second round of voting, "Pioneer" performed by Freddie was selected as the winner based entirely on a public vote.
Hungary participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017. The local Media Services and Support Trust Fund (MTVA) and the Hungarian broadcaster Duna Media Service organised the national final A Dal 2017 in order to select the Hungarian entry for the 2017 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine.
József "Joci" Pápai is a Hungarian singer, rapper and guitarist of Romani descent. He represented Hungary at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Origo" finishing in 8th place. He represented Hungary again at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song "Az én apám". However he failed to qualify for the grand final being the first Hungarian entry not to since returning in 2011.
Hungary participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018. The local Media Services and Support Trust Fund (MTVA) and the Hungarian broadcaster Duna Media Service organised the national final A Dal 2018 in order to select the Hungarian entry for the 2018 contest in Lisbon, Portugal.
Hungary participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019. The local Media Services and Support Trust Fund (MTVA) and the Hungarian broadcaster Duna Media Service organised the national final A Dal2019 in order to select the Hungarian entry for the 2019 contest in Tel Aviv, Israel. As of 2023, this was Hungary's last entry in the contest, before the country withdrew the following year. The absence has continued in every edition since.
"Az én apám" is a song by Hungarian singer Joci Pápai. It represented Hungary in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv, Israel. The song is a mid-tempo ballad about Pápai's childhood memories. It runs at 96 BPM and has elements from Hungarian folk music. The song did not gain enough points to qualify for the final.
↑ Roxburgh, Gordon (2012). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Vol.One: The 1950s and 1960s. Prestatyn: Telos Publishing. pp.369–381. ISBN978-1-84583-065-6.
↑ Roxburgh, Gordon (2014). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Vol.Two: The 1970s. Prestatyn: Telos Publishing. pp.25–37. ISBN978-1-84583-093-9.
↑ Roxburgh, Gordon (2016). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Vol.Three: The 1980s. Prestatyn: Telos Publishing. pp.86–103. ISBN978-1-84583-118-9.
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