Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and t ...

has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 27 times since making its debut in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson Ma ...

. Its first appearance would have taken place in

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

but a

qualification round Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to: * Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional expe ...

was installed for seven former

Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...

countries hoping to make their debut in the contest, with Estonia failing to qualify. Estonia has won the contest once, in

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanistan ...

. Estonia's first participation in

was unsuccessful, finishing 24th (out of 25). Estonia went on to finish in the top eight in six out of seven contests (1996–2002), with

Maarja-Liis Ilus Maarja-Liis Ilus, sometimes better known by her performing name Maarja (born 24 December 1980) is an Estonian pop musician and presenter. She has represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest twice. She was only 15 when she participated in th ...

and

Ivo Linna Ivo Linna (born 12 June 1949 in Kuressaare) is an Estonian singer. Eurovision Song Contest and Eesti Laul He represented Estonia alongside Maarja Liis Ilus in the Eurovision Song Contest 1996 in Oslo with the song " Kaelakee Hääl" (The Sound ...

fifth (), Maarja-Liis Ilus returning to finish eighth (

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

Evelin Samuel Evelin Samuel (born 13 May 1975) is an Estonian singer, songwriter, musical theater performer, author of children's books and participant in the Eurovision Song Contest. Career Evelin Samuel has been singing since childhood and was even record ...

and Camille sixth () and Ines fourth (), before

Tanel Padar Tanel Padar (born 27 October 1980) is an Estonian singer and songwriter. He is best known internationally for winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2001. Padar became famous by winning the '' Kaks takti ette'', a biennial televised competition fo ...

Dave Benton Dave Benton (born 31 January 1951, birth name Efrén Eugene Benita) is a pop musician from Aruba who lives in Estonia. He is one of the winners of the Eurovision Song Contest 2001. At the age of 50 years and 101 days at the time of his victory ...

and 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 Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

in 1989.

Sahlene Anna Cecilia Sahlin (born 11 May 1976), known professionally as Anna Sahlene and formerly by the one-word stage name Sahlene, is a Swedish performer best known as a singer: she placed third at the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 with "Runaway" ...

then finished third for the hosts in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...

in . Since the introduction of the semi-final round in 2004, Estonia has failed to reach the final on nine occasions and has reached the top ten four times, with

Urban Symphony Urban Symphony was an Estonian music group. It represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song " Rändajad", finishing in 6th place with 129 points. In doing this, they achieved Estonia's best placement since 2002. History I ...

sixth (

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

Ott Lepland Ott Lepland (born 17 May 1987) is an Estonian singer. He first received national mainstream attention in 2009, after winning the third season of ''Eesti otsib superstaari''. Lepland represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Ba ...

sixth (

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

), Elina Born and

Stig Rästa Raul-Stig Rästa (born 24 February 1980) is an Estonian singer and songwriter who, along with singer Elina Born, represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song " Goodbye to Yesterday". Career Between 2002 and 2006 he for ...

seventh () and

Elina Nechayeva Elina Nechayeva ( et, Elina Netšajeva; born 10 November 1991) is an Estonian soprano. She represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal, with the song " La forza". Career In 2009, she made her public debut in the ...

eighth (). Estonia's total of ten top ten results is more than any other Baltic country.

History

Estonia finished 24th (out of 25) on its debut in and was relegated from the following year's contest. 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).

and

's fifth-place in was the first top five ranking for a former

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

country. Ilus returned to finish eighth in . The country's first win came in

, when

and

, along with 2XL, sang "

Everybody Everybody may refer to: Music Albums * ''Everybody'' (Chris Janson album) or the title song, 2017 * ''Everybody'' (Gods Child album), 1994 * ''Everybody'' (Hear'Say album), 2001 * ''Everybody'' (Ingrid Michaelson album) or the title song, 2009 * ...

" and received 198 points, therefore making Estonia the first former

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

country to win the Contest and the second country of eastern Europe after

. The 2002 contest was held in Estonia, in the capital city

, where

finished third for the hosts (tied with the UK). 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 "", sung in the

Võro language Võro ( vro, võro kiilʼ, link=no , et, võru keel) is a language belonging to the Finnic branch of the Uralic languages. Traditionally, it has been considered a dialect of the South Estonian dialect group of the Estonian language, bu ...

, a southern-Estonian dialect. Despite news that Estonia might withdraw from the 2009 contest (set to be held in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, Russia) due to the war in South Ossetia,

Eesti Rahvusringhääling Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR) – ''Estonian Public Broadcasting'' – is a publicly funded and owned radio and television organisation created in Estonia on 1 June 2007 to take over the functions of the formerly separate Eesti Raadi ...

(ERR) confirmed that due to public demand, Estonia would send an entry to Moscow. After a new national final, , was introduced to select the Estonian entry, the winner was

with "", which had beaten the televoting favourite, Laura, by the votes of a jury. At the second semi-final of the 2009 contest,

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 out 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 Malcolm Lincoln are an Estonian band that formed in October 2009. The members are Robin Juhkental, Jakob Juhkam, Siim Raidma, Ott Adamson, Johan Alexander Petti and Hans Kurvits. The original lineup consisted of Robin Juhkental (vocals/electronics ...

. In 2011, Estonia was represented by

Getter Jaani Getter Jaani (born 3 February 1993) is an Estonian singer and actress. She represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 with the song "Rockefeller Street". Early life Getter was born and raised in Tallinn. In 2015, she graduated nig ...

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. Since 2012, Estonia has achieved three more top ten results.

qualified Estonia to the final of the contest, with his song "", ending up 4th in the second semi-final. In the final, he equalled Estonia's result of 1999 and 2009, placing 6th. Elina Born and

finished seventh in and

finished eighth in .

Participation overview

Hostings

Related involvement

Conductors

Heads of delegation

Costume designers

Commentators and spokespersons

Photogallery

File:Neiokõsõ - Estonia 2004.jpg, Neiokõsõ in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

() File:2006ee Rehearsal.jpg,

Sandra Oxenryd Sandra Oxenryd (born 1 October 1982) is a Swedish singer who won Fame Factory in 2005, and represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006. Biography Oxenryd was born in Kristinehamn and is a former economics student and floorball playe ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh List ...

() File:ESC 2007 Estonia - Gerli Padar - Partners in crime.jpg, Gerli Padar in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

() File:ESC 2008 - Estonia - Kreisiraadio, 1st semifinal.jpg, Kreisiraadio in Belgrade () File:Urban Symphony.jpg,

() File:Malcolm Lincoln & Manpower 4, Oslo 2010.jpg,

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

() File:ESC2013 - Estonia 01.jpg,

Birgit Õigemeel Birgit Sarrap (née Õigemeel, born 24 September 1988), also known as simply Birgit, is an Estonian singer. Õigemeel rose to prominence in 2007 after winning the first season of '' Eesti otsib superstaari'', the Estonian version of '' Idol''. ...

Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal popula ...

() File:ESC2014 - Estonia 03.jpg,

Tanja Tanja ( sr, Тања) is a feminine given name. It may refer to: Mononyms *''Tanja'' (born 1983), Russian-Estonian singer, also known as Tanja Mihhailova Given name * Tanja Andrejeva (born 1978), Macedonian handball player *Tanja Bogosavljević ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

() File:20150518 ESC 2015 Elina Born & Stig Rästa 8522.jpg, Elina Born and

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

() File:ESC2016 - Estonia 03.jpg,

Jüri Pootsmann Jüri Pootsmann (born 1 July 1994), is an Estonian singer. He won the sixth season of ''Eesti otsib superstaari'', and represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Play". He is signed to Universal Music Baltics. Car ...

in Stockholm () File:Eurovision Song Contest 2017, Semi Final 2 Rehearsals. Photo 267.jpg, Koit Toome and Laura in

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

() File:Elina Nechayeva, Estonia, Eurovision 2018.jpg,

in Lisbon () File:Eurovision 2019 Estonia (cropped).jpg,

Victor Crone Victor Fritz-Crone (born 31 January 1992), also known as Victor Crone, is a Swedish singer, guitarist and songwriter. He represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv with the song "Storm". Biography Victor Crone was born ...

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

() File:Eurovision 2022 - Semi-final 2 - Estonia - Stefan (02).jpg, Stefan in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. Th ...

()

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Estonia In The Eurovision Song Contest Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest