Estonia was represented at the

Eurovision Song Contest 2013 The Eurovision Song Contest 2013 was the 58th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Malmö, Sweden, following the country's victory at the with the song "Euphoria (Loreen song), Euphoria" by Loreen. Organised by the Europea ...

with the song "Et uus saaks alguse" written by Mihkel Mattisen and Silvia Soro. The song was performed by Birgit. The Estonian broadcaster

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 Raadio ...

(ERR) organised the national final ''

Eesti Laul Eesti Laul () is an annual music competition organised by Estonian public broadcaster (ERR). It determines for the Eurovision Song Contest, and has been staged every year since Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, 2009. Eesti Laul was ...

2013'' in order to select the Estonian entry for the 2013 contest in

Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...

, Sweden. 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 two to qualify to the superfinal. In the superfinal, "Et uus saaks alguse" performed by Birgit was selected as the winner entirely by a public vote. Estonia was drawn to compete in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 14 May 2013. Performing during the show in position 2, "Et uus saaks alguse" was announced among the top 10 entries of the first semi-final and therefore qualified to compete in the final on 18 May. It was later revealed that Estonia placed tenth out of the 16 participating countries in the semi-final with 52 points. In the final, Estonia performed in position 7 and placed twentieth out of the 26 participating countries, scoring 19 points.

Background

Prior to the 2013 contest, Estonia had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest eighteen times since its first entry in , winning the contest on one occasion in

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

with the song " Everybody" performed by Tanel Padar, Dave Benton and 2XL. Following the introduction of semi-finals for the , Estonia has, to this point, managed to qualify to the final on three occasions. In

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, "Kuula" performed by

Ott Lepland Ott Lepland (born 17 May 1987) is an Estonian people, Estonian singer. He first received national mainstream attention in 2009, after winning the Eesti otsib superstaari (season 3), third season of ''Eesti otsib superstaari''. Lepland represente ...

managed to qualify Estonia to the final where the song placed sixth. The Estonian national broadcaster,

(ERR), broadcasts the event within Estonia and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. ERR confirmed Estonia's participation at the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest on 28 May 2012. Since their debut, the Estonian broadcaster has organised national finals that feature a competition among multiple artists and songs in order to select Estonia's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. The ''

'' competition has been organised since 2009 in order to select Estonia's entry and on 12 September 2012, ERR announced the organisation of ''Eesti Laul 2013'' in order to select the nation's 2013 entry.

Before Eurovision

Eesti Laul 2013

''Eesti Laul 2013'' was the fifth edition of the Estonian national selection ''

'', which selected Estonia's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2013. The competition consisted of twenty entries competing in two semi-finals on 16 and 23 February 2013 leading to a ten-song final on 2 March 2013. All three shows were broadcast on

Eesti Televisioon Eesti Televisioon (ETV) () is an Estonian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by Estonian Public Broadcasting. It made its first broadcast on 19 July 1955. History Eesti Televisioon (''Estonian Television'') was launched on ...

(ETV) as well as streamed online at the broadcaster's official website ''err.ee''. The final was also broadcast via radio on

Raadio 2 Raadio 2 is Estonian radio station. It belongs to Estonian Public Broadcasting (formerly Estonian Radio) and started broadcasting on 1 May 1993. History In the course of the radio reform, Vikerraadio was merged with the I program (the name re ...

as well as streamed online at the official Eurovision Song Contest website ''eurovision.tv''.

Format

The format of the competition included two semi-finals on 16 and 23 February 2013 and a final on 2 March 2013. Ten songs competed in each semi-final and the top five from each semi-final qualified to complete the ten song lineup in the final. The results of the semi-finals was determined by the 50/50 combination of votes from a professional jury and public televoting. The winning song in the final was selected over two rounds of voting: the first round results selected the top two songs via the 50/50 combination of jury and public voting, while the second round (superfinal) determined the winner solely by public televoting.

Competing entries

On 12 September 2012, ERR opened the submission period for artists and composers to submit their entries up until 10 December 2012. All artists and composers were required to have Estonian citizenship or be a permanent resident of Estonia. 157 submissions were received by the deadline. An 11-member jury panel selected 20 semi-finalists from the submissions and the selected songs were announced during the ETV entertainment program ''Ringvaade'' on 13 December 2012. The selection jury consisted of Owe Petersell (Raadio Elmar chief editor),

Lenna Kuurmaa Lenna Kuurmaa (born 26 September 1985) is an Estonian singer-songwriter and actress.Raadio 2 Raadio 2 is Estonian radio station. It belongs to Estonian Public Broadcasting (formerly Estonian Radio) and started broadcasting on 1 May 1993. History In the course of the radio reform, Vikerraadio was merged with the I program (the name re ...

head of music), Alari Kivisaar (Raadio Sky+ program director), Valner Valme (music critic), Ingrid Kohtla ( Tallinn Music Week organiser), Siim Nestor (music critic), Koit Raudsepp (

presenter), Maiken (singer), Tauno Aints (composer) and Kaupo Karelson (television producer). Birgit Õigemeel,

Jaan Pehk Jaan Pehk (also known as Orelipoiss; born 13 June 1975 in Palivere) is an Estonian writer, singer and guitarist. Pehk is a member of the Young Authors' Association in Tartu and the Estonian Writers' Union. Discography Collaborations ; Clai ...

(member of Kõrsikud), Marilyn Jurman,

Rolf Roosalu Rolf Roosalu, also known as Rolf Junior (born 18 January 1982 in Tartu), is an Estonian singer who has participated in a number of musicals. He has also, yet unsuccessfully, competed to represent Estonia at the Eurovision Song Contest six times ( ...

, Rosanna Lints, Teele Viira and Tenfold Rabbit have all competed in previous editions of Eesti Laul. On 17 December 2012, "Miljoni roosiga kaardi sul saadan", written by Marek Sadam and Peeter Kaljuste and to have been performed by Tauri was disqualified from the competition due to plagiarism and replaced with the song "Young Girl" performed by Armastus. Plagiarism accusations were also launched against the song "Meil on aega veel" performed by

Põhja-Tallinn Põhja-Tallinn (Estonian for 'northern Tallinn') is one of the eight administrative districts () of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. Subdistricts Põhja-Tallinn is divided into nine subdistricts (): Kalamaja, Karjamaa, Kelmiküla, Kopli, M ...

which ERR later declared false.

Shows

Semi-finals

The two semi-finals took place on 16 and 23 February 2013. The first semi-final was hosted by Anu Välba, while the second semi-final was hosted by Marko Reikop. The live portion of the shows were held at the ERR studios in

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

where the artists awaited the results while their performances, which were filmed earlier at the ERR studios, were screened. In each semi-final ten songs competed for five spots in the final with the outcome decided upon by the combination of the votes from a jury panel and a public televote which registered 17,161 votes in the first semi-final and 23,831 votes in the second semi-final. The jury panel that voted in the semi-finals consisted of

Lenna Kuurmaa Lenna Kuurmaa (born 26 September 1985) is an Estonian singer-songwriter and actress.Ithaka Maria, Owe Petersell, Kadri Voorand, Janek Murd, Olav Osolin, Kristo Rajasaare, Els Himma and Heini Vaikmaa.

Final

The final took place on 2 March 2013 at the Nokia Concert Hall in

, hosted by Anu Välba and Marko Reikop. The five entries that qualified from each of the two preceding semi-finals, all together ten songs, competed during the show. The winner was selected over two rounds of voting. In the first round, a jury (50%) and public televote (50%) determined the top two entries to proceed to the superfinal. In the superfinal, "Et uus saaks alguse" performed by Birgit Õigemeel was selected as the winner entirely by a public televote. The public vote in the first round registered 60,284 votes, and the vote in the superfinal registered 59,347 votes. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, Tanel Padar, who represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2001, with

, who represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012, and Jalmar Vabarna, and the bands HU? and Bombillaz performed as the interval acts. The jury panel that voted in the first round of the final consisted of Olav Ehala (maestro), Sandra Nurmsalu (musician), Marten Kuningas (singer), Tõnis Kahu (music critic), Toomas Puna (Raadio Sky+ program director), Sofia Rubina (singer), Owe Petersell (Raadio Elmar chief editor), Reigo Ahven (drummer), Marju Länik (singer), Toomas Olljum (music manager) and Erik Morna (

head of music).

At Eurovision

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the " Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The

European Broadcasting Union The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; , UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations in countries within the European Broadcasting Area (EBA) or who are member states of the Council of Europe, members of the ...

(EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 17 January 2013, an allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Estonia was placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 14 May 2013, and was scheduled to perform in the first half of the show. Once all the competing songs for the 2013 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Estonia was set to perform in position 2, following the entry from

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and before the entry from

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

. The two semi-finals and the final were broadcast in Estonia on

ETV ETV may stand for: Television * Educational television, the use of television in education * Enhanced TV, an interactive television application specification Africa * e.tv, South Africa * ETV (Ethiopia), Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation * ETV G ...

with commentary by Marko Reikop. The first semi-final and final were also broadcast via radio on Raadio 2 with commentary by Mart Juur and

Andrus Kivirähk Andrus Kivirähk (born 17 August 1970) is an Estonian writer, a playwright, topical satirist, and screenwriter. As of 2004, 25,000 copies of his novel ''Rehepapp ehk November'' (''Old Barny or November'') had been sold, making him the most popul ...

. The Estonian spokesperson, who announced the Estonian votes during the final, was

Semi-final

Birgit took part in technical rehearsals on 6 and 10 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 13 and 14 May. This included the jury show on 13 May where the professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries. The Estonian performance featured Birgit performing on stage in a long flowing white dress with the stage projector displaying blue and white patterns before transforming to green colours. Birgit began the performance on the catwalk stage before walking back to the main stage. Birgit was joined by three backing vocalists: Lauri Pihlap, Kaido Põldma and Raimondo Laikre. Pihlap and Põldma had previously represented Estonia as members of 2XL in the Eurovision Song Contest in

together with Tanel Padar and Dave Benton, which they won with the song " Everybody". At the end of the show, Estonia was announced as having finished in the top 10 and subsequently qualifying for the grand final. It was later revealed that Estonia placed 10th in the semi-final, receiving a total of 52 points.

Final

Shortly after the first semi-final, a winners' press conference was held for the ten qualifying countries. As part of this press conference, the qualifying artists took part in a draw to determine which half of the grand final they would subsequently participate in. This draw was done in the order the countries appeared in the semi-final running order. Estonia was drawn to compete in the first half. Following this draw, the shows' producers decided upon the running order of the final, as they had done for the semi-finals. Estonia was subsequently placed to perform in position 7, following the entry from

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and before the entry from

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

. Birgit once again took part in dress rehearsals on 17 and 18 May before the final, including the jury final where the professional juries cast their final votes before the live show. Birgit performed a repeat of her semi-final performance during the final on 18 May. At the conclusion of the voting, Estonia finished in twentieth place with 19 points.

Voting

Voting during the three shows consisted of 50 percent public televoting and 50 percent from a jury deliberation. The jury consisted of five music industry professionals who were citizens of the country they represent. This jury was asked to judge each contestant based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury could be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. Following the release of the full split voting by the EBU after the conclusion of the competition, it was revealed that Estonia had placed thirteenth with the public televote and eighth with the jury vote in the semi-final. In the public vote, Estonia received an average rank of 10.06, while with the jury vote, Estonia received an average rank of 7.47. In the final, Estonia had placed twenty-fourth with the public televote and sixteenth with the jury vote. In the public vote, Estonia received an average rank of 19.59, while with the jury vote, Estonia received an average rank of 13.41. Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Estonia and awarded by Estonia in the first semi-final and grand final of the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Denmark in the semi-final and to Russia in the final of the contest.

Points awarded to Estonia

Points awarded by Estonia

References

{{Eurovision Song Contest 2013

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013

Eurovision The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster submits an origina ...