Megahit-International Mediterranean Song Contest ( tr, Megahit-Uluslararası Akdeniz Şarkı Yarışması) was an international song contest hosted in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

featuring singers from

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on th ...

countries. There were three editions of the event. Nine countries participated in the first event, which was held in 2002 in

Antalya Antalya () is the fifth-most populous city in Turkey as well as the capital of Antalya Province. Located on Anatolia's southwest coast bordered by the Taurus Mountains, Antalya is the largest Turkish city on the Mediterranean coast outside the Ae ...

. The second and third editions were organized in

Fethiye Fethiye () is a city and district of Muğla Province in the Aegean Region of Turkey. It is one of the prominent tourist destinations in the Turkish Riviera. In 2019 its population was 162,686. History Fethiye was formerly known as Makri (). ...

Muğla Muğla () is a city in southwestern Turkey. The city is the center of the District of Menteşe and Muğla Province, which stretches along Turkey's Aegean coast. Muğla's center is situated inland at an altitude of 660 m and lies at a dist ...

. The number of participants grew and reached 14 in 2003, and to 15 in 2004. The three contest winners were Eyal Shachar of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

Sedat Yüce Sedat Yüce (born 24 May 1976) is a Turkish singer. He represented Turkey in the Eurovision Song Contest 2001. He also attempted to participate in ''O Ses Türkiye'', the Turkish version of ''The Voice'', which garnered a negative response. Eu ...

of Turkey and

Linda Valori Linda Valori (born 3 September 1978 in San Benedetto del Tronto, Province of Ascoli Piceno) is an Italian singer. In 2004, she won third place at the Sanremo festival, with the song "''Aria, sole, terra e mare''", for which she composed the ly ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, respectively.

History

Created by End Productions, the first edition of Megahit-International Mediterranean Song Contest (Turkish: Megahit-Uluslararası Akdeniz Şarkı Yarışması) was organized in Aspendos Theatre in

on October 13, 2002. 9

countries participated in the contest, each represented by one performer. Serhat Hacıpaşalıoğlu, president of End Productions, hosted the event with

Tuğçe Kazaz Tuğçe Kazaz (born 26 August 1982) is a Turkish model, actress and Miss Turkey 2001. Biography Kazaz was born in Edremit, Balıkesir Province. She was educated in international relations at the Yeditepe University in Istanbul. She acted as ...

and

Çağla Kubat Çağla Kubat (; born 16 November 1978) is a Turkish actress, model, windsurfer and beauty pageant titleholder. She is member of Fenerbahçe sailing & windsurfing team. She is 5 feet 10 (1.80m) tall. She was born in İzmir. She graduated from ...

i singer

Eyal Schahar Eyal ( he, אֱיָל; ''lit.'' power) is a kibbutz in the Central District of Israel. Located close to the Green line, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Drom HaSharon Regional Council. In it had a population of . Geography Eyal is loc ...

won the contest with "The Puppet Show".

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n singer

Goran Karan Goran Karan (born 2 April 1964) is a Croatian vocalist. He specializes in songs influenced by Dalmatian folk music and is known for his powerful and refined tenor voice. Karan's collaboration with composer Zdenko Runjić led to some of his most acc ...

finished in second place with "I'm Falling Into Dark", with Hüseyin Özkılıç of Turkey placing third with "Bir Kez Daha". The winner of the contest was awarded $5,000 and a plate specially created for the event. Additionally, some contestants chosen by the jury were awarded with the International Federation of Festival Organizations (FIDOF) Special Prize and City of Antalya Special Prize. Megahit-2004 (3)

The second edition of the contest was organized in

Fethiye Stadium Fethiye () is a city and district of Muğla Province in the Aegean Region of Turkey. It is one of the prominent tourist destinations in the Turkish Riviera. In 2019 its population was 162,686. History Fethiye was formerly known as Makri ...

on September 27, 2003. There were 14 participating countries in the contest, which was hosted by Serhat Hacıpaşalıoğlu and

Viktor Lazlo The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

from Turkey won the contest with "Nereye Kadar?". The International Federation of Festival Organizations Special Prize was given to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...

ian singer Amira Ahmed, and the Municipality of Fethiye Special Prize was given to Croatian singer

Claudia Beni Claudia Beni (born 30 May 1986) is a Croatian pop singer, born in Opatija. Biography At the time when she first participated in Dora, the national finals for the Eurovision Song Contest, Claudia was only 12, but she was already an experience ...

. The top three performers were awarded vacations from Lykia World. Furthermore, the event was named “best music festival of the year” by FIDOF, and Serhat Hacıpaşalıoğlu was awarded with the Annual Golden Transitional Media Ring of Friendship for his role as “best festival host of the year”. The contest was broadcast on

TRT 1 TRT 1 (''TRT One'') is the first Turkish national television channel, owned by state broadcaster TRT. It was launched on 31 January 1968 as a test broadcast and was officially launched in December 1971. It was the only channel in Turkey until 15 ...

. The third and final edition of the contest was held again in Fethiye Stadium on September 15, 2004 The number of participating countries raised to 15. This time,

Azra Akın Azra Akın (born 8 December 1981) is a Turkish-Dutch actress, dancer, model and beauty queen who was crowned Miss World 2002 in London on December 7, 2002. Biography Akın was born in Almelo, Netherlands, to Turkish parents. Her father (Nazım ...

and Deniz Seki were the hosting partners of Serhat Hacıpaşalıoğlu.

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

performer

won the contest with "E Vai" and was awarded a €10,000 prize.

Julie & Ludwig Malta participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 with the song "On Again... Off Again" written by Philip Vella and Gerard James Borg. The song was performed by the duo Julie and Ludwig. The Maltese entry for the 2004 contest in Istanbul, T ...

from

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

earned second place with "Mood Swing", and

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...

n performer

Nuša Derenda Nuša Derenda (, born Anuška Žnideršič on March 30, 1969 in Brežice, SR Slovenia, SFR Yugoslavia) is a Slovenian singer who represented Slovenia at the 2001 Eurovision Song Contest in Copenhagen, Denmark where she achieved 7th place. Bio ...

finished in third place with "Devil". The Lifetime Achievement Prize was awarded to Olcayto Ahmet Tuğsuz and Elias Rahbani, while the Fethiye Special Prizes were awarded to

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

contestant Chris Vamos and

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Port ...

contestant Ricardo Costa. The event was broadcast live on

Show TV Show TV is a nationwide television channel in Turkey owned by Albayrak Holding since 2018, acquired from Sadık Albayrak which in turn seized from Ciner Media Group after Turgay Ciner was forced to sell due to tax debts. The channel replaces C ...

Editions

Participants by year

2002

* ''Note'': Georgina was going to represent Malta with "Fomm il-Vjolin", but later she rejected from the contest.

2003

2004

References

External links

Contest page in End Productions official website
{{in lang, tr Song contests Entertainment events in Turkey Turkish music Recurring events established in 2002 Recurring events disestablished in 2004 2002 establishments in Turkey 2004 disestablishments in Turkey