Serbia: RTS extends submission deadline for Beovizija 2020
For a thrid consecutinve year Serbia will be selecting its Eurovision 2020 act and entry via Beovizija. Although the submission window was about to close on November 15th the Serbian broadcaster extended the dealine to December 9,2019.
Just after a month confirming its Eurovision 2020 participation, the Serbian broadcaster, RTS, had opened the Beovizija 2020 submission window in order artists who are interested in representing Serbia in the next Eurovision Song Contest to send their entries until November 15th. However the Serbian broadcaster extended this deadline to December 9th.
Although the Serbian broadcaster hasn’t given a specific reason for the extention, it is likely aiming to receive a bigger number and variety of songs for the country’s national final. Therfore acts interested to compete in the Serbian national selection have a couple of weeks more to submit their entries.
The terms for submission
After theextentions of the submission period interested acts can send in their entries until December 9th. All candidate entries should comply with Eurovision regulations and the broadcaster’s rules :
- The lyrics of the candidate entries must be in one of Serbia’s official languages.
- Foreign composers are allowed to participate in the competition, but the performer of the competing entry must be a Serbian citizen.
More details on Beovizija 2020 can be read on the RTS official website
The Eurovision Story so far
Serbia participated as an independent state in the contest in 2007, a year which the country was crowned winner with Marija Šerifović and her entry Molitva and remains the only country to win on its debut in the contest. (apart from Switzerland which won in the first edition of the contest back in 1956).
The country hosted the contest in 2008 and has a total of 11 participations and one year of absence (2014) It has achieved to qualify 7 times in the final while 3 times it didn’t make it for only one place (10th in 2009, 11th in 2013 & 2017). Besides her victory Serbia has achieved 3 more times a top 10 placing (6th in 2008, 3rd in 2012, 10th in 2015).
Before its full independence Serbia participated twice as part of the Serbia- Montenegrin Federation (2nd in 2004 and 7th in 2005), while since 1961 until 1992 participated as part of the united then Yugoslavia. Six of these Yugoslavian entries came from the Serbian region. Yugoslavia had won the contest once, in 1989.
Last year the country was represented by Nevena Božović with her song “Kruna” .Nevena’s was no stranger to the Eurovision family as she had previously participated in Junior Eurovision in 2007 and in Eurovision in 2013 with Moje 3. This year she came 18th in the grand final after securing Serbia’s second successive qualification to the final show. Lets remember her strong performance back on the Expo Tel Aviv stage:
