| Serbia in the Eurovision Song Contest | |
|---|---|
| Eurovision Song Contest | |
 | |
| Participating broadcaster | Radio-televizija Srbije (RTS) |
| Participation summary | |
| Appearances | 17 (13 finals) |
| First appearance | 2007 |
| Highest placement | 1st:2007 |
| Host | 2008 |
| Related articles | |
| External links | |
Serbia's page at Eurovision.tv | |
 For the most recent participation seeSerbia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 | |
Serbia has been represented at theEurovision Song Contest 17 times since making its debut in2007. The Serbian participating broadcaster in the contest isRadio-televizija Srbije (RTS). Serbia won the contest on its debut with "Molitva" byMarija Šerifović. The country's other top five results are third place in2012 with "Nije ljubav stvar" byŽeljko Joksimović, and fifth place in2022 with "In corpore sano" byKonstrakta. Serbia's other top ten results are sixth place (2008) and tenth place (2015).
Before its independence, theSocialist Republic of Serbia participated in the contest as part ofYugoslavia (both theSocialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from1961 to1991 and theFederal Republic of Yugoslavia in1992), and theRepublic of Serbia participated as part ofSerbia and Montenegro (from2004 to2006).
Radio-televizija Srbije (RTS) is a full member of theEuropean Broadcasting Union (EBU) since 2006, thus eligible to participate in theEurovision Song Contest since then. It has participated in the contest representing Serbia since its52nd edition in 2007.
Before the country became independent on 5 June 2006, entries from Serbia had participated in the contest as part ofYugoslavia and laterSerbia and Montenegro. Four Yugoslav entrants in the contest came from the formerSR Serbia:1974,1982,1991, and1992), and one of Serbia and Montenegro's entrants came from the formerRepublic of Serbia (2004).
Serbia made its debut in the contest as an independent nation with the ballad "Molitva" byMarija Šerifović. "Molitva" won the2007 contest, receiving 268 points, making Serbia the first country to win with a debut entry after Switzerland's win at the first edition. Subsequently, Serbia was host of the2008 contest in its capitalBelgrade.
The second Serbian entry, performed in Belgrade was written by past entrant for Serbia as part of Serbia and Montenegro and contest hostŽeljko Joksimović. The song "Oro", an ethnic ballad, performed byJelena Tomašević came 6th and received 160 points in the overall rankings.
In 2009, Serbia selectedMarko Kon andMilaan to represent them in the second semi-final on 14 May. The duo failed to qualify for the final, marking it the first time Serbia failed to qualify for the final since the introduction of semi-finals.
In 2010,Milan Stanković was selected to represent the country in the contest with "Ovo je Balkan", an upbeat song with ethno elements, and is about a love story set in Belgrade. It qualified for the final and in the end achieved 13th place with 72 points. In 2011,Nina was selected with her 1960s inspired song, "Čaroban". She was accompanied with three other singers who would be dancing throughout the performance. In the semi-finals She performed 6th and qualified for the final. In the final, she performed 24th and achieved 14th place. After finishing second in 2004 when representing Serbia and Montenegro, Željko Joksimović returned to compete in2012 with the song "Nije ljubav stvar". On the second semi-final he took second place, while he finished third in the final, below second-placed Russia and the winner, Sweden.Moje 3 represented Serbia in the2013 contest in Malmö with the song "Ljubav je svuda". They would finish 11th in the first semi-final, therefore not qualifying for the final. This was the second time that Serbia did not qualify for the final. On 22 November 2013, RTS announced that it would not participate in the2014 contest due to financial difficulties and a lack of available sponsorship for a potential Serbian entry.[1] They did, however, broadcast all three shows.
On 26 September 2014, it was reported that Serbia had decided to return to the2015 contest to be held inAustrian capital,Vienna.[2] On 15 February 2015 Serbia chose their own representative in the TV show "Odbrojavanje za Beč". Odbrojavanje za Beč (English: Countdown for Vienna) was the national final organised by RTS in order to select the Serbian entry for the2015 contest. The selection featured three songs composed by Vladimir Graić, the composer of Serbia's winning entry "Molitva" in 2007. Two of the songs were performed by established Serbian artists Bojana Stamenov and Aleksa Jelić, while one was performed by Danica Krstić, a new talent chosen by Graić through a scouting process.Bojana Stamenov was selected as the Serbian representative for Vienna through a 50:50 voting system, where both the audience and the jury voted for her song "Ceo svet je moj" (The whole world is mine) to represent Serbia in Austria. It was later announced that she would perform her song in English (a first for a Serbian entry) titled "Beauty Never Lies". Despite being low with the odds and fan votings, Bojana surprised everyone in the first semifinal and became one of the big press and fan favourites. She qualified to the final with 9th place in Semi-Final 1, but managed to achieve another top 10 result for Serbia in the Grand Final, scoring 53 points and the 10th place.
In March 2016, RTS internally decided forSanja Vučić to represent Serbia inStockholm, Sweden with the song "Goodbye (Shelter)".[3] In the2016 contest, she performed in the second semi-final, qualifying through. In the grand final, Vučić placed 18th by scoring 115 points.[4] Thefollowing contest, Serbia was represented byTijana Bogićević inKyiv, Ukraine, again chosen by the national broadcaster.[5] She failed to qualify from the second semi-final by finishing 11th.[6]
In February 2018,Sanja Ilić and theworld music groupBalkanika were declared the winners of the returningBeovizija contest.[7] They performed in the second semi-final of the2018 contest, hosted inLisbon, Portugal. In the final, Sanja Ilić and Balkanika finished in 19th place with 113 points.[8] Subsequently, theBeovizija 2019 was won byNevena Božović and "Kruna", who therefore represented Serbia inTel Aviv, Israel.[9] Božović, who qualified from the first semi-final, scored 89 points in the final and thus placed 18th.[10]
On March 1, 2020, girl groupHurricane wonBeovizija 2020 with "Hasta la vista" and were supposed to compete inRotterdam, Netherlands.[11] The2020 contest was, however, eventually cancelled due theCOVID-19 pandemic. In December 2020, RTS selected Hurricane internally to represent Serbia in the2021 contest.[12] Hurricane performed their new entry, "Loco loco", in the second semi-final, going through. In the final they went on to place 15th with 102 points.[13]
The following year,Beovizija was replaced by the newly-established national selection contest,Pesma za Evroviziju. The contest'sfirst edition, held in March 2022, was won byKonstrakta and "In corpore sano", who was therefore chosen to represent Serbia in the2022 contest, hosted inTurin, Italy.[14] Konstrakta qualified from the semi-final 2. In the final she placed 5th with 312 points.[15] "In corpore sano" became the most successful Serbian entry since 2012. Furthermore, Konstrakta also won the ArtisticMarcel Bezençon Award and twoEurovision Awards - the Most Innovative Staging and the Best Lyrics.[16][17]
At the beginning of March 2023, RTS organizedPesma za Evroviziju '23, whereLuke Black with "Samo mi se spava" was declared the winner and Serbian representative inLiverpool, United Kingdom.[18] In Liverpool, Luke finished in 24th place in the finals with 30 points.
Pesma za Evroviziju '24 was held to select the Serbian representative in 2024,[19] resulting asTeya Dora with the song "Ramonda". In Malmö, Teya finished in 17th place in the finals with 54 points.
Pesma za Evroviziju '25 was held to select Serbia's entry for the 2025 contest, withPrinc winning with the song "Mila". The entry failed to qualify from the semi-finals, finishing in 14th place with 28 points. This marked Serbia's first non-qualification since2017, ending a six-year streak of reaching the final. As of 2025, it remains their worst result to date.
Prior toYugoslavia andSerbia and Montenegro's dissolution, artists from theSerbian federal unit represented Yugoslavia in1974,1982,1991 and as arepublic unit in1992 and2004.
| 1 | First place |
| 2 | Second place |
| 3 | Third place |
| X | Entry selected but did not compete |
| † | Upcoming event |
| Year | Artist | Song | Language | Final | Points | Semi | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Marija Šerifović | "Molitva"(Молитва) | Serbian | 1 | 268 | 1 | 298 |
| 2008 | Jelena Tomaševićfeat.Bora Dugić | "Oro"(Оро) | Serbian | 6 | 160 | Host country | |
| 2009 | Marko Kon andMilaan | "Cipela"(Ципела) | Serbian | Failed to qualify | 10[a] | 60 | |
| 2010 | Milan Stanković | "Ovo je Balkan"(Ово је Балкан) | Serbian | 13 | 72 | 5 | 79 |
| 2011 | Nina | "Čaroban"(Чаробан) | Serbian | 14 | 85 | 8 | 67 |
| 2012 | Željko Joksimović | "Nije ljubav stvar"(Није љубав ствар) | Serbian | 3 | 214 | 2 | 159 |
| 2013 | Moje 3 | "Ljubav je svuda"(Љубав је свуда) | Serbian | Failed to qualify | 11 | 46 | |
| 2015 | Bojana Stamenov | "Beauty Never Lies" | English | 10 | 53 | 9 | 63 |
| 2016 | Sanja Vučić Zaa | "Goodbye (Shelter)" | English | 18 | 115 | 10 | 105 |
| 2017 | Tijana Bogićević | "In Too Deep" | English | Failed to qualify | 11 | 98 | |
| 2018 | Sanja Ilić andBalkanika | "Nova deca"(Нова деца) | Serbian | 19 | 113 | 9 | 117 |
| 2019 | Nevena Božović | "Kruna"(Круна) | Serbian | 18 | 89 | 7 | 156 |
| 2020 | Hurricane | "Hasta la vista" | Serbian | Contest cancelled[b]X | |||
| 2021 | Hurricane | "Loco loco" | Serbian | 15 | 102 | 8 | 124 |
| 2022 | Konstrakta | "In corpore sano" | Serbian,Latin | 5 | 312 | 3 | 237 |
| 2023 | Luke Black | "Samo mi se spava"(Само ми се спава) | Serbian, English | 24 | 30 | 10 | 37 |
| 2024 | Teya Dora | "Ramonda"(Рамонда) | Serbian | 17 | 54 | 10 | 47 |
| 2025 | Princ | "Mila"(Мила) | Serbian | Failed to qualify | 14 | 28 | |
| 2026 | Confirmed intention to participate†[20] | ||||||
| Year | Location | Venue | Presenters | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Belgrade | Belgrade Arena | Jovana Janković andŽeljko Joksimović |  |
| Year | Category | Song | Performer | Final | Points | Host city | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Artistic Award | "Molitva"(Молитва) | Marija Šerifović | 1 | 268 |  Helsinki | |
| 2022 | Artistic Award | "In corpore sano" | Konstrakta | 5 | 312 |  Turin |
| Year | Song | Performer | Final | Points | Host city | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | "Molitva"(Молитва) | Marija Šerifović | 1 | 268 | Helsinki |
| Year | Performer | Host city | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Milan Stanković |  Oslo | |
| 2013 | Moje 3 |  Malmö |
Each participating broadcaster in the Eurovision Song Contest assigns a head of delegation as the EBU's contact person and the leader of their delegation at the event. The delegation, whose size can greatly vary, includes a head of press, the performers, songwriters, composers, and backing vocalists, among others.[25]
| Year | Head of delegation | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| 2007–2009 | Anja Rogljić | |
| 2010–2016 | Dragan Ilić | |
| 2017–2022 | Anja Rogljić | |
| 2023–present | Uroš Marković |
Each participating broadcaster assembles a five-member jury panel consisting of music industry professionals for the Eurovision Song Contest, ranking all entries except for their own. The modern incarnation of jury voting was introduced beginning with the2009 contest, and as of 2023[update], the juries' votes constitute just under 50% of the overall result in the final alongside televoting.[30]
| Year | Juror A | Juror B | Juror C | Juror D | Juror E | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dejan Cukić | Marko Kon | Saša Milošević [sr] | Ksenija Milošević | Nevena Božović | ||
| Slobodan Marković | Nikola Čuturilo | Vladimir Graić | Mari Mari [sr] | Ana Milenković | ||
| Ivana Peters | Tanja Banjanin [sr] | Vojkan Borisavljević | Aleksandar Milić [sr] | Ana Štajdohar | ||
| Bojana Stamenov | Dejan Cukić | Tijana Milošević [sr] | Radivoje Radivojević [sr] | Bane Krstić | ||
| Sanja Ilić | Aleksandra Milutinović [sr] | Leontina Vukomanović | Silvana Grujić | Vojislav Aralica | ||
| Snežana Berić [sr] (Extra Nena) | Ivana Peters | Milan Stanković | Slobodan Marković | Tijana Bogićević | ||
| Dušan Alagić | Jelena Tomašević | Marija Marić Marković [sr] | Miloš Luka Roganović | Srđan Marjanović | ||
| Dragan Đorđević | Zoran Živanović | Ana Đurić | Sandra Perović | Sara Jovanović | ||
| Alek Aleksov [sr] | Milovan Bošković [sr] | Luka Ivanović (Luke Black) | Lena Kovačević | Zejna Murkić | ||
| Aleksandar Habić | Luka Jovanović (Luxonee) | Bojana Stamenov | Ivana Peters | Olga Biserčić |
| Year | Show | Ref(s) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First semi-final | Second semi-final | Final | ||||||||
| Viewers | AVG viewers | Share | Viewers | AVG viewers | Share | Viewers | AVG viewers | Share | ||
| 2008 | 3,350,000 | [41] | ||||||||
| 2012 | 52.2% | [42] | ||||||||
| 2016 | 660,000 | [43] | ||||||||
| 2018 | 2,262,000 | 30.3% | [43] | |||||||
| 2021 | 15.2% | 29.9% | 2,500,000 | 43.1% | [42] | |||||
| 2022 | 1,200,000 | 1,800,000 | 1,150,000 | 47% | [44] | |||||
| 2023 | 500,000 | 227,186 | 8,43% | 149,391 | 5,4% | 2,000,000 | 673,706 | 29,45% | [45][46][47][48][49] | |
| 2024 | 1,860,832 | 837,678 | 37% | [50] | ||||||
| 2025 | 303,000 | 15% | [51] | |||||||
For the show's broadcast on RTS, various commentators have provided commentary on the contest in the Serbian language. At the Eurovision Song Contest after all points are calculated, the presenters of the show call upon each voting country to invite each respective spokesperson to announce the results of their vote on-screen.[52]
From1961 until1992, Serbia competed as part of Yugoslavia, and from2004 to2005 as part of Serbia and Montenegro. The Serbian affiliates of theYugoslav Radio Television (JRT) first andUdruženje javnih radija i televizija (UJRT) later broadcast the contest there with Serbian commentary.
| Year | Commentator | Shows | Channel | Spokesperson | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Duška Vučinić | All shows | RTS1,RTS Sat | Maja Nikolić [sr] | |
| 2008 | Dragan Ilić and Mladen Popović | All shows | RTS1, RTS Sat | Dušica Spasić [sr] | |
| 2009 | Dragan Ilić | SF1 | RTS1,RTS Digital [sr], RTS Sat | Jovana Janković | |
| Duška Vučinić | SF2, Final | ||||
| 2010 | Duška Vučinić Dragan Ilić | SF1, final | RTS1, RTS Sat | Maja Nikolić | |
| Dragan Ilić | SF2 | ||||
| 2011 | Marina Nikolić | SF1 | RTS1, RTS Sat | Dušica Spasić | |
| Dragan Ilić | SF2 | ||||
| Duška Vučinić | Final | ||||
| Tanja Zeljković | SF1, final | Radio Beograd 1 [sr] | |||
| 2012 | Dragan Ilić | SF1 | RTS1, RTS Sat | Maja Nikolić | |
| Duška Vučinić | SF2, final | ||||
| Tanja Zeljković | Final | Radio Beograd 1 | |||
| 2013 | Duška Vučinić-Lučić | SF1 | RTS1, RTS Sat | ||
| Marina Nikolić | SF2 | ||||
| Silvana Grujić | Final | RTS2, RTS Digital, RTS Sat, RTS HD | |||
| 2014 | Silvana Grujić | All shows | RTS1, RTS Digital, RTS Sat, RTS HD | Did not participate | |
| 2015 | Duška Vučinić | SF1, Final | RTS1, RTS Sat, RTS HD | Maja Nikolić | |
| Silvana Grujić | SF2 | RTS2, RTS Sat | |||
| Katarina Epstein and Nataša Raketić | Final | Radio Beograd 1 | |||
| 2016 | Dragan Ilić | SF1 | RTS1, RTS Sat, RTS HD | Dragana Kosjerina | |
| Duška Vučinić | SF2, final | ||||
| 2017 | Silvana Grujić and Olga Kapor | SF1 | RTS1, RTS Sat, RTS HD | Sanja Vučić | |
| Duška Vučinić | SF2, final | ||||
| 2018 | Silvana Grujić and Tamara Petković | SF1 | RTS1, RTS Sat, RTS HD | Dragana Kosjerina | |
| Duška Vučinić | SF2, final | ||||
| Nataša Raketić and Katarina Epstein | SF2, final | Radio Beograd 1 | |||
| 2019 | Duška Vučinić | SF1, final | RTS1, RTS HD,RTS Svet | ||
| Tamara Petković and Katarina Epstein | SF2 | ||||
| Nikoleta Dojčinović and Katarina Epstein | Final | Radio Beograd 1 | |||
| 2021 | Duška Vučinić | All shows | RTS1, RTS HD,RTS Svet | ||
| Nikoleta Dojčinović and Katarina Epstein | Radio Beograd 1 [sr] | ||||
| 2022 | Silvana Grujić | SF1 | RTS1, RTS Svet | ||
| Duška Vučinić | SF2, final | ||||
| Nikoleta Dojčinović and Katarina Epstein | All shows | Radio Beograd 1 | |||
| 2023[c] | Duška Vučinić | All shows | RTS Svet | ||
| Semi-finals | RTS 3 | ||||
| Final | RTS 1 | ||||
| Nikoleta Dojčinović and Katarina Epstein | Final | Radio Beograd 1 | |||
| 2024 | Duška Vučinić | All shows | RTS1,[d] RTS Svet | Konstrakta | |
| Katarina Epstein | SF1 | Radio Beograd 1 | |||
| Nikoleta Dojčinović and Katarina Epstein | Final | ||||
| 2025 | Duška Vučinić | All shows | RTS 1, RTS Svet | Dragana Kosjerina | |
| Nikoleta Dojčinović and Katarina Tošić | SF2 | Radio Beograd 1 |
| Show | Commentator | Channel | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light | Duška Vučinić | RTS1, RTS Svet |
AfterKosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia in 2008, its broadcasterRadio Television of Kosovo (RTK) was applying for EBU membership, and wished to enterKosovo independently into theEurovision Song Contest 2009.[120][121] Kosovo ispartially recognised and not a member of theUnited Nations, and UN membership is required to obtain full EBU membership. As of 2013, RTK has observer status within the EBU and has participated in theEurovision Young Dancers once.[122][123] SeveralKosovo Albanian artists have competed inFestivali i Këngës,the national selection for Albania organised byRTSH. The most notable Kosovo Albanian participants to date areRona Nishliu,Lindita, andAlbina Kelmendi and her family, who represented Albania in2012,2017 and2023, respectively.
SeveralKosovo Serb artists have competed in the Serbian national selections organised by RTS. Kosovo-bornNevena Božović represented Serbia in theJunior Eurovision Song Contest and twice in the Eurovision Song Contest, first as a member ofMoje 3 in2013 and later as a solo artist in2019.
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Победник такмичења Песма за Евровизију 2025. у обавези је да на следећем такмичењу Песма за Евровизију 2026. уручи награду будућем победнику фестивала, односно представнику РТС-а и Србије на Песми Евровизије 2026.[The winner of the Pesma za Evroviziju 2025 is obliged to hand the award to the future winner of the festival, that is, to the representative of RTS and Serbia at Eurovision 2026.]
Ali ja moram samo da ti kažem da i to veče, uprkos tome što si sada rekla [da je prenos bio na RTS 3, ne na RTS 1,] petsto hiljada ljudi je gledalo[But I just have to tell you that even that evening, despite what you said now [that the broadcast was on RTS 3, not RTS 1], five hundred thousand people watched]
Ali ja sam imala tremu pred to finale jer sam znala da će milionski auditorijum gledati to i jeste tako – dva miliona ljudi šer[But I was nervous before that final because I knew that an audience of millions would be watching and they did – a share of 2 million viewers]
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Prenosiću sve tri večeri[I will be commentating on all 3 nights]
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