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North Macedonia in the Eurovision Song Contest
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North Macedonia[a] has been represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 21 times since its official debut in 1998. The country had attempted to participate in 1996, but failed to qualify from the audio-only qualifying round. The Macedonian participating broadcaster in the contest is the Macedonian Radio Television (MRT).
Prior to 2019, North Macedonia's best result was a twelfth place finish with "Ninanajna" performed by Elena Risteska in 2006. Having qualified from the semi-final round only once in ten of the previous eleven contests (2008–18), North Macedonia achieved its best result to date in 2019, when "Proud" by Tamara Todevska qualified and finished in seventh place in the final after winning the jury vote. Following a further two non-qualifications, MRT opted out of participating in 2023 and has yet to return.
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Participation
The Macedonian Radio Television (MRT) is a full member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) since 1 January 1993, thus eligible to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest since then. It has participated in the contest representing North Macedonia[a] since its 43rd edition in 1998.
Before the country's independence in 1991 from SFR Yugoslavia, RTV Skopje –Yugoslav Radio Television's (JRT) affiliate in SR Macedonia, and MRT's predecessor– participated in the Yugoslav pre-selection called among the JRT affiliates from the other Yugoslav federal units.[1] Also, Macedonian composers wrote songs for candidates from other parts of Yugoslavia.[2] However, the only Macedonian win in the Yugoslav competition, "Vraćam se" by Maja Odžaklievska in 1980,[1] did not compete in the Eurovision Song Contest 1980 due to JRT's decision not to participate that year. SR Macedonia was the only Yugoslav federal state that never sent a Yugoslav entry to the Eurovision Song Contest.
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History
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MRT submitted its first entry, "Samo ti" (Само ти) sung by Kaliopi, for the 1996 contest. However, the country failed to qualify through the non-broadcast pre-selection round. Its efforts to enter the contest were again hindered in 1997, when another new system was introduced where countries with the lowest average scores over the previous four years were excluded from participating. The country made its debut in 1998, with "Ne zori, zoro" by Vlado Janevski.
The country's best result before 2019 (and the best result with its old name) was in 2006, with "Ninanajna" (Нинанајна) by Elena Risteska in Athens, who came 12th. It is the only country to have qualified from every semi-final from 2004 to 2007 (other countries have qualified for every final but due to them finishing in the top 10 the previous year, they did not have to compete in the semi-final). Despite never finishing in the top 10, their record of qualifying for every final was broken in 2008, when the jury vote used in the semi-final chose Sweden as a finalist, despite Tamara, Vrčak and Adrian having come 10th in the televote.
MRT has intermittently used the Skopje Fest to select the national entry since the country's debut, although it made several changes in the national final format, so the 2004, 2005, and 2006 national finals were organised outside the Skopje Fest.
For 2019, the country competed for the first time under the name North Macedonia.[3] MRT selected "Proud" by Tamara Todevska as their act of choice. The song managed to qualify through the second semi-final, and reached seventh place in the final, winning the jury vote. This is the first top ten placing as well as the highest placing ever for North Macedonia in the history of the contest.
Following two non-qualifications in 2021 and 2022, MRT confirmed its absence in the 2023 contest, citing financial constraints.[4] However, MRT still broadcast the 2023 contest with a view to return in 2024.[5] The broadcaster's intention to return was stated in a budget plan published in September 2023.[6][7] However, in late October 2023, the programme planning chair of MRT, Smilka Janeska Sarkanjac, clarified that a decision was yet to be made and the plan was still awaiting the approval of the government.[8] North Macedonia ultimately did not appear on the final list of participants.[9]
On 7 November 2024, the Macedonian newspaper Fokus reported that an employee of Macedonian broadcaster MRT anonymously admitted in an interview with them that the station's management is convinced that there is a need for a new selection format that should keep up with the ever-increasing Eurovision standards. He also assured that the Macedonian broadcaster is doing "everything in their power" to ensure the country's participation "on a level", even as early as the 2026 contest.[10] On 16 May 2025, Macedonian journalist Aleksandra Jovanovska (who was also a member of the Macedonian delegation until the country's last participation in the contest and a commentator on the contest for MRT in 2009, 2020, 2023, 2024 and 2025) gave an interview on the MRT programme Makedonija nautro, in which she said that MRT is still interested in a return. She has also admitted that there are a number of artists who have already expressed their readiness to represent the country in the contest should it return, but that the biggest problem at the moment is the lack of a suitable selection format, and the MakFest festival could not fulfil this role, as "the level of songs at this event deviates from the level of the European and world stage". Another problem mentioned is the cost of participation, Jovanovska pointed out as examples the funds needed for staging, pyrotechnics, lighting and paying performance directors.[11]
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Participation overview
| 2 | Second place |
| X | Entry selected but did not compete |
Awards
Barbara Dex Award
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Related involvement
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Delegation members
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.[14]
Heads of delegation
Heads of press
Commentators and spokespersons
For the show's broadcast on MRT, various commentators have provided commentary on the contest in the Macedonian 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.[20]
From 1961 until 1991, SR Macedonia was part of Yugoslavia and JRT's affiliate RTV Skopje broadcast the contest there with Macedonian commentary.
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Photo gallery
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See also
Notes and references
External links
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