Bosnia and Herzegovina was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1997 with the song "Goodbye", written by Milić Vukašinović and Sinan Alimanović, and performed by Alma Čardžić. The Bosnian-Herzegovinian participating broadcaster, Radiotelevision of Bosnia-Herzegovina (RTVBiH), selected its entry for the contest through a national final, after having previously selected the performer internally. They finished in an 18th place out of 25 countries with 22 points, sharing this placement with , as the tie-breaking rule at the time only affected the first place.
Before Eurovision
According to the then Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the eight countries which had obtained the lowest average number of points over the last four contests competed in the Eurovision Song Contest 1997. Bosnia and Herzegovina was originally relegated for being one of the eight lowest scoring countries, but after Israel withdrew from the contest, as the contest was held on its Holocaust Remembrance Day, their place awarded to Bosnia and Herzegovina, who ultimately competed.
BH Eurosong 1997 Radiotelevision of Bosnia-Herzegovina (RTVBiH) held the national final on 22 February 1997 at its television Studios in Sarajevo. Alma Čardžić sang all the songs and the winner was chosen by an expert jury.
+ Final – 22 February 1997 Song Songwriter(s) 1 "Godine" Igor Karača, Safet-Sajo Selimović 2 "Zbog tebe" Jasmina Kapić 3 "Još uvijek te volim" Faruk Hasanbegović, Safet Plakalo 4 "Interpol" Suad Jukić, Esad Purić 5 "SOS" Suad Jukić, Milić Vukašinović 6 "U tvojim očima" Eldin Huseinbegović, Omar Krasnić 7 "Goodbye" Milić Vukašinović, Sinan Alimanović 8 "Ostani" Milić Vukašinović 9 "Oprosti mi" Milić Vukašinović 10 "Baybe-be" Jaka Osmanagić
At Eurovision Alma Čardžić performed 14th on the night of the contest, following and preceding . At the close of voting it had received 22 points, placing joint 18th (with Germany) out of 25 entries. Due to a low average score over the past 5 contests, Bosnia and Herzegovina was forced to sit out the . The country returned to Eurovision in .
Voting
+ Points awarded to Bosnia and Herzegovina Score Country 12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points 5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
+ Points awarded by Bosnia and Herzegovina Score Country 12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points 5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
References