Bosnia and Herzegovina has been represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 19 times since making its debut in , after coming second in the qualification round "Kvalifikacija za Millstreet". The current Bosnian participating broadcaster in the contest is the Radio and Television of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BHRT).
Bosnia and Herzegovina's best result was in , when "Lejla" performed by Hari Mata Hari finished third. This remains the country's only top five result in the contest. The country also achieved five other top ten results: with "" by Dino Merlin (seventh), with "In the Disco" by Deen (ninth), with "" by Laka (tenth), with "" by Regina (ninth), and with "Love in Rewind" again by Dino Merlin (sixth). Bosnia and Herzegovina returned to the contest for the first time since 2012 at the contest, where it failed to advance from the semi-finals for the first time. The country then withdrew once again from the contest and has yet to return.
Participation Radio Television of Bosnia and Herzegovina (RTVBiH) was 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 participated in the contest representing Bosnia and Herzegovina since its that same year. In 2000, RTVBiH's EBU membership was transferred to a new parental broadcasting organisation, the Public Broadcasting Service of Bosnia and Herzegovina (PBSBiH), which participated in the contest representing the country from 2001 to 2004. On 13 August 2004, PBSBiH was succeeded by Radio and Television of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BHRT), which has participated in the contest since then.
Before its independence in 1992, Bosnia and Herzegovina was part of Yugoslavia. Five n entrants in the Eurovision Song Contest came from the former SR Bosnia and Herzegovina (, , , , and ). The contest was broadcast in the socialist republic by the Yugoslav Radio Television's (JRT) affiliate RTV Sarajevo.
Non-participations Low average scores meant Bosnia and Herzegovina did not qualify for the contests in and , and the country did not participate in the for financial reasons. BHRT had stated that it hoped to return to the contest in 2014, and on 18 November 2013, it submitted a preliminary application to compete in the . However, on 18 December 2013, it was announced that Bosnia and Herzegovina would not be returning for 2014.
On 9 September 2014, BHRT announced that it had submitted an application to compete in the . On 30 October 2014, BHRT stated that participation was still in jeopardy due to financial difficulties. The EBU granted it a deadline extension until 14 November 2014 to make a final decision regarding its participation. On 17 November 2014, BHRT announced that it would not be competing in the 2015 contest, having not secured the necessary funds to finance its participation.
After competing in 2016, on 29 September 2016, BHRT again announced its withdrawal from the competition in 2017, due to the difficult financial situation that the national broadcaster was currently facing. The following December, BHRT was sanctioned by the EBU due to unpaid debts, by restricting the broadcaster access to common resources.
The Bosnian head of delegation, Lejla Babović, confirmed on 29 December 2018 that BHRT's current primary goal was to return to Eurovision, but its current financial situation and mounting debts with the EBU made a return in the near future highly unlikely. This was confirmed for the following years, with a statement in November 2023 that the broadcaster remains under sanctions and is unable to compete in EBU events.
Participation overview
Prior to Yugoslavia's dissolution, artists from the SR Bosnia and Herzegovina represented Yugoslavia in , , , , and . + Table key 2 Second place 3 Third place ◁ Last place ◇ Entry selected but did not compete † Upcoming event-->
Year Artist Song Language Final Points Semi Points Fazla "" Bosnian 16 27 2 52 Alma and Dejan "" Bosnian 15 39 colspan="2" rowspan="2" Davor Popović "" Bosnian 19 14 Amila Glamočak "" Bosnian 22 13 21 29 Alma Čardžić "Goodbye" Bosnian 18 22 rowspan="5" colspan="2" Dino and Béatrice "" Bosnian, French 7 86 Nino "" Bosnian, English 14 29 Maja "" Serbian, English 13 33 Mija Martina "" Croatian, English 16 27 Deen "In the Disco" English 9 91 7 133 Feminnem "Call Me" English 14 79 colspan="2" Hari Mata Hari "" Bosnian 3 229 2 267 Marija Šestić "" Serbian 11 106 colspan="2" Laka "" Bosnian 10 110 9 72 Regina "" Bosnian 9 106 3 125 Vukašin Brajić "Thunder and Lightning" English 17 51 8 59 Dino Merlin "Love in Rewind" English 6 125 5 109 Maya Sar "" Bosnian 18 55 6 77 Dalal and Deen Ana Rucner and Jala "" Bosnian colspan="2" 11 104
Songs by language
SongsLanguageYears12Bosnian, , , , , , , , , , , 7English, , , , , , 2Serbian, 1Croatian1French
Awards Marcel Bezençon Awards YearCategorySongComposer(s)PerformerFinalPointsHost cityComposer Award"Lejla"Željko Joksimović (m), Fahrudin Pecikoza (l), Dejan Ivanović (l)Hari Mata Hari3229 Athens"Bistra voda"Aleksandar Čović (m & l)Regina9106 Moscow
Related involvement Heads of delegation YearHead of delegationDejan KukrićLejla Babović Conductors YearConductor1993 (KzM)Esad Arnautalić Noel KelehanSinan Alimanović
Commentators and spokespersons For the show's broadcast in the country, various commentators have provided commentary on the contest in the Bosnian 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.
From until , SR Bosnia and Herzegovina was part of Yugoslavia and JRT's affiliate RTV Sarajevo broadcast the contest there. YearChannelCommentatorSpokespersonRTVBiHrowspan="8" Dejan ZagoracDiana Grković-ForetićSegmedina SrnaSegmedina Srna PBSBiHDejan KukrićSegmedina SrnaPBSBiH, RTVFBiH (FTV1)BHTV 1, BH Radio 1 (all shows)FTV (final)Mija MartinaBHT 1 (all shows)Ana Mirjana Račanović Vesna Andree-ZaimovićMelina GaribovićBHT 1, BH Radio 1 (all shows)Elvir Laković LakaBHT 1 (all shows)Ivana VidmarElvir Laković LakaBHT 1, BH Radio 1 (all shows)rowspan="2" –colspan="2"BHT 1, BHT HD, BH Radio 1 (all shows)Dejan KukrićIvana Crnogorac –colspan="2"
Other shows ShowCommentatorChannelCongratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest BHT 1Eurovision: Europe Shine a LightMaja Čengić Miralem
Photo gallery
Notes
References
Works cited
External links
Bosnia and Herzegovina Official ESC Website