Estonian public broadcaster Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR) revealed that 217 songs have been submitted to take part in Eesti Laul 2023, which is an increase from 2022, which saw 202 songs submitted. Of these, twenty will be chosen to go into the semi-finals and the grand final on February 11th.
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In an Instagram post, the organizers of Eesti Laul gave details of the received submissions into the competition. Interested singers had until today (October 20th) at 11:00 CET to apply to participate.
ERR stated that of the 217 songs submitted, 92 entries were in the Estonian language, whilst 125 are in foreign languages. In addition, ERR also revealed that of the participating singers, seven previous entrants have re-applied to take part in Eesti Laul to represent Estonia in Liverpool.
Participants to be revealed in November, Entries in December
Now that the submission window has closed, the songs will be judged by an anonymous jury who will whittle the number of competing entries down to 20. The succesful participants will then be revelaed in “Ringvaate” on November 1 and 2, whilst the entries would then be heard on a special prgram in ERR on December 2.
The 20 songs will then go on to take part in Eesti Laul 2023, with 10 songs qualifying from each Semi-Final on January 12 and 14 for the final, which will take place on February 11 where the winner will represent Estonia in Liverpool next May.
Estonia’s Eurovision Journey
Estonia has appeared at almost every Eurovision since their debut in 1994. They have won the contest once with Tanel Padar, Dave Benton and 2XL in 2001, singing Everybody. Other notable Estonian entrants include 3rd placer Sahlene with Runaway in 2002 and Ines with Once In A Lifetime in 2000, who placed 4th. More recently, their highest-placing entries have been Urban Symphony with Randajad in 2009 and Ott Lepland with Kuula in 2012, both of whom finished in 6th place. In 2022, they elected to send STEFAN through Eesti Laul to the contest with “Hope”. He successfully qualified for the final and finshed in 13th place with 141 points.
Are you looking forward to next year’s Eesti Laul? Who do you want to participate in Estonia’s national selection? Could we be heading to Tallinn in 2024? As always, let us know what you think in the comments below or on social media. Don’t forget to follow ‘That Eurovision Site’ over at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok as we gear up for Eurovision 2023!
News Source: ERR
Photo Credit: EBU/Sarah Louise Bennett
