Estonia’s national broadcaster Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR) has issued an update on the submissions for Eesti Laul, the Estonian national selection.
Submissions open until 23rd October 2023
Karmel Killandi, the editor-in-chief of ERR’s Entertainment programs, has recently revealed that since submissions opened in September, 12 submissions have been made to the competition – six in Estonian and six in English.
Submissions can be sent until the deadline of noon on 23rd October, but fees are cheaper when entering early. The fee before noon on 21st October is €50 for Estonian language entries or €100 for foreign language and multilingual entries. After this date, the fee is €100 for Estonian language entries or €200 for foreign language and multilingual entries.
Artists may be from any country, however the song submitted must have more Estonian writers than non-Estonian writers. The full list of rules can be found on the ERR website.
New format for Eesti Laul
During early December, the 20 selected entries will be revealed to the public along with their music videos. The jury will select the five strongest entries from these 20, and these will go direct to the final.
The remaining 15 will compete in the semi final. From the semi final, 5 entries will be selected for the final, meaning a total of 10 entries will be featured in the final.
The semi final will take place on January 20th at the University of Tartu, with the final taking place on February 17th in Tallinn.
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 Rändajad in 2009 and Ott Lepland with Kuula in 2012, both of which finished in 6th place. In 2023, Estonia elected to send Alika through Eesti Laul to the Contest with “Bridges”. She successfully qualified for the final and finshed in 8th place with 168 points. Alika finished with 146 points from the juries, and an additional 22 points from the televote.
Are you excited for the return of Eesti Laul in 2024? Who would you like to see represent Estonia at Eurovision in 2024? Let us know in the comments or on social media. Be sure to follow ‘That Eurovision Site’ on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tik-Tok, Threads and Bluesky as we prepare for Eurovision 2024!
News source: ERR
Photo credit: Corinne Cumming / EBU
