Less than a month after it was confirmed that Montenegro would indeed return to the Eurovision Song Contest, the dates for the Balkan nation’s national selection, Montesong, have been announced.
What we know about Montesong
In a press conference RTCG, Montenegro’s public service broadcaster, revealed that the upcoming contest will be held on the 26th and 27th of November, and broadcast from the capital Podgorica. Having previously announced that their entrant will be decided by an equally weighted televote and jury, RTCG have further revealed that the contest will contain 16 acts. The acts must be Montenegrin citizens, but the composers of the entries are not tied to any nationality. The window for submissions will run until the 1st of October.
During the press conference director of Montesong Danijel Alibabić stated that he wished to emulate Croatia’s national selection Dora. He stated that performers will have creative control over their entire performances, but will receive financial contributions to their creation. With the financing of the perfromances coming from Association of Variety Performers. Creative director of the contest Vladana Vučinić, who was Montenegro’s most recent entrant, gave more information about the jury. It will be composed of domestic and international music experts, deciding 50% of the votes of the show. As creative director she reiterated her desire for younger performers to come forward to compete.
Montenegro’s most recent national final was in 2019.
Montenegro’s Eurovision Journey
Before Montenegro announced its return to the Eurovision Song Contest for 2022, they had a scattered appearance at the competition.
There has been a Montenegrin presence at the Eurovision Song Contest as far back as 1983, when the nation was a part of Yugoslavia. Montenegrin entries went on to represent Yugoslavia in 1983 and 1984, placing 4th and 18th respectively. Similarly, the nation also sent an entry as part of Serbia and Montenegro in 2005, placing 7th with No Name’s “Zauvijek moja”.
As an independent nation, Montenegro debuted in 2007 with Steven Faddy’s “Ajde, kroci”. This began a string of non-qualifications, until their first appearance in a Grand Final in 2014. Montenegro’s best result came in 2015 with Knez’s “Adio”, scoring 44 points and placing 13th. Their most recent appearance in the Contest was in 2022, when Vladana finished in 17th place in the semi-final with 33 points with her song “Breathe”.
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Photo Credit: Corinne Cumming / EBU
News Source: RTCG
Rory Gannon 
Giwrgos Oiko