Eurovision Song Contest 2003 — 48th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest
Turkey won its first Eurovision title after 28 years, while the 2003 contest was the last held in a single evening before semi-finals were introduced.
Key Facts
- Edition
- 48th Eurovision Song Contest
- Date
- 24 May 2003
- Participating countries
- 26 (record at the time)
- Winning song
- "Everyway That I Can" by Sertab Erener (Turkey)
- UK finishing position
- 26th (last) with zero points
- Ukraine debut
- First-ever participation by Ukraine
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Latvia's Marie N won the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 with "I Wanna", obligating Latvian Television to host the following year's edition. The EBU also faced growing demand from new countries wishing to participate, straining the existing single-evening, relegation-based format.
The 48th Eurovision Song Contest was held on 24 May 2003 at Skonto Hall in Riga, Latvia, hosted by Marie N and Renārs Kaupers. Twenty-six countries competed — a record — with Turkey's Sertab Erener winning with "Everyway That I Can", the country's first victory after 28 years of participation. The United Kingdom finished last with no points.
The contest was the last staged in a single evening and the last to use a relegation system. From 2004, the EBU introduced a semi-final round to manage expanding participation. Belgium's entry, sung in an invented language, also set a precedent as the first Eurovision song with no English or native-language lyrics.
Work
Eurovision Song Contest 2003
Turkey's first Eurovision victory and the last single-evening contest; prompted introduction of semi-finals from 2004 to accommodate more competing nations.