HistoryData
culture1993

Kvalifikacija za Millstreet — qualifying song contest for the Eurovision Song Contest 1993

April 3, 1993

A one-off EBU-organised qualifying contest that selected three of seven post-communist nations to debut at Eurovision 1993, managing the surge in new member countries.

Quick Facts

Year
1993
Category
culture

Key Facts

Date held
3 April 1993
Venue
Studio 1, Televizija Slovenija, Ljubljana
Competing countries
7
Countries qualifying
3 (Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia)
Host broadcaster
Radiotelevizija Slovenija (RTVSLO)
Eurovision 1993 date/venue
15 May 1993, Millstreet, Ireland

By the Numbers

3
Date held
1
Venue
7
Competing countries
3
Countries qualifying

Location

Map of Ljubljana, SloveniaMap of Ljubljana, SloveniaLjubljana, Slovenia

Cause → Event → Consequence

Cause

The collapse of communist regimes and the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, the Soviet Union, and Yugoslavia produced a wave of newly independent states seeking to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest, creating more applicants than the 1993 contest could accommodate.

Event

Organised by the EBU and RTVSLO and presented by Tajda Lekše, Kvalifikacija za Millstreet took place on 3 April 1993 in Ljubljana. Seven countries with no prior Eurovision history each submitted entries judged by one juror per competing nation, with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Slovenia advancing to the Eurovision Song Contest 1993.

Consequence

Estonia, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia, the four countries that did not qualify, made their Eurovision debuts the following year in 1994. The contest also prompted the EBU to introduce a relegation system for future editions, giving new and returning countries direct access while removing the lowest-scoring participants from the previous year.

Timeline Context

Timeline around 199319931990199119921994199519961993 World Men's Handball Championship — 1993 edition of the World Men's Handball ChampionshipEuroBasket 1993 — FIBA EuroBasket1993–94 UEFA Cup — 23rd season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFAEurovision Song Contest 1993 — 38th edition of Eurovision Song Contest1993 Formula One World Championship — sports season1993 Copa América — 1993 edition of the Copa América association football competition1993 Russian constitutional crisis — political unrest in Russia in September and October 19931993 CONCACAF Gold Cup — 1993 edition of the association football competition CONCACAF Gold Cupkvalifikacija-za-millstreet-qualifying-song-contest-for-th-1993