Georgia in the Eurovision Song Contest

Georgia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 12 times, debuting at the 2007 contest. Georgia planned to participate in 2009, but decided to withdraw after the European Broadcasting Union demanded it re-write its song which made reference to the Russian prime minister, Vladimir Putin. Georgia has reached the final on seven occasions, achieving two top ten placements, with Sofia Nizharadze (2010) and Eldrine (2011) both finishing ninth.

Georgia
Member stationGeorgian Public Broadcaster (GPB)
National selection events
Participation summary
Appearances12 (7 finals)
First appearance2007
Best result9th: 2010, 2011
External links
GPB page
Georgia's page at Eurovision.tv
For the most recent participation see
Georgia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021

History

On 27 October 2006, Georgia, confirmed that they wished to debut at the Eurovision Song Contest 2007.[1] At that time, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) still limited the contest to a maximum of 40 countries, however, in March 2007, it was announced that all 42 applicants would participate in the 2007 Contest in Helsinki. At the contest, Georgia managed to progress from the semi-final (where it scored 123 points, finishing 8th), but only came 12th (out of 24) in the final. Georgia appeared for its second time in the contest for 2008, represented by Diana Gurtskaya with the song "Peace Will Come". It had slightly better luck than in 2007, progressing from the semi-final (where it scored 107 points, finishing 5th) and coming in 11th (out of 25) in the final.

Due to the 2008 South Ossetia war, it had been debated by Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) whether Georgia would be present at the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow.[2] GPB chairman stated that it would not be unreasonable to withdraw, but that they were under a time restraint since a national selection event would have to be organised if they chose to participate.[3] On 28 August 2008, GBP announced that Georgia would withdraw from the 2009 contest, citing that they refuse to compete in a "country that violates human rights and international laws", as well as doubts being cast on the safety of their participants.[4][5][6] After winning the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2008, and getting the maximum 12 points from Russia they were encouraged to participate again in 2009.[7][8]

After a national final was held on 18 February 2009 the selected entry for Georgia was decided to be Stefane & 3G with their 70s-inspired song "We Don't Wanna Put In".[9][10][11] However the song gained controversy due to the lyrics of the song, which included perceived political references to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, which GPB denied.[12][13] Nevertheless, the EBU banned the song from competing due to its lyrics, and asked GPB to either change the lyrics of the song or select another song to compete.[14][15] GPB claimed that the EBU's rejection of the song was due to political pressure exerted by Russia, and withdrew again from the contest on 11 March.[16]

Georgia returned to the Contest in 2010, after a one-year gap, and was represented by 23-year-old singer Sopho Nizharadze.[17][18] Sopho sang the song "Shine" at the Contest, written by Hanne Sørvaag, Harry Sommerdahl and Christian Leuzzi.[19][20] Georgia competed in the second semi-final of the contest on 27 May, performing in the 16th slot, and qualified for the final. Georgia came 9th in the final, with 136 points, achieving their best place so far.

In 2011, Georgia sent the rock band Eldrine to the contest in Düsseldorf, Germany. They managed to equal Sopho Nizharadze's 9th place of the year before. In 2012, Georgia sent Anri Jokhadze to the contest in Baku, Azerbaijan with the song "I'm a Joker", Anri was the first male entrant ever to represent Georgia at Eurovision. On 24 May 2012, he became the first Georgian representative to fail to reach the Eurovision Song Contest final. In 2013, Georgia selected its entry internally. Sopho Gelovani & Nodiko Tatishvili was the first duo to represent Georgia in Eurovision. The song was produced by 2012's winning composer Thomas G:Son. In the second semi-final Georgia qualified in 10th, and in the final Georgia came in 15th place with 50 points. In 2014, Georgia selected jazz fusion band The Shin alongside vocalist Mariko Ebralidze to the contest in Copenhagen, Denmark. Their song, Three Minutes to Earth, was panned by critics and placed last in the second semi-final. This is the worst Georgian result to date. In 2015, Georgia held a national final for the first time since 2012. Nina Sublatti and her song "Warrior" were chosen to represent Georgia in the contest. It qualified from the first semi-final. Nina Sublatti eventually reached an 11th place in the grand final. On December 15, 2015, Georgia internally selected Nika Kocharov & Young Georgian Lolitaz to represent Georgia in the 2016 contest They finished 9th in semi-final and 20th in the grand final. In 2017 GPB went back to an national final,a large number of songs participated in the final. Tamara Gachechiladze won national final with her song "Keep the Faith". She performed second at the first semi-final on 9 May 2017 but failed to qualify finishing 11th with 99 points in the first semi-final.

In 2018, Georgia internally selected Iriao (billed as Ethno-Jazz Group Iriao for the contest) to represent them in Lisbon, Portugal with the song "For You." In spite of its English name, it was their first entry performed entirely in the Georgian language. The song resulted in another non-qualification, with Georgia finishing last in their semi-final once again. For 2019, their act for Tel Aviv was selected through Georgia's Star, the Georgian version of the Pop Idol franchise. The selected artist was Oto Nemsadze with the song "Keep on Going",[21] their second entry that is completely in Georgian, which later failed to reach the final, placing 14th in the first semi-final with 62 points.

Contestants
Table key
3
 Third place
◁
 Last place
X
 Entry selected but did not compete
Year Artist Language Title Final Points Semi Points
2007
 Sopho Khalvashi English "Visionary Dream" 12 97 8 123
2008
 Diana Gurtskaya English "Peace Will Come" 11 83 5 107
2009
 Stephane & 3G English "We Don't Wanna Put In" Withdrawn[lower-alpha 1] X
2010
 Sopho Nizharadze English "Shine" 9 136 3 106
2011
 Eldrine English "One More Day" 9 110 6 74
2012
 Anri Jokhadze English, Georgian "I'm a Joker" Failed to qualify 14 36
2013
 Sopho Gelovani & Nodiko Tatishvili English "Waterfall" 15 50 10 63
2014
 The Shin & Mariko English "Three Minutes to Earth" Failed to qualify 15 ◁ 15
2015
 Nina Sublatti English "Warrior" 11 51 4 98
2016
 Nika Kocharov & Young Georgian Lolitaz English "Midnight Gold" 20 104 9 123
2017
 Tamara Gachechiladze English "Keep the Faith" Failed to qualify 11 99
2018
 Ethno-Jazz Band Iriao Georgian "For You" 18 ◁ 24
2019
 Oto Nemsadze Georgian "Keep on Going" 14 62
2020
 Tornike Kipiani English "Take Me As I Am" Contest cancelled[lower-alpha 2] X
2021
 Tornike Kipiani

Awards

Marcel Bezençon Awards
Further information: Marcel Bezençon Awards
Year Category Song Performer Final Points Host city Ref.
2013 Press Award "Waterfall" Nodi and Sophie 15 50 Malmö
[22]

Barbara Dex Award
Further information: Barbara Dex Award
Year Performer Host city Ref.
2011 Eldrine Düsseldorf
[23]

Heads of delegation
Year Head of delegation Ref.
2018 Natia Mshvenieradze
[24]

Commentators and spokespersons
Year Commentator Spokesperson Ref.
2007 Sandro Gabisonia and Sopho AltunashviliNeli Agirba
2008 Bibi KvachadzeTika Patsatsia
2009 No broadcastDid not participate
2010 Sopho AltunishviliMariam Vashadze
2011 Sofia Nizharadze
2012 Temo KvirkveliaSopho Toroshelidze
2013 Liza Tsiklauri
2014 Lado Tatishvili and Tamuna MuseridzeSopho Gelovani and Nodiko Tatishvili
2015 Natia Bunturi
2016 Tuta ChkheidzeNina Sublatti
2017 Demetre ErgemlidzeNika Kocharov
2018 Tamara Gachechiladze
2019 Helen Kalandadze and Gaga Abashidze (all shows)
Nodiko Tatishvili (final)		Gaga Abashidze
[25]

Other shows
Show Commentator Channel Ref.
Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light Demetre Ergemlidze 1TV
[26]

Photogallery

See also

Notes and references

Notes
  1. Georgia intended to send "We Don't Wanna Put In" by Stefane & 3G, but later withdrew after the EBU found the lyrics as a breach of rules regarding political messages, and did not comply to change them.
  2. The 2020 contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

References
  1. West-Soley, Richard (27 October 2006). "Georgia set on 2007". ESCToday. Retrieved 4 September 2008.
  2. Economou, Thanasis (11 August 2008). "Georgian participation in Eurovision 2009 now questioned". Oikotimes. Archived from the original on 6 February 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2008.
  3. AFP (21 August 2008). "Georgia ally Estonia could boycott 2009 Eurovision in Moscow". Georgian Daily. Archived from the original on 28 August 2008. Retrieved 21 August 2008.
  4. "Georgian broadcaster confirms Eurovision boycott". ESCKaz. 28 August 2008. Retrieved 28 August 2008.
  5. Tongeren, Mario van (28 August 2008). "GPB officially withdraws from Eurovision 2009". Oikotimes. Archived from the original on 6 September 2008. Retrieved 28 August 2008.
  6. Viniker, Barry (28 August 2008). "Georgia will not participate in Moscow Eurovision". ESCToday. Retrieved 28 August 2008.
  7. Konstantopoulos, Fotis (19 December 2008). "Georgia: GPB proudly changes decision and enters Eurovision 2009". Oikotimes. Archived from the original on 21 December 2008. Retrieved 19 December 2008.
  8. Floras, Stella (19 December 2008). "Georgia returns to the Eurovision Song Contest". ESCToday. Retrieved 19 December 2008.
  9. Brey, Marco (18 February 2009). "Stephane & 3G to represent Georgia in Moscow". EBU. Retrieved 18 February 2009.
  10. Marcus, Klier (18 February 2009). "Georgia: Stephane & 3G to Eurovision". ESCToday. Retrieved 18 February 2009.
  11. Fisher, Luke (18 February 2009). "Stephane & 3G wins Georgian national final; listen to the song". Oikotimes. Archived from the original on 21 February 2009. Retrieved 18 February 2009.
  12. Lewis, Daniel (10 March 2009). "Georgian Eurovision entry sparks news frenzy". ESCToday. Retrieved 10 March 2009.
  13. "Putin jibe picked for Eurovision". BBC. 19 February 2009. Retrieved 10 March 2009.
  14. Bakker, Sietse (10 March 2009). "Georgian song lyrics do not comply with Rules". EBU. Retrieved 10 March 2009.
  15. Viniker, Barry (10 March 2009). "EBU rejects Georgia Eurovision entry". ESCToday. Retrieved 10 March 2009.
  16. "Georgia drops out of Eurovision over Putin song". 11 March 2009. Retrieved 11 March 2009.
  17. Hondal, Victor (16 January 2010). "Sopho Nizharadze to represent Georgia in Oslo". ESCToday. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
  18. Marco, Brey (16 January 2010). "Sopho Nizharadze to represent Georgia in Oslo!". EBU. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
  19. Grillhofer, Florian (27 February 2010). "Sofia to sing Shine at the Eurovision Song Contest". ESCToday. Retrieved 27 February 2010.
  20. Brey, Marco (27 February 2010). "Sofia Nizharadze to sing "Shine" in Oslo!". European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 27 February 2010.
  21. "Ticket to Tel Aviv: Meet Oto Nemsadze from Georgia". Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. 20 April 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  22. "Winners of the Marcel Bezençon Awards 2013". eurovision.tv. 19 May 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  23. Adams, William Lee (9 July 2015). "Poll: Who was the worst dressed Barbara Dex Award winner?". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  24. "THE VOTING RESULTS OF THE 2ND SEASON OF DEPI EVRATESIL". eurovision.am. 26 February 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  25. "Eurovision 2019 Spokespersons – Who will announce the points?". eurovisionworld.com. 18 May 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  26. "2020 წლის ევროვიზიის ნაცვლად დაგეგმილი შოუ - "ევროპა აანთე შუქი" - პირველი არხის ეთერში 16 მაისს, 23:00 საათზე დაიწყება". GPB (in Georgian). 15 May 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
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