Turkey in the Eurovision Song Contest
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| Turkey | |
|---|---|
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| Member station | Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) |
| National selection events |
Internal selection
National final
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| Appearances | |
| Appearances | 34 (33 finals) |
| First appearance | 1975 |
| Last appearance | 2012 |
| Best result | 1st: 2003 |
| Worst result | Last: 1975, 1983, 1987 Nul points: 1983, 1987 |
| External links | |
| TRT page | |
| Turkey's page at Eurovision.tv | |
Turkey participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 34 times from their debut in 1975 with the song "Seninle Bir Dakika" performed by Semiha Yankı, to their withdrawal in 2013. Turkey have always qualified for the grand final, except the 2011 Contest, since the introduction of the semi-finals in 2004.
Since their debut in the two years Turkey finished last (1983 and 1987), they scored "nul points". Before 1997, the country's only top ten result was achieved by Klips ve Onlar, who placed ninth in 1986. Turkey achieved six top five results between 1997 and 2010; winning once in 2003 with the song "Everyway That I Can" by Sertab Erener, narrowly defeating Belgium by two points. In 2004, the home entry in Istanbul, "For Real" by Athena, placed fourth. In 2007, "Shake It Up Şekerim" by Kenan Doğulu also finished fourth. In 2008, the band Mor ve Ötesi placed seventh. In 2009, Hadise achieved another impressive result for Turkey, finishing in fourth place. In 2010, the nu metal band maNga, achieved Turkey's second best result in the contest, finishing second.
Since the introduction of the free language rule (1997) as well as televoting (1999), Turkish entries had much more success than in previous years. In 1997, Turkey finished third with the song "Dinle" by Şebnem Paker, who sung all the song in Turkish. The country sent a song partially in English for the first time in 2000 and completely in English in 2003, the winning entry of that year. Since 2000, Turkey has had seven entries completely sung in English and four bilingual songs. TRT hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 in Abdi İpekçi Arena, which is located in Istanbul and it was the first time that the Contest had two televised shows, with one semi-final held on Wednesday and the grand final held on the following Saturday.
TRT announced on 14 December 2012 that they would not attend the 2013 competition in Malmö, Sweden citing dissatisfaction with the rules of the competition.[1] In September 2013, Turkey's state broadcaster stated a return is unlikely for the 2014 competition, citing the same reasons.[2][3] Despite the rumours of the country's return, Volkan Bozkır, a member of Turkish parliament from the conservative government party AKP, reported during a press conference that Turkey would no longer participate in the contest after Conchita Wurst's victory in 2014.[4] Also there was no television broadcast on TRT in 2013 (reason cited as Finland's lesbian kiss in several places) and 2014, for the first time since the 1973 Contest.[5][6][7]
Contents
History
Background
National broadcasting service of Turkey, Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT), was one of the charter members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) in 1950 along with eighteen countries around Europe including a North African state, Tunisia. As an intercontinental (with lands in Eastern Thrace and Western Asia) and Occidental country, Turkey take part in lots of Westerner organisations including their NATO membership in 1952 and associate membership in the European Economic Community in 1959.
Test transmissions started on TRT 1 on 31 January 1968. A full national television schedule, which at that time linked the areas in and around Ankara, Istanbul, and Izmir, started in December 1971. TRT renewed its membership in the European Broadcasting Union (having been a founding member previously offering only radio) starting on 26 August 1972 with Turkey's first Eurovision Network event, a football match (Turkey vs. Italy), on 13 January 1973. Turkish national broadcaster televised the Eurovision Song Contest between 1973 and 2012 incessantly, even in the years that they weren't participating (1973–74, 1976–77, 1979 and 1994).
1970s
Turkey debuted to the Eurovision Song Contest in the 1975 Contest, which is the 20th edition of the Contest and held in Stockholm, Sweden. Greece did not participate in the 1975 Contest for "unknown reasons" according to the EBU, but it was discovered that the withdrawal was in protest of Turkey's debut and its invasion of Cyprus in 1974.[8][9] TRT organized a national final for select the first ever Turkish entrant to the Eurovision Song Contest. The final took place on 9 February 1975 in the studios of TRT and hosted by Bülend Özveren. The winning song was picked by averaging the ranks from the professional jury and people's jury as "Seninle Bir Dakika" (literally "A minute with you") by Semiha Yankı. At the close of voting the song had received only 3 points from Monaco and placed last.
In 1976, Greek entry aroused controversy as it was about the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. This time Turkey withdrawn from the Contest to protest the political background of the entry of Greece, "Panagia Mou, Panagia Mou". Turkey televised the final on 3 April 1976 but censored the Greek entrant's performance and played a nationalist Turkish song titled "Memleketim" (literally "My motherland", is the Turkish cover of Yiddish folk song "Rabbi Elimelekh") which was one of the symbols of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in Turkey. Turkey didn't take part in the Contest until 1978.
The 1979 Contest was held in the Israeli capital, Jerusalem. Turkish entry selected as "Seviyorum" (literally "I'm in love") by Maria Rita Epik but Arab countries (are the Eastern neighbours of Turkey) compelled the Turkish government to withdraw from the Contest because of Arabs state of war with the host country, Israel. So Turkey withdrew from the Contest for the third time in 1979.
1980s
In 1980, Turkish superstar Ajda Pekkan selected internally by TRT and the song, "Petrol" through a national final. Pekkan placed 15th with 23 points, including the first ever twelve points received by Turkey from Morocco. Turkey participated to the Eurovision Song Contest in the eighties incessantly. And had their best result (until 1997) in the Eurovision Song Contest 1986, when Klips ve Onlar placed 9th with the total of 53 points in Bergen, Norway. The country scored "nul points" for two times in the eighties also, one in 1983 (shared with Spain) and the other one in 1987. The Contest has seen the most famous artists of Turkey in the eighties including Ajda Pekkan, Neco, Candan Erçetin and MFÖ.
1990s
Early 1990s the Contest wasn't popular in Turkey after Kayahan, one of the most famous singers of country placed 17th place in a set of 22 participating countries with 21 points. After Kayahan's failure Turkey mostly had unknown entrants or amateur singers (except 1991 and 1995) until 2003. Şebnem Paker, represented the country in two consecutive years, first time being in the 1996 Contest where she qualified to the final and placed 12th and in the 1997 Contest she ranked 3rd with the song "Dinle" (literally "Listen") after the United Kingdom and Ireland respectively. Turkey reached to the top ten second time since 1986 and first time to the top three, so that was the most successful result that the country ever had in the Eurovision Song Contest until their victory in 2003. Şebnem Paker returned to the Turkish national final in 1998 but placed 4th in the national final and couldn't qualify for the Contest as the Turkish representer in the third consecutive year; Tüzmen represented the country and placed 14th. Turkey participated all the series of the contest in nineties except the 1994 edition, which they relegated from participating because of their 21st place in 1993.
2000s and 2010s
From the late 1990s to early 2000s, with the participation of the other Eastern European countries and the victory of Sertab Erener with the song "Everyway That I Can", the Contest has grown into one of the most popular events in Turkey. TRT selected the Turkish entry through an internal selection mainly organised by OGAE Turkey in 2003, after Sertab's victory (except 2004 and 2005) Turkish entries to the Contest picked internally. Turkey have always qualified to the grand final, except the 2011 Contest in Düsseldorf, since introduction of the semi-finals in 2004 and always reached to the top ten, except 2005 and 2006 until their last ever participation in 2012.
Along with their northwestern neighbours Greece, Turkey bring the Contest a new outlook with flashy stage performances and dresses on their oriental/Mediterranean flavoured pop music products (Sertab Erener, Sibel Tüzün, Kenan Doğulu and Hadise). In 2004, 2008, 2010 and 2011, the country represented by bands, mostly being with rock influenced songs with a background of Ottoman, Eastern European and Balkans' instruments. Athena ranked 4th in 2004, when the contest was held in Istanbul; Mor ve Ötesi ranked 7th with a song completely in Turkish in 2008 and the nu metal band maNga, which named as the Best European Act in MTV Europe Music Awards 2009 ranked 2nd in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 respectively. Although Yüksek Sadakat in 2011 placed 13th in the first semi final of contest and failed to qualify, that was the first and only time that Turkey didn't qualify for the grand final. In 2012 Turkey participated to the Eurovision Song Contest for last time so far with the song "Love Me Back" completely sung in English by newcoming artist Can Bonomo, which qualified and placed 7th in the final with 112 points.
Withdrawal and controversy
TRT announced their withdrawal from the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 on 14 December 2012, citing dissatisfaction with the rules of the competition and has yet to return.[1][2][3] The article which reports the reason of withdrawal has some deficiency; according to TRT, the mixed jury/televote voting system (which introduced in 2009) indroduced in 2011, where Turkey didn't qualify for the final.[10] Media opposed to the conservative government party AKP and some LGBT organisations in Turkey claimed that decision was because of the Contest's homosexual content which is not tolerated by the Islamic background of that political party.[11] TRT did not televise either the 2013 and 2014 Contests for the first time (the national channel has broadcast the contest even in the years that Turkey was not participating) since 1973. In 2013, the reason cited was Finland's lesbian kiss and 2014 the Austrian drag entrant Conchita Wurst.[5][6][7] In May 2014 Volkan Bozkır, a member of the Turkish parliament from AKP, reported during a press conference that Turkey will no longer participate in the contest after Wurst's victory in 2014 and had homophobic statements.[4][11] On September 5 the General Manager of TRT, İbrahim Şahin, officially announced that Turkey would not return to 2015 Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna.[12] On 3 November 2015 it has been officially announced that Turkey wouldn't return to the contest in 2016 either.[13]
Contestants
- Table key
| Year | Artist | Language | Title | Final | Points | Semi | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Semiha Yankı | Turkish | "Seninle Bir Dakika" | 19 | 3 | No semi-finals | |
| Did not participate between 1976 and 1977 | |||||||
| 1978 | Nilüfer and Grup Nazar | Turkish | "Sevince" | 18 | 2 | ||
| 1979 | Maria Rita Epik and 21. Peron | Turkish | "Seviyorum" | Withdrewa | |||
| 1980 | Ajda Pekkan | Turkish | "Petrol" | 15 | 23 | ||
| 1981 | Modern Folk Trio and Ayşegül | Turkish | "Dönme Dolap" | 18 | 9 | ||
| 1982 | Neco | Turkish | "Hani?" | 15 | 20 | ||
| 1983 | Çetin Alp and The Short Waves | Turkish | "Opera" | 19 | 0 | ||
| 1984 | Beş Yıl Önce, On Yıl Sonra | Turkish | "Halay" | 12 | 37 | ||
| 1985 | MFÖ | Turkish | "Diday diday day" | 14 | 36 | ||
| 1986 | Klips ve Onlar | Turkish | "Halley" | 9 | 53 | ||
| 1987 | Seyyal Taner and Lokomotif | Turkish | "Şarkım Sevgi Üstüne" | 22 | 0 | ||
| 1988 | MFÖ | Turkish | "Sufi" | 15 | 37 | ||
| 1989 | Pan | Turkish | "Bana Bana" | 21 | 5 | ||
| 1990 | Kayahan | Turkish | "Gözlerinin Hapsindeyim" | 17 | 21 | ||
| 1991 | İzel, Reyhan and Can | Turkish | "İki Dakika" | 12 | 44 | ||
| 1992 | Aylin Vatankoş | Turkish | "Yaz Bitti" | 19 | 17 | ||
| 1993 | Burak Aydos | Turkish | "Esmer Yarim" | 21 | 10 | ||
| 1994 | Did not participate | ||||||
| 1995 | Arzu Ece | Turkish | "Sev" | 16 | 21 | ||
| 1996 | Şebnem Paker | Turkish | "Beşinci Mevsim" | 12 | 57 | 7 | 69 |
| 1997 | Şebnem Paker and Grup Etnik | Turkish | "Dinle" | 3 | 121 | No semi-finals | |
| 1998 | Tüzmen | Turkish | "Unutamazsın" | 14 | 25 | ||
| 1999 | Tuba Önal | Turkish | "Dön Artık" | 16 | 21 | ||
| 2000 | Pınar Ayhan and Grup SOS | Turkish, English | "Yorgunum Anla" | 10 | 59 | ||
| 2001 | Sedat Yüce | Turkish, English | "Sevgiliye Son" | 11 | 45 | ||
| 2002 | Buket Bengisu | Turkish, English | "Leylaklar Soldu Kalbinde" | 16 | 29 | ||
| 2003 | Sertab Erener | English | "Everyway That I Can" | 1 | 167 | ||
| 2004 | Athena | English | "For Real" | 4 | 195 | Host country | |
| 2005 | Gülseren | Turkish | "Rimi Rimi Ley" | 13 | 92 | Top 12 Previous Yearb | |
| 2006 | Sibel Tüzün | Turkish, English | "Süperstar" | 11 | 91 | 8 | 91 |
| 2007 | Kenan Doğulu | English | "Shake It Up Şekerim" | 4 | 163 | 3 | 197 |
| 2008 | Mor ve Ötesi | Turkish | "Deli" | 7 | 138 | 7 | 85 |
| 2009 | Hadise | English | "Düm Tek Tek" | 4 | 177 | 2 | 172 |
| 2010 | maNga | English | "We Could Be The Same" | 2 | 170 | 1 | 118 |
| 2011 | Yüksek Sadakat | English | "Live It Up" | Failed to qualify | 13 | 47 | |
| 2012 | Can Bonomo | English | "Love Me Back" | 7 | 112 | 5 | 80 |
| Did not participate from 2013 to present | |||||||
- Notes:
- a. ^ The 1979 Contest was held in the Israeli capital Jerusalem. In the beginning TRT selected an entry via a national final but the Arab countries (which are the Eastern neighbours of Turkey) compelled the government withdraw from the Contest because of Arabs state of war with the host country, Israel.
- b. ^ If a country had won the previous year, they did not have to compete in the semi-finals the following year. In addition, back in 2004-2007, the top ten countries who were not members of the big four did not have to compete in the semi finals the following year. If, for example, Germany and France placed inside the top ten, the countries who placed 11th and 12th were advanced to the following year's grand final along with the rest of the top ten countries.
Voting history
As of 2012, Turkey's voting history is as follows:
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Hostings
| Year | Location | Venue | Presenters |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Istanbul | Abdi İpekçi Arena | Korhan Abay and Meltem Cumbul |
Marcel Bezençon Awards
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Press Award
| Year | Song | Performer | Final Result | Points | Host city |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | "Everyway That I Can" | Sertab Erener | 1st | 167 | Riga |
Commentators and spokespersons
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Prior to 2012 every contest Turkey had taken part in had always been commentated on by Turkish television presenter Bülend Özveren, with the exception of 1982–1985, 1990–1991, 1998–2001 and 2007. In addition Özveren also co-commentated the contest in 1979, 2004, 2011 and 2012. Out of the 38 years Turkey have broadcast the event Özveren has commentated on 29 of them making him 9 years short of being the Contest's longest commentator.
| Year(s) | Commentator | Spokesperson |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Bülend Özveren | Turkey did not participate |
| 1974 | ||
| 1975 | Bülent Osma | |
| 1976 | Turkey did not participate | |
| 1977 | ||
| 1978 | Meral Savcı | |
| 1979 | Turkey did not participate | |
| 1980 | Başak Doğru | |
| 1981 | ||
| 1982 | Ümit Tunçağ | |
| 1983 | Başak Doğru | Fatih Orbay |
| 1984 | ||
| 1985 | ||
| 1986 | Gülgün Feyman | Ümit Tunçağ |
| 1987 | Canan Kumbasar | |
| 1988 | Bülend Özveren | |
| 1989 | ||
| 1990 | Başak Doğru | Korhan Abay |
| 1991 | Canan Kumbasar | |
| 1992 | Bülend Özveren | Korhan Abay |
| 1993 | Ömer Önder | |
| 1994 | Turkey did not participate | |
| 1995 | Ömer Önder | |
| 1996 | ||
| 1997 | ||
| 1998 | Ömer Önder | Osman Erkan |
| 1999 | Gülşah Banda | |
| 2000 | Ömer Önder | |
| 2001 | Meltem Ersan Yazgan | |
| 2002 | Bülend Özveren | |
| 2003 | ||
| 2004 | Didem Tolunay and Bülend Özveren | |
| 2005 | Bülend Özveren | |
| 2006 | ||
| 2007 | Hakan Urgancı | |
| 2008 | Bülend Özveren | |
| 2009 | ||
| 2010 | ||
| 2011 | Bülend Özveren and Erhan Konuk | Ömer Önder |
| 2012 | ||
| 2013–2016 | No broadcast | Turkey did not participate |
Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest
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- Table key
| Year | Artist | Language | Title | Final | Points | Semi | Points | Place (2003) | Points (2003) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Sertab Erener | English | "Everyway That I Can" | Failed to qualify | 9 | 104 | 1 | 167 | |
See also
- Music of Turkey
- Turkey in the ABU TV Song Festival
- Turkey in the Bala Türkvizyon Song Contest
- Turkey in the Türkvizyon Song Contest
- Turkish pop music
- Turks in Europe
References
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External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Turkey in the Eurovision Song Contest. |
- Lyrics of all Turkish Eurovision entries
- Points to and from Turkey eurovisioncovers.co.uk
 Turkey in the Eurovision Song Contest |
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(Note: Entries scored out are when Turkey did not compete)
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