Estonia was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 with the song "", composed by Maria Rahula and Tomi Rahula, with lyrics by Peeter Pruuli, and performed by Koit Toome. The Estonian participating broadcaster, (ETV), organised the national final 98 in order to select its entry for the contest. Ten songs competed in the national final and "" performed by Koit Toome was selected as the winner by a jury panel.

Estonia competed in the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 9 May 1998. Performing during the show in position 23, Estonia placed twelfth out of the 25 participating countries, scoring 36 points.

Background

Prior to the 1998 contest, (ETV) had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing Estonia three times since its first entry in . Its best result in the contest was fifth, which was achieved in with the song "" performed by Maarja-Liis Ilus and Ivo Linna. In , "" performed by Maarja (in her second consecutive Eurovision appearance) placed eighth.

As part of its duties as participating broadcaster, ETV organises the selection of its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest and broadcasts the event in the country. Since its debut, the broadcaster has organised national finals that feature a competition among multiple artists and songs in order to select its entry for the contest. ETV has organised the competition since 1996 in order to select its entry, with the broadcaster organising '''98 in order to select its 1998 entry.

Before Eurovision '98 98'' was the fifth edition of the Estonian national selection organised by ETV to select its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 1998. The competition consisted of a ten-song final on 24 January 1998 at the ETV studios in Tallinn, hosted by Marko Reikop and Anu Välba and broadcast on ETV.

Competing entries ETV opened the submission period for artists and composers to submit their entries up until 15 December 1997. 51 submissions were received by the deadline. An 11-member jury panel selected ten finalists from the submissions and the selected songs were announced on 17 December 1997 during the ETV program . The selection jury consisted of Nancy Himma (singer), Ingrid Tähismaa (journalist), Romi Erlach (Raadio 2 presenter), Kaidi Klein (PolyGram label manager), Raivo Tafenau (saxophonist), Jaak Joala (musician), Tõnis Kõrvits (arranger), Heli Pikk (Eesti Raadio phono library manager), Allan Roosileht (Raadio 2 music editor), Olavi Pihlamägi (Raadio Uuno director) and Paul Himma (Estonian National Opera general director). Among the competing artists were Janika Sillamaa (who represented ), and Ivo Linna (who represented together with Maarja-Liis Ilus). Evelin Samuel, Karl Madis, Kate, Koit Toome and Tõnis Mägi have all competed in previous editions of . ArtistSongSongwriter(s)Evelin Samuel"Unistus igavesest päevast", , Evelin Samuel and Ivo Linna"Andesta"Kaari Sillamaa, Priit Pajusaar, Glen PilvreJanika Sillamaa"Viimne valge kuu"Kaari Sillamaa, Koit ToomeKaire Vilgats and "Kristallid"Argo Kasela, Kalle Erm"Tulepuuhuulte luule"Villu Kangur, Aivar JoonasKoit Toome"Mere lapsed"Peeter Pruuli, Maria Rahula, Tomi RahulaMona and Karl Madis"Maailm kahele"Sven Lõhmus"Säravad tähed"Villu Olesk, Ivar MustSiiri Sisask"Tagareas"Tõnis Mägi"Mõni mägi"Tõnis Mägi

Final The final took place on 24 January 1998. Ten songs competed during the show and a jury selected "Mere lapsed" performed by Koit Toome as the winner. A non-competitive public televote was also held and also selected Toome as the winner. The jury panel that voted in the final consisted of Jordi Català from Spain, Séamus Crimmins from Ireland, Máté Victor from Hungary, Hans Barksjö from Sweden, Birte Krohn from Germany, Kato Hansen from Norway, Erkki Pohjanheimo from Finland, Tanya Peck from the United Kingdom, Erman Munis from Turkey, Jos Moons from Belgium, and Jacques Donzel from Switzerland.

+ Final – 24 January 1998 Artist SongJury Votes Total Place 1 Koit Toome "Mere lapsed"571021271010121012 97 1 2 Kaire Vilgats and Lauri Liiv "Kristallid"76417453334 47 8 3 Kate "Tulepuuhuulte luule"108123261271063 79 3 4 Evelin Samuel "Unistus igavesest päevast"3128108128124125 94 2 5 Rumal Noorkuu "Säravad tähed"1210186516772 65 5 6 Tõnis Mägi "Mõni mägi"25555222251 36 10 7 Siiri Sisask "Tagareas"137123165816 53 7 8 Janika Sillamaa "Viimne valge kuu"6464410786410 69 4 9 Mona and Karl Madis "Maailm kahele"42261844128 42 9 10 Evelin Samuel and Ivo Linna "Andesta"813710331587 56 6

At Eurovision

The Eurovision Song Contest 1998 took place at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, United Kingdom on 9 May 1998. According to the Eurovision rules, the 25-country participant list for the contest was composed of: the winning country from the previous year's contest; the 17 countries, other than the previous year's winner, which had obtained the highest average number of points over the last five contests; and any countries which had not participated in the previous year's content. On 13 November 1997, an allocation draw was held which determined the running order and Estonia was set to perform in position 23, following the entry from and before the entry from . The Estonian conductor at the contest was Heiki Vahar, and Estonia finished in twelfth place with 25 points.

The contest was broadcast in Estonia on ETV with commentary by Reet Linna as well as via radio on Raadio 2 with commentary by Marko Reikop. ETV appointed Mart Sander as its spokesperson to announce the results of the Estonian televote during the show.

Voting Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Estonia and awarded by Estonia in the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to in the contest.

+ Points awarded to Estonia Score Country 12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points 5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

+ Points awarded by Estonia Score Country 12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points 5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

References