Today is San Marino Republic Day which celebrates the foundation of the republic of San Marino in 301.
San Marino has a population of just over 30,000 which is roughly the size of Warrnambool in Victoria or Kalgoorlie in Western Australia
For such a tiny country it certainly punches above its weight at Eurovision, it has competed 10 times (11 entries if you include 2020) making the Grand Final on two occasions.
To celebrate their national day we asked YOU to vote for your favourite San Marino Eurovision songs. Voters chose their Top 5 with points awarded 12, 8, 6, 4 and 2 in order.
Here are the results in reverse:
11. Senhit - 'Stand By' (2011) - 22 points
Before Eurovision 2020, Italian singer Senhit represented San Marino in 2011. The song finished in 16th out of 19 competitors in the semi final. If it were up to the juries it would have qualified, as they placed her 8th. Unfortunately the televote, like the Aussie voters, put 'Stand By' in last place, sealing her fate .
10. Michele Perniola & Anita Simoncini - 'Chain of Lights' (2015) - 22 points
The 2015 entry was performed by Italian singer Michele Perniola & Sammarinese singer Anita Simoncini. Both had previously represented San Marino at Junior Eurovision.
Their Ralph Siegl penned song finished 16th out of the 17 entries. They finish ahead of Senhit in this poll because they received more 12 point votes.
9. Miodio - 'Complice' (2008) - 40 points
The debut entry for San Marino was performed by Miodio, made up of three Italian and two Sammarinese members. Unfortunately on the night it finished 19th and last place in their semi final. They picked up 5 points given out by their fellow micro-nation Andorra as well as Greece.
8. Valentina Monetta & Jimmy Wilson - 'Spirit of the Night' (2017) - 50 points
This won't be the last time we see Valentina in this countdown. The Sanmarinese singer represented the nation on four occasions with this her most recent effort alongside American singer Jimmy Wilson. Unfortunately this was her worst result, finishing last in the semi final with just 1 point thanks to 10th place in the German televote.
7. Valentina Monetta - 'The Social Network Song' (2012) - 58 points
The song is probably best known for breaking the rules. The original title of the Ralph Siegl produced song was 'Facebook Uh, Oh, Oh (A Satirical Song)'. The EBU felt this was a commercial message which is not allowed in the competition. The lyrics about Facebook were removed and it was allowed to continue (Unfortunately the lyrics "Do you wanna play cybersex again?" remained...). The song finished a respectable 14th out of 18 entries in its semi final.
6. Jessika feat. Jenifer Brening - 'Who We Are' (2018) - 64 points
The entry chosen by the controversial online '1in360' contest saw Maltese singer Jessika Muscat team up with German performer Jenifer Brening to represent San Marino in Lisbon. Remembered mainly for the use of robots in their staging, the entry finished 17th out of 18 competitors in the semi final. Not too surprisingly they picked up 12 points from Malta as well as 2 points from Australia.
5. Valentina Monetta - 'Maybe' (2014) - 70 points
'Maybe' was the first ever song to qualify for the Grand Final from San Marino and it was Valentina Monetta's third attempt at making the contest. She finished in 10th place in the semi final just 1 point ahead of Suzy's 'Quero ser tua'. In the Grand Final she finished 24th out of 26 competitors giving San Marino their best ever result at the time.
4. Serhat - 'I Didn't Know' (2016) - 84 points
In 2016 a Turkish TV presenter, singer and former dentist named Serhat entered the world of Eurovision. Before the contest the original version was changed to a Disco inspired track that went down rather well with fans. He finished 12th on the night ahead even ahead of Greta Salóme's 'Heat Them Calling' for Iceland. The song was re-recorded by American singer Martha Walsh and reached no.25 on the US Dance Charts.
3. Senhit - 'Freaky!' (2020) - 90 points
Despite not ever performing on the Eurovision stage, Senhit's 2020 entry 'Freaky!' was a hit with many fans. The song won a tight head-to-head contest against Senhit's other song 'Obsession' with the final result being 51.6% to 'Freaky!', 48.4% to 'Obsession'. Could it have been San Marino's third ever qualification? We'll never know...
2. Valentina Monetta - 'Crisalide (Vola)' - 144 points
Not Valentina's most successful song at Eurovision but with fans, it's easily the most popular. It consistently makes the annual ESC250 countdown list despite being a non-qualifer. At the 2013 contest if finished in an agonisingly close 11th spot in its semi final, with the jury actually awarding a better rank to the song than the televote.
1. Serhat - 'Say Na Na Na' (2019) - 188 points
In a great San Marino tradition, Serhat returned to have another go at the contest in 2019. His song 'Say Na Na Na' was widely panned by many (including us) going into Tel Aviv and given very little chance of making the Grand Final. In a shock to many 'Eurodaddy' (as he was affectionally known) qualified!
He finished 8th in its semi final including a remarkable 4th place in the televote (including 12 points from Hungary, Czech Republic and Georgia).
The success didn't stop there, in the final he finished 19th giving San Marino their best ever result at Eurovision. The song finished an incredible 10th place in the televote. The Australian televote placed him 5th in the semi final but surprisingly only 18th in the Grand Final. Despite that his legacy has remained with Australia and they have voted the entry the best ever San Marino Eurovision song.
But wait, how did European and the Rest of the World vote?
While doing the poll we also collected results from fans outside of Australia and the results were very different....
Their favourite San Marino Eurovision song was...
Valentina Monetta with 'Crisalide (Vola)'!
Full European/Rest of the World results below with Australian rank in [brackets]:
1. Valentina Monetta - 'Crisalide (Vola)' (2013) - 236 points [2]
2. Serhat - 'Say Na Na Nah' (2018) - 162 points [1]
3. Miodio - 'Complice' (2008) - 120 points [9]
4. Senhit - 'Freaky' (2020) - 114 points [3]
5. Valentina Monetta - 'Maybe' - 104 points [5]
6. Valentina Monetta - 'The Social Network Song' - 66 points [7]
7. Serhat - 'I Didn't Know' - 56 points [4]
8. Jessika feat. Jenifer Brening - 'Who We Are' - 36 points [6]
9. Senhit - 'Stand By' - 26 points [11]
10. Valentina Monetta & Jimmy Wilson - 'Spirit of the Night' - 26 points [8]
11. Michele Perniola & Anita Simoncini - 'Chain of Lights' - 8 points [10]