Today is Statehood Day in Bosnia & Herzegovina, marking the day in 1943 that the ZAVNOBiH declaration was made, stating the will of the people for Bosnia & Herzegovina to be their country
They have taken part at Eurovision 19 times since 1993, and have been sorely missed by fans since their last appearance in 2016.
Earlier this year Aussievision asked fans which countries they most wanted to see back in the Contest and Bosnia & Herzegovina were voted as one of the top 5. Read the article here.
They have finished with a ranking in the Eurovision Grand Final top 10 a total of six times, and we’ve taken a look back at these highest placed entries.
10th Place: Laka - ‘Pokušaj’ (2008)
‘Pokušaj’ is one of the quirkier entries that Bosnia & Herzegovina have sent to the Contest. It was written and performed by Bosnian singer Elvir Laković Laka. He performed it on stage with his sister Mirela and four back-up singers at the side of the stage who were wearing wedding dresses… singing as they knitted of course! It qualified 9th in the first semi-final and went on to place 10th in the grand-final with 110 points.
9th Place: Deen – ‘In the Disco’ (2004)
After three unsuccessful attempts in the national selection process, Sarajevo born singer Deen was selected to represent Bosnia & Herzegovina in 2004. ‘Disco’ was written by Vesna Pisarović (Croatia’s 2002 representative). There was plenty of pink, boot cut jeans and a drop earring… pretty much everything you’d expect from the title. It qualified 7th place in the semi-final and finished 9th in the Grand Final with 91 points.
9th Place: Regina – ‘Bistra voda’ (2009)
Also finishing in 9th place was ‘Bistra voda’ by the Bosnian rock band Regina. The band had been established since 1989 and had eight albums under their belt at the time. The song was written by Aleksandar Čović, who performs a strong vocal on the track as the band’s lead singer. It qualified 3rd in the semi-final and finished 9th in the Grand Final with 106 points.
7th Place: Dino & Beatrice – ‘Putnici’ (1999)
(1999 performance at the Contest not available online)
‘Putnici’ is a folk inspired song written and performed by Bosnian singer songwriter Dino, and joined by the French singer Beatrice. It was performed in Bosnian and French, which was the first time Bosnia & Herzegovina had performed a song not entirely in Bosnian. They were selected after coming runner-up in the national final, with the winners Hari Mata Hari being disqualified when it was discovered their song had previously been released in 1997. ‘Putnici’ finished 7th at the Contest with 86 points.
6th Place: Dino Merlin - ‘Love in Rewind’ (2011)
In 2011 Dino was internally selected to represent the country again with ‘Love in Rewind’, a song in English, which he described as being about the life story of middle-aged people. The song qualified 5th in the semi-final and went on to place 6th in the Grand Final with 125 points.
3rd Place: Hari Mata Hari – ‘Lejla’ (2006)
Bosnia & Herzegovina achieved their highest placing in 2006 with ‘Lejla’ by Hari Mata Hari. The song was composed by Željko Joksimović (the 2004 Contest runner-up, representing Serbia), with lyrics by Fahrudin Pecikoza and Dejan Ivanović. Hari Mata Hari are a well known and commercially successful band from Sarajevo, and were selected via an online public vote – giving them their chance to represent their country after being disqualified from the national selection seven years earlier. It qualified in 2nd place in the semi-final and finished 3rd place in the Grand Final with 229 points.
So there we have six iconic entries that achieved the best results for Bosnia & Herzegovina over the years.
We remain hopeful that we will see them back in the contest soon. In the meantime, the rest of their 19 entries are always great to relive.