About Serbia...

2007 Result
History (1956 to 2006)
This year's entry
What I predicted...
What you thought...
What actually happened

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2007 Result

Points in Semi Final: 298
Position in Semi Final: 1st

Points in Final: 268
Position in Final: 1st
More about the 2007 result for Serbia

2008 Contest: 2007 winner - directly qualified to Final

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History (1956 to 2006)

Serbia's previous appearances: 0 year(s) out of 51 [note]
Years participated: None [note]
Best result: N/A

2007 might mark Serbia's first Eurovision appearance as an independent nation, but the country has a long history of participation - first, with Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, Bosnia and Montenegro, as part of Yugoslavia (27 entries between 1961 and 1992), and more recently (2004 and 2005) under the flag of Serbia & Montenegro. Indeed, in terms of their Eurovision selection processes, independence has made little difference to either Montenegro or Serbia; broadcasters RTCG and RTS will still hold their Montevizija and Beovizija festivals respectively, but with the winner in each country now guaranteed a place in Helsinki rather than having to brave a combined - and usually controversial - Serbia & Montenegro final, Evropesma.

Serbia & Montenegro's Eurovision presence might have been shortlived, but it was certainly successful, being the only country other than Greece to manage top ten placings in both 2004 and 2005. In 2004, Željko Joksimović performed 'Lane moje', winning the Semi Final, but having to be content with the runner up's position in the Final.

2005 brought further success, with Montenegrin boyband No Name and 'Zauvijek moja' mustering 137 points, including three 12s, and a very respectable 7th place. However, the flaws in the Evropesma voting process were already beginning to show, with Montenegrin judges accused of favouring their own act at the expense of Serbia's Jelena Tomaševic. A year later, these rumblings came to a head at Serbia & Montenegro's 2006 Evropesma, held on 11 March. Technically, the competition - and a place in the Eurovision Final in Athens - was once again won by Montenegro's 'No Name', singing 'Moja ljubavi'. However, while the Montenegrin jurors gave no points at all to the Serbian acts, the Serbian jurors awarded just enough points to the Montenegrin acts to inadvertently scupper the chances of the Serbian favourites, Flamingosi. No Name's victory was therefore not recognised by Serbian broadcaster RTS, while Montenegro's RTCG refused to budge - No Name, it could be argued, won on the basis of the voting system that was set out, even if that system was inherently flawed and open to abuse. Sadly, with the two nations unable to agree on a winner, Serbia & Montenegro had no option but to withdraw from the 2006 Contest. Shortly afterwards, Montenegro's vote for independence ensured that there would never be another Serbia & Montenegro entry at Eurovision; however, we will never know to what extent the Eurovision furore contributed, as some have claimed, to Montenegro's narrow decision to go it alone. Nevertheless, despite their strained Eurovision history, it would be foolish to bet against Montenegro and Serbia exchanging 12 points with each other in the 2007 Semi Final.
Get 'The Eurovision Song Contest: The Offical History' at Amazon.co.uk

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This year's entry

Position in Semi Final draw: 15
Position in Final draw: 17

What I said prior to the Semi Final:
"22-year-old Marija Šerifović - a woman of striking appearance with a powerful voice to match - will sing 'Molitva' as Serbia's first Eurovision entry. It's a very strong song - an anthemic ballad that builds to a rousing climax via a Željko-esque ethnic-inspired bridge. Serbia would be expected to pick up some neighbourly votes - after all, it shares a border with eight other Eurovision nations - so the fact that its entry is actually deserving of votes from elsewhere must give Marija a good chance of making the Final. It's been confirmed that the song will be performed in Serbian in Helsinki."

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What I predicted...

My prediction for Semi Final: 1st to 3rd
My prediction for Final: Definite qualifier; 1st to 3rd, possible winner
What I predicted prior to the Semi Final:
"This is a very strong song - doing well in the polls, with a lot of positive feedback from the fans. It would be good for a real, old-fashioned song to win Eurovision, and this could be the one to do it. "
Want an alternative prediction? See Simon Hylands' 'Je t'adore, Eurovision!' site

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What you thought...

View the final leader board

In the run up to the Contest, 1,274 visitors to this site awarded points to their favourite songs in the Soult.com Eurovision Jury Vote 2007, voting as a representative of their own country's 'jury'. The votes awarded by representatives of each country were totalled, with each of the 42 participating countries (plus the 'Rest of the World') then awarding points - 12, 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 - based on the overall voting preference of its representatives. The points awarded to the entry from Serbia are shown in the tables below:

Points awarded to Serbia overall:
AL	1	AD	0	AM	0	AT	10	BY	0	BE	6
BA	12	BG	6	HR	12	CY	0	CZ	8	DK	8
EE	2	FI	7	FR	8	GE	0	DE	5	GR	6
HU	0	IS	0	IE	10	IL	0	LV	0	LT	0
MK	10	MT	3	MD	0	ME	12	NL	12	NO	8
PL	0	PT	0	RO	0	RU	8	RS	X	SI	12
ES	7	SE	2	CH	7	TR	0	UA	0	UK	4
WO	12	Last updated: 12 May 2007 Next scheduled update: None
Total points: 198, from 26/43 juries
Position: 3 out of 42

Points awarded to Serbia in the Semi Final:
AL	6	AD	0	AM	0	AT	10	BY	0	BE	7
BA	12	BG	7	HR	12	CY	4	CZ	10	DK	10
EE	5	FI	10	FR	10	GE	0	DE	7	GR	7
HU	0	IS	4	IE	10	IL	0	LV	5	LT	0
MK	10	MT	5	MD	0	ME	12	NL	12	NO	10
PL	0	PT	2	RO	0	RU	10	RS	X	SI	12
ES	8	SE	5	CH	10	TR	0	UA	3	UK	7
WO	12	Last updated: 12 May 2007 Next scheduled update: None
Total points: 254, from 31/43 juries
Position: 2 out of 28

Points awarded to Serbia in the Final:
AL	2	AD	0	AM	0	AT	10	BY	0	BE	6
BA	12	BG	6	HR	12	CY	1	CZ	8	DK	10
EE	3	FI	7	FR	8	GE	0	DE	5	GR	6
HU	0	IS	0	IE	10	IL	0	LV	2	LT	0
MK