Lithuania in the Eurovision Song Contest
| Lithuania | |
|---|---|
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| |
| Member station | Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) |
| National selection events |
Internal Selection
National Final
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| Appearances | |
| Appearances | 16 (11 finals) |
| First appearance | 1994 |
| Best result | 6th: 2006 |
| Worst result |
Last: 1994, 2005 SF Nul points: 1994 |
| External links | |
| Lithuania's page at Eurovision.tv | |
Lithuania has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest (known in Lithuania as Eurovizija) 16 times, debuting at the 1994 contest.
After Ovidijus Vyšniauskas finished last without a single point Lithuania withdrew from the contest, not returning until the 1999 contest, where Aistė Smilgevičiūtė sang "Strazdas", a song in the Samogitian dialect of Lithuanian.
History
Having been relegated from the 2000 contest the country returned in 2001 with Skamp and "You Got Style", the first Lithuanian song to include English. They received 35 points, placing 13th. However the following year, Aivaras could only manage to come second last with 12 points.
Since the semi-finals were introduced Lithuania again came last with Laura and the Lovers and "Little by Little". The following year the Lithuanian broadcaster Lietuvos Nacionalinis Radijas ir Televizija (LRT) sent LT United to the 2006 contest with the football chant-like song "We Are the Winners". They took Lithuania to the final for the first time since 2002, coming sixth in the final with 162 points, Lithuania's best placing as of 2014.
The following year Lithuania automatically qualified for the final, however 4Fun could not replicate LT United's success, coming 21st with only 28 points, 12 of which came from Ireland. In 2008 Jeronimas Milius failed to reach the final, coming 16th of 19 competing nations in the second semi-final.
2009
Lithuania threatened to boycott the 2009 contest "if Russia continues to showcase power and ignores international law". The statement was made in reaction to the Russia's actions in the 2008 South Ossetia war.[1] Culture Minister Jonas Jucas stated that it was too early to discuss the boycott since "spontaneous decisions might aggravate the efforts of diplomats" and thus make the situation worse. At the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, Lithuania qualified from the semi finals and at the end of the voting in the final had received 23 points, placing them 23rd.[2]
2010
LRT announced in December 2009 that, due to a lack of necessary funds, Lithuania would formally withdraw from the 2010 Contest. However, in the event that the necessary funds of 300,000 litas (€90,000) would be found the broadcaster announced that they would attempt to continue the country's participation.[3] Ultimately, private company TEO LT provided the necessary funding and Lithuania participated in Bærum.
2011
In 2011 Lithuania participated in the first Semi Final on the 10 May 2011 and after coming 5th, qualified for the Final. In the final, Lithuania performed 4th and at the end of the voting had received 63 points putting them 19th.
Contestants
- Table key
| Year | Artist | Language | Song | Final | Points | Semi | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Ovidijus Vyšniauskas | Lithuanian | "Lopšinė mylimai" | 25 | 0 | No semi-finals | |
| Did not participate between 1995 and 1998 | |||||||
| 1999 | Aistė | Samogitian | "Strazdas" | 20 | 13 | No semi-finals | |
| 2000 | Did not participate | ||||||
| 2001 | SKAMP | English, Lithuanian | "You Got Style" | 13 | 35 | ||
| 2002 | Aivaras | English | "Happy You" | 23 | 12 | ||
| 2003 | Did not participate | ||||||
| 2004 | Linas and Simona | English | "What's Happened to Your Love?" | Failed to qualify | 16 | 26 | |
| 2005 | Laura & The Lovers | English | "Little by Little" | 25 | 17 | ||
| 2006 | LT United | English1 | "We Are the Winners" | 6 | 162 | 5 | 163 |
| 2007 | 4Fun | English | "Love or Leave" | 21 | 28 | Top 10 Previous Year | |
| 2008 | Jeronimas Milius | English | "Nomads in the Night" | Failed to qualify | 16 | 30 | |
| 2009 | Sasha Son | English, Russian | "Love" | 23 | 23 | 9 | 66 |
| 2010 | InCulto | English | "Eastern European Funk" | Failed to qualify | 12 | 44 | |
| 2011 | Evelina Sašenko | English2 | "C'est ma vie" | 19 | 63 | 5 | 81 |
| 2012 | Donny Montell | English | "Love Is Blind" | 14 | 70 | 3 | 104 |
| 2013 | Andrius Pojavis | English | "Something" | 22 | 17 | 9 | 53 |
| 2014 | Vilija | English | "Attention" | Failed to qualify | 11 | 36 | |
| 2015 | Monika Linkytė & Vaidas Baumila | English | "This Time" | 18 | 30 | 7 | 67 |
| 2016 | Donny Montell | English | "I've Been Waiting for This Night" | ||||
- NOTES:
- 1. ^ Includes two phrases in French.
- 2. ^ Includes two phrases in French. American Sign Language was also used during the live televised performance.[4]
- 3. If a country had won the previous year, they did not have to compete in the semi-finals the following year. In addition from 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 2015, Lithuania's voting history is as follows:
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Commentators and spokespersons
| Year(s) | Commentator | Spokesperson |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Darius Užkuraitis | Gitana |
| 1995-1998 | No broadcast | Lithuania did not participate |
| 1999 | Darius Užkuraitis | Andrius Tapinas |
| 2000 | Lithuania did not participate | |
| 2001 | Loreta Tarozaitė | |
| 2002 | ||
| 2003 | Lithuania did not participate | |
| 2004 | Rolandas Vilkončius | |
| 2005 | ||
| 2006 | Lavija Šurnaitė | |
| 2007 | ||
| 2008 | Rolandas Vilkončius | |
| 2009 | Ignas Krupavičius | |
| 2010 | Giedrius Masalskis | |
| 2011 | ||
| 2012 | Ignas Krupavičius | |
| 2013 | ||
| 2014 | ||
| 2015 | Ugnė Galadauskaitė | |
| 2016 |
References
- ↑ "Lithuanian Broadcaster Head supports his Estonian colleague in Eurovision boycott". ESCKaz. 2008-08-22. Retrieved 2008-08-22.
- ↑ Vaida, Petras (2008-08-25). "Culture minister of Lithuania: too early to speak about boycott of Eurovision". The Baltic Course. Retrieved 2008-08-25.
- ↑ Hondal, Victor (2009-12-15). "Lithuania seeking funding for Eurovision 2010". ESCToday. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
- ↑ Busa, Alexandru (14 May 2011). "Live: The Eurovision Final". ESCToday. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
External links
- Points to and from Lithuania eurovisioncovers.co.uk
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