Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998
Estonia was represented by Koit Toome, with the song "Mere lapsed", at the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 9 May in Birmingham. "Mere lapsed" was chosen as the Estonian entry at the national final, Eurolaul, on 24 January.
| Eurovision Song Contest 1998 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country |  Estonia | |||
| National selection | ||||
| Selection process | Eurolaul 1998 | |||
| Selection date(s) | 24 January 1998 | |||
| Selected entrant | Koit Toome | |||
| Selected song | "Mere lapsed" | |||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Final result | 12th, 36 points | |||
| Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
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Before Eurovision
Eurolaul 1998
The final was held at the studios of broadcaster ETV in Tallinn, hosted by Marko Reikop and Anu Välba. Ten songs took part with the winner being chosen by an "expert" international jury. Other participants included former Estonian representatives Janika Sillamaa and Ivo Linna, and the following year's Evelin Samuel. "Mere lapsed" was an unexpected winner and had never been ahead in the voting until the final juror's votes enabled it to snatch an unpredicted last minute victory.[1]
| Final – 24 January 1998 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draw | Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) | Points | Place |
| 1 | Koit Toome | "Mere lapsed" | Peeter Pruuli, Maria Rahula, Tomi Rahula | 97 | 1 |
| 2 | Kaire Vilgats & Lauri Liiv | "Kristallid" | Argo Kasela, Kalle Erm | 47 | 8 |
| 3 | Kate | "Tulepuuhuulte luule" | Villu Kangur, Aivar Joonas | 79 | 3 |
| 4 | Evelin Samuel | "Unistus igavesest päevast" | Kaari Sillamaa, Priit Pajusaar, Glen Pilvre | 94 | 2 |
| 5 | Rumal Noorkuu | "Säravad tähed" | Villu Olesk, Ivar Must | 65 | 5 |
| 6 | Tõnis Mägi | "Mõni mägi" | Tõnis Mägi | 36 | 10 |
| 7 | Siiri Sisask | "Tagareas" | Lauri Saatpalu | 53 | 7 |
| 8 | Janika Sillamaa | "Viimne valge kuu" | Kaari Sillamaa, Koit Toome | 69 | 4 |
| 9 | Mona & Karl Madis | "Maailm kahele" | Sven Lõhmus | 42 | 9 |
| 10 | Evelin Samuel & Ivo Linna | "Andesta" | Kaari Sillamaa, Priit Pajusaar, Glen Pilvre | 56 | 6 |
| Detailed International Jury Votes | |||||||||||||
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| Draw | Song |  |
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Total |
| 1 | "Mere lapsed" | 5 | 7 | 10 | 2 | 12 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 97 |
| 2 | "Kristallid" | 7 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 47 |
| 3 | "Tulepuuhuulte luule" | 10 | 8 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 79 |
| 4 | "Unistus igavesest päevast" | 3 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 8 | 12 | 4 | 12 | 5 | 94 |
| 5 | "Säravad tähed" | 12 | 10 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 65 |
| 6 | "Mõni mägi" | 2 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 36 |
| 7 | "Tagareas" | 1 | 3 | 7 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 53 |
| 8 | "Viimne valge kuu" | 6 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 69 |
| 9 | "Maailm kahele" | 4 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 42 |
| 10 | "Andesta" | 8 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 56 |
At Eurovision
On the night of the final Toome performed 23rd in the running order, following Norway and preceding Turkey. At the close of voting "Mere lapsed" had picked up 36 points (over half of which comprised a maximum 12 from Finland and 8 from Slovakia), placing Estonia joint 12th (with Portugal) of the 25 entries. The 12 points from the Estonian televote were awarded to Sweden.[2]
Points awarded by Estonia
| 12 points | Sweden |
| 10 points | Finland |
| 8 points | United Kingdom |
| 7 points |  Israel |
| 6 points | Belgium |
| 5 points |  Malta |
| 4 points | Norway |
| 3 points |  Croatia |
| 2 points | Ireland |
| 1 point | Germany |
| 12 points | 10 points | 8 points | 7 points | 6 points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 points | 4 points | 3 points | 2 points | 1 point |
References
| Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest | |||||||||||||
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Note: Entries scored out are when Estonia did not compete | |||||||||||||