San Marino in the Eurovision Song Contest

San Marino has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 10 times, debuting in the 2008 contest, followed by participation from 2011 onward. Having failed to qualify in their first four attempts, San Marino qualified for the Eurovision final for the first time in 2014. Valentina Monetta represented San Marino in 2012, 2013 and 2014, making her the first Sanmarinese singer to participate in three consecutive contests. Her most recent representation in 2017 together with Jimmie Wilson, gave her the title of the woman with the most participations ever in the Eurovision Song Contest. In 2019, Serhat managed to qualify, marking the second appearance of the country in a Eurovision final and achieving their best ever result of 19th place.

San Marino
Member stationSMRTV
National selection events
Participation summary
Appearances10 (2 finals)
First appearance2008
Best result19th: 2019
External links
San Marino's page at Eurovision.tv
For the most recent participation see
San Marino in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021

Contest history

Participation in the Eurovision Song Contest is open to members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU),[1] of which San Marino has been a member since 1995 through its national broadcaster Radiotelevisione della Repubblica di San Marino (SMRTV).[2] On 11 November 2007, an email from an SMRTV representative to the OGAE Italy Eurovision fanclub stated that that they were considering entering the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time in 2008, pending approval by their board members.[3] A decision would have to be made by 15 November, the deadline for interested broadcasters to submit an application for participation in the 2008 contest.[3] At the time, half of the financing and voting rights of SMRTV were affiliated with Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI), the broadcaster of Italy, which had last participated in 1997.[4][5] Despite this, SMRTV received approval to take part and officially announced its participation on 21 November 2007.[5] SMRTV Head of Delegation Alessandro Capicchioni stated that San Marino's motivation for entering the contest was to promote tourism and to bring attention to the nation, as "a lot of the world knows neither where San Marino is or if it even exists".[6]

Miodio perfoming "Complice" in the first semi-final of the 2008 contest.

For its first Eurovision appearance, SMRTV sought to host an internal selection process, choosing Miodio, with the Italian language song "Complice".[7][8] The nation's first entry did not fare well, placing last in the first semi-final, receiving just five points in total and not qualifying for the final.[9] Later that year in June, the Sammarinese Minister of Culture announced that they had good hopes to return to the next year's edition.[10] After initially applying to take part in the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia,[11] the broadcaster ultimately opted to not return, citing financial difficulties.[12] San Marino did not return for the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 either, again stating financial reasons preventing participation.[13] Had they obtained state or private funding for an entry, SMRTV had agreed to send the Italian duo Paola e Chiara to the contest, held in Oslo, Norway that year.[13]

After a two-year absence from the contest, San Marino returned in 2011 with Italian singer Senit performing "Stand By", which failed to take the nation to the final.[14] Between 2012 and 2014, the nation sent Valentina Monetta to the contest on three consecutive occasions, which made her the first singer to participate in three consecutive contests since Udo Jürgens, who competed in 1964, 1965 and 1966 for Austria.[15] Her entries in 2012 ("The Social Network Song") and 2013 ("Crisalide (Vola)") failed to qualify San Marino to the final. However, in 2014, Monetta managed to bring San Marino to the final for the first time, where she placed 24th with the song "Maybe".[14]

Four time entrant Valentina Monetta performing in Malmö (2013)

San Marino's subsequent three entries: "Chain of Lights" performed by Anita Simoncini and Michele Perniola (2015), "I Didn't Know" by Turkish performer Serhat (2016) and "Spirit in the Night" by Jimmie Wilson and Monetta (2017), all failed to qualify for the final. The 2017 entry marked Monetta's fourth appearance at the contest as well as the nation's second last place finish in the semi-final. This was only slightly improved upon in 2018 with Jessika and Jenifer Brening's second to last place finish with "Who We Are". In 2019, San Marino sent Serhat for a second time, with the song "Say Na Na Na", finishing in 19th place with 77 points, giving San Marino their best result to this point. The nation planned to take part in the 2020 contest with Senhit and her song "Freaky!", however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, the contest was cancelled on 18 March 2020.[14][16] The EBU announced soon after that entries intended for 2020 would not be eligible for the following year, though each broadcaster would be able to send either their 2020 representative or a new one.[17] Senhit later revealed that she would return to represent the nation in the next contest in 2021.[18]

Selection process

The Sammarinese national broadcaster, San Marino RTV (SMRTV), broadcasts the event within San Marino and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. Throughout the years, this selection process has varied from an internal selection, where the broadcaster chooses the entry, to a national final with public input. For 2020, San Marino used a national final-type process titled Digital Battle Eurovision. After selecting the Senhit internally, an online poll was open for two days from 7 March 2020 until 8 March 2020 in order to select the song she would perform in the 2020 contest.

Contestants
Table key
◁
 Last place
X
 Entry selected but did not compete
Year Artist Language Title Final Points Semi Points
2008
 Miodio Italian "Complice" Failed to qualify 19 ◁ 5
2011
 Senhit English "Stand By" 16 34
2012
 Valentina Monetta English "The Social Network Song" 14 31
2013
 Valentina Monetta Italian "Crisalide (Vola)" 11 47
2014
 Valentina Monetta English "Maybe" 24 14 10 40
2015
 Michele Perniola & Anita Simoncini English "Chain of Lights" Failed to qualify 16 11
2016
 Serhat English "I Didn't Know" 12 68
2017
 Valentina Monetta & Jimmie Wilson English "Spirit of the Night" 18 ◁ 1
2018
 Jessika feat. Jenifer Brening English "Who We Are" 17 28
2019
 Serhat English "Say Na Na Na" 19 77 8 150
2020
 Senhit English "Freaky!" Contest cancelled[lower-alpha 1] X
2021
 Senhit

Heads of delegation
Alessandro Capicchioni has served as the Head of Delegation for San Marino since its debut in the contest.

The public broadcaster of each participating country in the Eurovision Song Contest assigns a head of delegation as the EBU's contact person and the leader of their delegation at the event. The delegation, whose size can greatly vary, includes a head of press, the contestants, songwriters, composers and backing vocalists, among others.[19]

Year Head of delegation Ref.
2008–present Alessandro Capicchioni
[20][21][22][23][24][25]

Jury members

A five-member jury panel consisting of music industry professionals is made up for every participating country for the semi-finals and Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest, ranking all entries except for their own country's contribution. The juries' votes constitute 50% of the overall result alongside televoting.[26]

Year 1st member 2nd member 3rd member 4th member 5th member Ref.
2008
 Little Tony Vince Tempera Pasquale Panella Michele Bovi Giuseppe Cesetti
[27]
2011
 Sonia Tura Massimiliano Messieri Chiara Masi Cristina Polverelli Laura Casetta
[28]
2012
 Marco Capicchioni Massimiliano Messieri Laura Casetta Giulia Lazarini Angelo Guidi
[29]
2013
 Massimiliano Messieri Fabio Guidi Viola Conti Monica Moroni Boris Casadei
[30]
2014
 Sara Ghiotti Lorenzo Salvatori Andrea Gattei Maria Ugolini Paolo Macina
[31]
2015
 Barbara Andreini Ilaria Ercolani Katalin Pribelszki Matteo Venturini Simone La Maida
[32]
2016
 Leonardo Bollini Gea Gasperoni Monica Moroni Oder Carlo Chiaruzzi
[33]
2017
 Fabrizio Raggi Roberto Fabbri Monica Sarti Dorian Pazzini Susanna Sacchi
[34]
2018
 Augusto Ciavatta Ilaria Ercolani Veronica Conti Lo Strego Claudio Podeschi
[35]
2019
 Paolo Rondelli Danilo Berardi Sabrina Minguzzi Elia Gasperoni Marilia Reffi
[36]

Commentators and spokespersons

For the show's broadcast on SMRTV, various commentators have been hired throughout the years to provide comment on the Concert in the local language. At Eurovision, after all points are calculated, the presenters of the show call upon each voting country to invite their respective spokesperson to announce the results of their vote on-screen. In 2014, San Marino RTV also provided an English commentary in its internet streaming, with John Kennedy O'Connor and Jamarie Milkovic directly from Copenhagen.

Year(s) Commentator(s) Spokesperson(s) Ref.
2008 Lia Fiorio, Gigi RestivoRoberto Moretti [37][38]
2009–2010 No broadcastDid not participateN/A
2011 Lia Fiorio, Gigi RestivoNicola Della Valle [37][39]
2012 Monica Fabbri [37][40]
2013 John Kennedy O'Connor [30][41][42]
2014 Lia Fiorio, Gigi Restivo, John Kennedy O'Connor, Jamarie MilkovicMichele Perniola [43][44]
2015 Lia Fiorio, Gigi Restivo, John Kennedy O'ConnorValentina Monetta [45][46]
2016 Irol MC [47]
2017 Lia Fiorio, Gigi RestivoLia Fiorio [48]
2018 John Kennedy O'Connor [49]
2019 Monica Fabbri [50]

See also

Notes
  1. The 2020 contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

References
  1. "Which countries can take part?". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Archived from the original on 17 March 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  2. "Discover RTV San Marino and all of its programmes on Sat.tv". Eutelsat. Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  3. Viniker, Barry (11 November 2007). "San Marino planning 2008 entry". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 19 May 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  4. "Eurovision Song Contest 2008" (in Italian). Eurofestival News. Archived from the original on 5 February 2021. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  5. Hondal, Víctor (21 November 2007). "Exclusive: San Marino in Belgrade confirmed". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 29 September 2008. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  6. Osborn, Michael (19 May 2008). "San Marino's big musical moment". BBC News. Archived from the original on 5 February 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  7. Floras, Stella (25 February 2008). "San Marino calls for songs - ends today!". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 5 November 2008. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  8. "Eurofestival, saranno i Miodio a rappresentare San Marino a Belgrado" (in Italian). San Marino RTV. 11 March 2008. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  9. "Results of the First Semi-Final of Belgrade 2018". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Archived from the original on 5 February 2021. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  10. Floras, Stella (10 June 2008). "San Marino: "We have good hopes to return"". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 18 December 2008.
  11. Viniker, Barry (8 December 2008). "San Marino not quitting after poor start". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 6 July 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2008.
  12. Viniker, Barry (18 December 2008). "San Marino leaves Eurovision Song Contest". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 18 December 2008.
  13. Floras, Stella (15 December 2009). "No San Marino either for Eurovision 2010". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  14. "San Marino - Eurovision Song Contest". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Archived from the original on 1 August 2019. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  15. Christou, Costa (25 May 2019). "San Marino: RTV confirm 2020 participation!". ESCXtra. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  16. "Eurovision 2020 in Rotterdam is cancelled". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). 18 March 2020. Archived from the original on 18 March 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  17. "Intention to honour Eurovision 2020 songs and artists". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). 20 March 2020. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  18. Nava, Pablo (16 May 2020). "'See you next year!' – Senhit announces she will represent San Marino at Eurovision 2021". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  19. "Heads of Delegation". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 26 May 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  20. Osborn, Michael (19 May 2008). "San Marino's big musical moment". bbc.co.uk. BBC News. Archived from the original on 5 February 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  21. "San Marino: Spotlights on for Senit!". eurovision.tv. 2 May 2011. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  22. Granger, Anthony (13 October 2014). "San Marino: The Peppermints Presented to Public". eurovoix.com. Archived from the original on 10 July 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  23. Granger, Anthony (26 May 2016). "San Marino: Does Not Know Which Countries Decided Their Televote". eurovoix.com. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  24. Granger, Anthony (11 November 2017). "San Marino:Over 600 Applications, But None from San Marino". eurovoix.com. Archived from the original on 5 July 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  25. "San Marino: International Artist to Represent San Marino at Eurovision 2019". eurovoix.com. 30 December 2018. Archived from the original on 2 July 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  26. "Exclusive: These are the judges who will vote in Eurovision 2019". European Broadcasting Union. 30 April 2019. Archived from the original on 3 May 2019. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  27. "La Repubblica di San Marino per la prima volta all'Eurofestival" (in Italian). San Marino RTV. 12 February 2008. Archived from the original on 5 February 2021. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  28. Lombardini, Emanuele (25 May 2011). "Eurovision 2011: le giurie italiana e sammarinese a confronto". eurofestivalnews.com (in Italian). Archived from the original on 17 March 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  29. "Ecco le giurie di Rai e SM TV San Marino". eurofestivalnews.com (in Italian). 26 May 2012. Archived from the original on 17 March 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  30. Lombardini, Emanuele (19 May 2013). "Ecco la giuria di SMtv San Marino per l'Eurovision 2013". eurofestivalnews.com (in Italian). Archived from the original on 5 February 2021. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  31. "Eurovision Song Contest Copenhagen 2014 Jury Members" (PDF). European Broadcasting Union (EBU). 7 May 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 June 2016. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  32. "Eurovision Song Contest: la giuria di San Marino RTV" (in Italian). San Marino RTV. 1 May 2015. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  33. "Results of the FirstnSemi-Final of Stockholm 2016". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 5 February 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  34. "Results of the Second Semi-Final of Kyiv 2017". European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  35. "Results of the Second Semi-Final of Lisbon 2018". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 5 February 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  36. "Results of the First Semi-Final of Tel Aviv 2019". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 4 November 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  37. "SM TV San Marino: confermati i conduttori per l'Eurovision 2013". eurofestivalnews.com (in Italian). 28 March 2013. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  38. Eurovision Song Contest 2008. Belgrade, Serbia. 24 May 2008.
  39. Eurovision Song Contest 2011. Düsseldorf, Germany. 14 May 2011.
  40. Eurovision Song Contest 2012. Baku, Azerbaijan. 26 May 2012.
  41. Roxburgh, Gordon (18 May 2013). ""Good evening Malmö" - Jury order revealed". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 5 February 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  42. Eurovision Song Contest 2013. Malmö, Sweden. 18 May 2013.
  43. Eurovision Song Contest 2014. Copenhagen, Denmark. 10 May 2014.
  44. "[LIVE] Conchita from Austria wins the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). 11 May 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  45. "San Marino RTV, al commento ancora Lia Fiorio e Gigi Restivo" (in Italian). Eurofestival News. 13 April 2015. Archived from the original on 24 May 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  46. Roxburgh, Gordon (23 May 2015). "'Good evening Vienna' - Voting order revealed". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  47. Eurovision Song Contest 2016. Stockholm, Sweden. 14 May 2016.
  48. Eurovision Song Contest 2017. Kiev, Ukraine. 13 May 2017.
  49. Eurovision Song Contest 2018. Lisbon, Portugal. 12 May 2018.
  50. Eurovision Song Contest 2019. Tel Aviv, Israel. 18 May 2019.
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