European Song Contest 1

The first edition of European Song Contest was the inaugural edition. The contest took place in Ljubljana, Slovenia after a bidding phase hosted on the first ever Reggia Broadcasting Union meeting held in Maribor. A total of 7 countries participated in the first edition.

The show was won by Croatia represented by La Lana with her song "So Messed Up". Croatia received 48 points and won the first edition ever. Mid-November, Croatia confirmed they would host the second edition. Slovenia placed second and Liechtenstein finished third.

Host City
Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center.

During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the area. Ljubljana itself was first mentioned in the first half of the 12th century. Situated at the middle of a trade route between the northern Adriatic Sea and the Danube region, it was the historical capital of Carniola, one of the Slovene-inhabited parts of the Habsburg monarchy. It was under Habsburg rule from the Middle Ages until the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918. After World War II, Ljubljana became the capital of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia, part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The city retained this status until Slovenia became independent in 1991 and Ljubljana became the capital of the newly formed state.

Bidding Phase
The venue Arena Stožice was announced as the venue for the competition to be held in. It has a capacity of 14,500 and several big concerts and sport events take place here.
 * The host city had to be near a major airport.
 * The venue must be available for at least six weeks before the contest and one week after the conclusion of the contest
 * The venue must not be open-air, but an air-conditioned building with a capacity of at least 10,000 and a minimum ceiling height of 15 metres (49 ft), insulated for sound and light.
 * The green room must be located as close to the arena as possible (or within it), with a capacity of 300.

Presenter
Alen Jelen is Slovenian theatre director, radio director, dramaturge, actor in Ljubljana, Slovenia. He is born 1970 in Maribor and lives and works in Ljubljana. During the 1995-1999 period, he participated with his acting performances in several pieces staged by Slovenian national theater Drama Maribor (SNG Maribor). He was a member of the Drama studio in SNG Maribor. After finishing his secondary schooling, he joined the Academy of Theatre, Radio Film and TV (AGRFT) in Ljubljana, from which he graduated in dramaturgy in 2000. For five years he worked as a freelancer in the sphere of culture. In 2001, he decided to return to the Academy, where he is about to complete his theatre and radio direction studies. For his graduation thesis, he has directed the theatre piece Nora Nora by Evald Flisar and radioplay Doctor Faust. Dramaturgist and director Alen Jelen is also highly active in The Slovenian Association of Dramatic Artists. He is Art Manager in the ŠKUC Theatre, Ljubljana.

List of Participants
On October 9, 2002 the RBU announced the list of 7 participating countries, along with their songs chosen via internal choice. The running order of the competition was drawn on October 14, 2022. Slovenia as the host country got to choose their running order position and went for number 6.

Other countries
Other broadcasters than the seven participating, also stated they were in touch with the RBU.


 * Flag_of_Serbia.svg Serbia - the Serbian broadcaster on September 21, 2022, stated, that there were meetings between the representants of RBU and PTC, although the RBU stated, that the Kosovo scandal wouldn't be good for the marketing of the competition and declined further meetings.


 * Flag_of_Moldova.svg Moldova - the Moldovan broadcaster Moldova 1, on October 2, 2022, stated, that Moldova considered participation, although due to insecure situation in Russia, ultimately resigned from participation


 * Flag_of_Italy.svg Italy - the Italian broadcaster Rai, on October 12, 2022, stated, that Italy will not participate in the contest due to the political crisis in the country.

Grande Finale
The competition consisted only of one finale having 7 original songs in it. The voting format consisted of the Lucky 7 system (7-5-3-2-1-0) respectively given to the best country to the worst one. Every country had to submit two sets of votes - televoting and juries.