Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 1996

Eurovision Song Contest 1996
Country	Estonia
National selection
Selection process	National Final
Selection date(s)	January 27, 1996
Selected entrant	Maarja-Liis Ilus; and Ivo Linna
Selected song	"Kaelakee hääl"
Finals performance
Final result	5th, 94 points
Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest

The Eurovision Song Contest 1996 was the third time that Estonia entered the Eurovision Song Contest, and was their first participation since their last place in the 1994 final. The entrant was again selected by a panel of expert judges, with thirteen entrants into the preselection final. The preselection would end up tied on points, with Maarja-Liis Ilus and Ivo Linna's duet "Kaelakee hääl" winning on the basis of being awarded more maximum points than the runner-up Kadri Hunt. In the final, Ilus and Linna finished 5th.

National final

The 1996 preselections were hosted by Marko Reikop and Karmel Eikner, and were broadcast live from a night club in the Estonian capital Tallinn. Thirteen songs entered the event, with several acts entering with more than one song. Several artists had also competed in the last Estonian preselection for the 1994 contest, including Evelin Samuel and Pearu Paulus.

The preselections were voted on by a panel of judges from across Europe, with Maarja-Liis Ilus and Ivo Linna tying first with Kadri Hunt on 62 points. After a review of the scoring, it was announced that Ilus and Linna would go on to represent Estonia at the finals in Oslo, due to the Finnish judge awarding them maximum points - Something which Hunt had not achieved from any judge during the voting process.

Draw	Artist	Song	Points	Place
1	Evelin Samuel and Toomas Rull	Kaheksa näoga kuu	54	5
2	Kadri Hunt	Me rõõm ei kao	62	2
3	Üllar Meriste	Iialgi veel	37	13
4	Hedvig Hanson and Pearu Paulus	Meeletu algus	50	7
5	Urmas Podnek	Vaba kui tuul	41	10
6	Evelin Samuel, Karl Madis, Maarja-Liis Ilus and Pearu Paulus	Kummalisel teel	51	6
7	Ivo Linna and Kadi-Signe Selde	Lihtne viis	40	12
8	Reet Kromel and Arne Lauri	Laule ja palveid täis päev	50	7
9	Tõnis Mägi	Ballaad	57	3
10	Kirile Loo	Maatütre tants	56	4
11	Sirje Medell	Elust enesest	48	9
12	Maarja-Liis Ilus and Ivo Linna	Kaelakee hääl	62	1
13	Tõnis Mägi	Eestimaa euromehe laul	41	10

**Jury votes**
Song										Total
Kaheksa näoga kuu	7	6	7	5	3	9	6	5	6	54
Me rõõm ei kao	9	8	3	9	9	4	8	4	8	62
Iialgi veel	3	5	4	4	3	2	3	7	6	37
Meeletu algus	6	4	2	10	8	5	2	6	7	50
Vaba kui tuul	5	4	3	3	6	5	2	6	7	41
Kummalisel teel	6	6	5	2	5	7	5	6	9	51
Lihtne viis	5	4	8	1	3	6	1	6	6	40
Laule ja palveid täis päev	4	5	6	2	3	7	5	9	9	50
Ballaad	6	5	10	5	4	6	7	5	9	57
Maatütre tants	8	7	4	1	2	10	6	8	10	56
Elust enesest	7	4	6	6	7	1	4	6	7	48
Kaelakee hääl	8	5	7	8	10	3	5	7	9	62
Eestimaa euromehe laul	2	4	6	4	2	2	5	6	10	41

Judges:

Belgium - Jos Moons
Ireland - Julian Vignoles
Norway - Kato M. Hansen
Slovenia - Dušan Popovič
Finland - Antero Päiväläinen
United Kingdom - Kenris MacLeod
Denmark - Bent-Erik Rasmussen
Turkey - HSH Prince Kemal Tursan
Russia - Lora Kvint

At Eurovision

Estonia had missed the Eurovision Song Contest 1995 final due to a low score in the 1994 event, which allowed other countries the chance of compete in 1995. Likewise, low scoring countries at the 1995 final missed out for 1996, allowing Estonia to get back in. In the final, Estonia would not have to worry about low scoring putting them out for 1997, with Ilus and Linna performing strongly and receiving maximum points from Sweden, Finland and Iceland. With the scores received from other countries steady also, Estonia managed to finish 5th, their highest ever placing at the time.

Voting

Points awarded by Estonia

12 points	Ireland
10 points	Sweden
8 points	Iceland
7 points	Austria
6 points	Croatia
5 points	Norway
4 points	Netherlands
3 points	France
2 points	United Kingdom
1 point	Belgium

Points awarded to Estonia

Points Awarded to Estonia
12 points	10 points	8 points	7 points	6 points
Finland Iceland Sweden	Poland United Kingdom	Norway Slovenia	Cyprus
5 points	4 points	3 points	2 points	1 point
Austria	Spain	Netherlands	Ireland	France

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