For the first time ever in the almost 50-year-old history of the Eurovision Song Contest, a Semi-Final was held to ensure that all countries who wanted could participate in the event.
A Semi-Final for the first time!
In 2003, it was decided that a Semi-Final would be held in 2004 with only the so-called ‚Big Four‘ (Germany, UK, France and Spain) plus the ten most successful countries from the 2003 ranking having a pre-set spot in the Final. All the other countries had to go through a Semi-Final, which was held on the Wednesday prior to the Eurovision Song Contest Final night on Saturday.
22 countries decided to take part in the 2004 Semi-Final which would only allow the top 10 to progress to the Final. All countries would have to use telephone and SMS voting to decide about the ten happy winners which would only be revealed by the opening of envelopes. The total result of the Semi-Final would only be made public after the big Final, to keep the tension high.
Several new countries entered the 2004 Semi-Final: Andorra, Albania and Belarus were there for the first time ever and Serbia & Montenegro participated for the first time as an independent country even though Serbian songs had already been taking part under the flag of Yugoslavia. Monaco decided to return to the contest after a modest break of 25 years.
Facts & figures
A new logo – hearts including the flag of all participating countries – was introduced in Istanbul and replaced all the exsisting logos which were used before. Furthermore, the official website of the Eurovision Song Contest was produced centralized by the EBU for the first time.
The Participants
| # | Representing country | Performer(s) | Song title, writer(s) and composer(s) | Points | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Finland YLE | Jari Sillanpää | Takes 2 To Tango | 051 | 14 |
| 02 | Belarus BTRC | Aleksandra & Konstantin | My Galileo | 010 | 19 |
| 03 | Switzerland SSR SRG | Piero Esteriore & the MusicStars | Celebrate | 000 | 22 |
| 04 | Latvia LTV | Fomins & Kleins | Dziesma Par Laimi | 023 | 17 |
| 05 | Israel IBA | David D’or | Le’ha’amin | 057 | 11 |
| 06 | Andorra RTVA | Marta Roure | Jugarem A Estimar-nos | 012 | 18 |
| 07 | Portugal RTP | Sofia | Foi Magia | 038 | 15 |
| 08 | Malta PBS | Julie & Ludwig | On Again… Off Again | 074 | 08 |
| 09 | Monaco TMC | Maryon | Notre Planète | 010 | 19 |
| 10 | Greece ERT | Sakis Rouvas | Shake It | 238 | 03 |
| 11 | Ukraine NTU | Ruslana | Wild Dances | 256 | 02 |
| 12 | Lithuania LRT | Linas ir Simona | What’s Happened To Your Love | 026 | 16 |
| 13 | Albania RTSH | Anjeza Shahini | The Image Of You | 167 | 04 |
| 14 | Cyprus CyBC | Lisa Andreas | Stronger Every Minute | 149 | 05 |
| 15 | F.Y.R. Macedonia MKRTV | Tose Proeski | Life | 071 | 10 |
| 16 | Slovenia RTVSLO | Platin | Stay Forever | 005 | 21 |
| 17 | Estonia ERR | Neiokõsõ | Tii | 057 | 11 |
| 18 | Croatia HRT | Ivan Mikulic | You Are The Only One | 072 | 09 |
| 19 | Denmark DR | Tomas Thordarson | Shame On You | 056 | 13 |
| 20 | Serbia & Montenegro RTS | Željko Joksimović | Lane Moje | 263 | 01 |
| 21 | Bosnia & Herzegovina PBSBIH | Deen | In The Disco | 133 | 07 |
| 22 | The Netherlands NOS | Re-union | Without You | 146 | 06 |
Scoreboard
| Participant | | |  | |  | | | | | | | |  | |  |  | | | | | |  | |  | | |  |  | | |  | |  | Points | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finland | 7 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 51 | 14 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Belarus | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 19 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Switzerland | – | 22 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Latvia | 4 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 23 | 17 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Israel | 5 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 57 | 11 | |||||||||||||||
| Andorra | 12 | 12 | 18 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Portugal | 12 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 38 | 15 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Malta | 6 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 74 | 8 | ||||||||||||||
| Monaco | 2 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 19 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Greece | 12 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 5 | 6 | 12 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 12 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 238 | 3 | |
| Ukraine | 3 | 10 | 4 | 12 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 256 | 2 | |
| Lithuania | 2 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 26 | 16 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Albania | 6 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 12 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 10 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 167 | 4 | |||
| Cyprus | 2 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 149 | 5 | ||||
| F.Y.R. Macedonia | 8 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 71 | 10 | |||||||||||||||||
| Slovenia | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 21 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Estonia | 1 | 12 | 7 | 12 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 57 | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Croatia | 8 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 72 | 9 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Denmark | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 12 | 5 | 2 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 56 | 13 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Serbia & Montenegro | 4 | 1 | 12 | 10 | 7 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 7 | 12 | 8 | 263 | 1 | |||
| Bosnia & Herzegovina | 10 | 10 | 3 | 10 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 12 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 4 | 133 | 7 | |||||||||||||||||
| The Netherlands | 7 | 3 | 5 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 12 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 146 | 6 |
After having successfully hosted the first ever Eurovision Song Contest Semi-Final, Istanbul held its breath for the 2004 Final. But what could possibly go wrong, as it would take place Under The Same Sky!
Horse race
Ten lucky countries had qualified from the Semi-Final: Serbia & Montenegro, Ukraine, Greece, Albania, Cyprus, the Netherlands, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Malta, Croatia and FYR Macedonia. These countries were to meet the strong opposition of the 14 already qualified countries: Turkey, Sweden, Germany, Spain, Russia, France, the United Kindom, Poland, Romania, Iceland, Austria, Belgium, Ireland and Norway. They would all sing on the impressive Istanbul stage which was built bearing in mind the motto of the 2004 contest, Under The Same Sky.
About the winner
After a few countries had given their votes, it was clear that the winner would be from a three horse race including Ukraine, Serbia & Montenegro and Greece. These three contestants had also been hotly tipped by the press and the fans.
Ukraine’s Ruslana was the one to achieve this goal with her song Wild Dances. She had been on an extensive promotional tour in lots of European countries before the contest, which could have contributed to her victory. The already qualified countries in the Final didn’t do significantly well: Nine of these entries ended up bottom-10 and only Turkey, Sweden, Germany and Spain made it to the top-10.
Facts & figures
- The 2004 Eurovision Song Contest Final was not only shown in the 36 participating countries, but also on television in Armenia, Kosovo, Puerto Rico, Australia and in the USA;
- For the first time, a DVD would be released shortly after the event including both the Semi-Final and the Final.
The Participants
| # | Representing country | Performer(s) | Song title, writer(s) and composer(s) | Points | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Spain TVE | Ramón | Para Llenarme De Ti | 087 | 10 |
| 02 | Austria ORF | Tie Break | Du Bist | 009 | 21 |
| 03 | Norway NRK | Knut Anders Sørum | High | 003 | 24 |
| 04 | France France 3 | Jonatan Cerrada | A Chaque Pas | 040 | 15 |
| 05 | Serbia & Montenegro RTS | Željko Joksimović | Lane Moje | 263 | 02 |
| 06 | Malta TVM | Julie & Ludwig | On Again… Off Again | 050 | 12 |
| 07 | The Netherlands NOS | Re-union | Without You | 011 | 20 |
| 08 | Germany ARD | Max (Maximilian Mutzke) | Can’t Wait Until Tonight | 093 | 08 |
| 09 | Albania RTSH | Anjeza Shahini | The Image Of You | 106 | 07 |
| 10 | Ukraine NTU | Ruslana | Wild Dances | 280 | 01 |
| 11 | Croatia HRT | Ivan Mikulic | You Are The Only One | 050 | 12 |
| 12 | Bosnia & Herzegovina PBSBIH | Deen | In The Disco | 091 | 09 |
| 13 | Belgium VRT | Xandee | 1 Life | 007 | 22 |
| 14 | Russia C1R | Julia Savicheva | Believe Me | 067 | 11 |
| 15 | F.Y.R. Macedonia MKRTV | Tose Proeski | Life | 047 | 14 |
| 16 | Greece ERT | Sakis Rouvas | Shake It | 252 | 03 |
| 17 | Iceland RÚV | Jónsi | Heaven | 016 | 19 |
| 18 | Ireland RTÉ | Chris Doran | If My World Stopped Turning | 007 | 22 |
| 19 | Poland TVP | Blue Cafe | Love Song | 027 | 17 |
| 20 | United Kingdom BBC | James Fox | Hold On To Our Love | 029 | 16 |
| 21 | Cyprus CyBC | Lisa Andreas | Stronger Every Minute | 170 | 05 |
| 22 | Turkey TRT | Athena | For Real | 195 | 04 |
| 23 | Romania TVR | Sanda Ladosi | I Admit | 018 | 18 |
| 24 | Sweden SVT | Lena Philipsson | It Hurts | 170 | 05 |
Scoreboard
| Participant | |  | |  | | | | |  |  | |  | | | | | |  |  |  | |  | | |  | | | |  | | |  | | | | | Points | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | 12 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 87 | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Austria | 4 | 5 | 9 | 21 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Norway | 3 | 3 | 24 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| France | 1 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 40 | 15 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Serbia & Montenegro | 7 | 2 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 3 | 263 | 2 | |
| Malta | 3 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 50 | 12 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| The Netherlands | 6 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 20 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Germany | 2 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 93 | 8 | |||||||||||||||||
| Albania | 5 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 106 | 7 | |||||||||||||
| Ukraine | 5 | 10 | 4 | 10 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 12 | 7 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 12 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 12 | 5 | 280 | 1 | ||
| Croatia | 3 | 5 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 50 | 12 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bosnia & Herzegovina | 10 | 7 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 91 | 9 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Belgium | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 22 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Russia | 12 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 1 | 10 | 67 | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| F.Y.R. Macedonia | 6 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 47 | 14 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Greece | 12 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 12 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 252 | 3 | |
| Iceland | 2 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 16 | 19 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ireland | 7 | 7 | 22 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Poland | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 27 | 17 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| United Kingdom | 1 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 29 | 16 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cyprus | 4 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 170 | 5 | ||||
| Turkey | 8 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 12 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 195 | 4 | |||||
| Romania | 3 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 18 | 18 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sweden | 4 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 12 | 10 | 2 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 12 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 12 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 170 | 5 |