"Lejla" () was 's entry in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2006 The Eurovision Song Contest 2006 was the 51st edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Athens, Greece, following the country's victory at the with the song "My Number One" by Helena Paparizou. Organised by the European Broadcasti ...

, performed in the country's native language by Hari Mata Hari. It was composed by Eurovision Song Contest 2004 runner-up Željko Joksimović from Serbia, and the lyrics were written by Fahrudin Pecikoza and Dejan Ivanović. The song was internally selected to represent Bosnia and Herzegovina after being selected by

BHT 1 BHT1 is a Bosnian national public mainstream TV channel operated by Radio and Television of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BHRT). The channel broadcasts on a daily basis for 20 hours in one of the two alphabets ( Bosnian Latin alphabet and Bosnian Cyr ...

, Bosnia and Herzegovina's broadcaster for the contest.

Eurovision Song Contest

Selection

On 9 February 2006, the broadcaster announced that they had internally selected Hari Varešanović to represent Bosnia and Herzegovina in Athens. The song to be performed at the contest, "Lejla", was also selected internally and was presented during a television special entitled ''BH Eurosong 2006'' on 5 March 2006. The show was broadcast on

, BHT SAT as well as streamed online via the broadcaster's website ''pbsbih.ba''.

At Eurovision

The song was first performed in the semi-final, as Bosnia and Herzegovina had not finished in the top ten at . Here, it was performed twenty-second, following 's Sandra Oxenryd with " Through My Window" and preceding 's Silvia Night with " Congratulations". Here, it received 267 points, placing second in a field of 23 and qualifying for the final. The song later on also won the journalists' award for best composition of the Eurovision Song Contest 2006. In the final, it was performed thirteenth, following 's Mihai Trăistariu with " Tornerò" and preceding 's LT United with " We Are the Winners". At the close of voting, it had received 229 points, placing third in a field of 24 and meaning that Bosnia and Herzegovina would have an automatic final berth in their next contest. It became Bosnia and Herzegovina's highest ranking in Eurovision, beating Dino Merlin's seventh place in .The Diggiloo Thrush
Retrieved 27 July 2012. The performance featured the entire band wearing white suits and, as the final bridge began, linking arms and walking towards the front of the stage.

Charts

References

{{authority control Eurovision songs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Eurovision songs of 2006 2006 songs