Hungary was represented by
Csézy
Csézy, real name Erzsébet Csézi (born 9 October 1979 in Mezőkövesd), is a Hungarian pop singer. On 8 February 2008 she was chosen to represent Hungary at the Eurovision Song Contest in Belgrade with the song " Candlelight". She finished la ...
in the
Eurovision Song Contest 2008
The Eurovision Song Contest 2008 was the 53rd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Belgrade, Serbia, following the country's victory at the with the song "Molitva" by Marija Šerifović. Organised by the European Broadcas ...
with the song "Candlelight".
Before Eurovision
EurovÃziós Dalverseny 2008: Magyarországi döntÅ‘
''EurovÃziós Dalverseny 2008: Magyarországi döntÅ‘'' was the Hungarian national selection which selected the Hungarian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2008. The show took place on 8 February 2008 at Pólus Center's Fortuna Stúdió in
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
, hosted by
Éva Novodomszky
Éva Novodomszky (born 19 January 1974 in Szarvas, Hungary) is a Hungarian journalist and presenter.
She started her career in a journalist school (Komlósi Oktatási Stúdió). She became a reporter (then presenter) of news of youth in Magyar ...
and
Levente Harsányi
Levente Harsányi (born 21 March 1970, Budapest) is a Hungarian television presenter and singer.
Career
Harsányi's career started in 1996 when he hosted the TV3 programs ''Aszfaltbetyár ''and ''Zenefon ''in 1997. In 1998, he made his radio de ...
and was broadcast on
m1.
Format
The competition featured fifteen entries where the Hungarian entry for Belgrade was selected by a four-member judging panel and votes from the public. Each judge assigned scores to each entry ranging from 1 (lowest score) to 10 (highest score) immediately after the artist(s) conclude their performance and the sum of all the jury scores created an overall ranking from which points from 1 (lowest) to 15 (highest) were distributed. The public submitted their vote via telephone or an SMS and the overall ranking of the entries was also assigned points from 1 to 15. The summation of the judges scores and the public vote determined the winning entry.
The judging panel consisted of:
*
Miklós Malek – Ferenc Erkel award-winning composer and conductor
*
László Benko – rock musician and composer
* Eszter Horgas – flautist
* Balázs Lévai – MTV programme editor
Competing entries
Artists and composers were able to submit their applications and entries for the competition between 10 November 2007 and 12 December 2007. Competing artists were required to either hold Hungarian citizenship or be able to speak Hungarian fluently. In addition, only artists that had a valid contract with a record company/professional management and that had released an album were eligible to compete. Artists were also required to submit their songs in both English and Hungarian. After the submission deadline had passed, 30 entries were received by the broadcaster. A four-member preselection jury selected fifteen entries for the competition. The jury consisted of
Miklós Malek, László Benko, Eszter Horgas and Balázs Lévai. The competing artists were announced on 14 January 2008.
Final
The final took place on 8 February 2008 where fifteen entries competed. "SzÃvverés" performed by
Csézy
Csézy, real name Erzsébet Csézi (born 9 October 1979 in Mezőkövesd), is a Hungarian pop singer. On 8 February 2008 she was chosen to represent Hungary at the Eurovision Song Contest in Belgrade with the song " Candlelight". She finished la ...
was selected as the winner via the combination of votes from a jury and a public vote submitted through telephone and SMS. Adrien Szekeres and Csézy were both tied with 29 points but since Csézy received the most votes from the public she was declared the winner. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, guest performers included
1994 Hungarian Eurovision entrant Friderika Bayer
Ilona Csukáné (born 4 October 1971), known professionally as Friderika Bayer, is a Hungarian people, Hungarian singer. She is best known for Hungary in the Eurovision Song Contest 1994, representing Hungary at the Eurovision Song Contest 1994 wi ...
,
1997 Hungarian Eurovision entrants V.I.P.,
2005 Hungarian Eurovision entrants Nox
In atmospheric chemistry, is shorthand for nitric oxide () and nitrogen dioxide (), the nitrogen oxides that are most relevant for air pollution.
These gases contribute to the formation of smog and acid rain, as well as affecting tropos ...
and
2007 Hungarian Eurovision entrant Magdi Rúzsa
Magdolna "Magdi" Rúzsa (; sr, Магдолна Ружа, Magdolna Ruža; born 28 November 1985) is a Hungarian singer who won the 2006 title of ''Megasztár'' (''"Megastar"''), Hungary's nationwide talent search, that resembles, but is not base ...
.
Preparation
Following Csézy's win at the national selection, the English version of "SzÃvverés", titled "Candlelight", was released on 11 February 2008.
At Eurovision
In previous years, if a country placed in the top 10 countries in the final they automatically qualified to the final of the next contest. Had this rule remained for the
2008 contest, Hungary would have directly qualified for the final. However, a change in rules due to the large intake of countries participating in the contest meant that only five countries, the host country and the
Big Four Big Four or Big 4 may refer to:
Groups of companies
* Big Four accounting firms: Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG, PwC
* Big Four (airlines) in the U.S. in the 20th century: American, Eastern, TWA, United
* Big Four (banking), several groupings ...
countries, would automatically qualify to the final. As such, Hungary were forced to compete in one of the two semi-finals of the 2008 contest in
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
.
She competed in the second semi-final on May 22, performing fifteenth. She placed nineteenth and last with six points, getting four points from
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
, one from
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
and one from
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
.
Gábor Gundel Takács provided commentary on Hungarian television and
Éva Novodomszky
Éva Novodomszky (born 19 January 1974 in Szarvas, Hungary) is a Hungarian journalist and presenter.
She started her career in a journalist school (Komlósi Oktatási Stúdió). She became a reporter (then presenter) of news of youth in Magyar ...
was the Hungarian spokesperson.
Voting
Points awarded to Hungary
Points awarded by Hungary
References
{{Eurovision Song Contest 2008
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008
Eurovision
The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...