# Slovakia in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998

Slovakia was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 with the song "Modlitba", composed by Gabriel Dušík, with lyrics by Anna Wepperyová, and performed by Katarína Hasprová. The Slovak participating broadcaster, Slovenská televízia (STV), selected its performer for the contest through Bratislavská lýra '97 and, subsequently, the song internally once the national final was over. The competition was held on 7 June 1997 where Katarína Hasprová eventually emerged as the winner. The song Hasprová performed at the contest, "Modlitba", was released on 9 March.
Slovakia competed in the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 9 May 1998. Performing during the show in position 6, Slovakia placed 21st out of the 25 participating countries, scoring 8 points.

## Background

Prior to the 1998 contest, Slovenská televízia (STV) had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing Slovakia two times since its first entry in 1994. It missed the 1993 contest when its selected song, "Amnestia na neveru" performed by the band Elán, failed to make it through the special qualifying round Kvalifikacija za Millstreet. To this point, its best placing was 18th, achieved in 1996 with the song "Kym nas mas" performed by Marcel Palonder. Its least successful result was in 1994 when it placed 19th with the song "Nekonecna piesen" by Martin Durinda and Tublatanka.
As part of its duties as participating broadcaster, STV organises the selection of its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest and broadcasts the event in the country. Since its debut at the contest, the broadcaster has used internal selections to select its entry in the past. However, in 1998, it opted to stage a national final for the first time in its competitive history in order to select artist that would represent Slovakia.

## Before Eurovision
### Bratislavská lýra '97

STV developed the international festival Bratislavská lýra '97 in order to select its performer for the Eurovision Song Contest 1998. The final was held on 7 June 1997 at House of Culture Istropolis in Bratislava, hosted by Alena Heribanová [sk] and broadcast on STV1. All competing songs were accompanied by an orchestra, conducted by Vlado Valovič. 14 songs performed by artists from nine countries competed during the show, and "Jedno zbohom" performed by Katarína Hasprová was selected as the winner by a 10-member international jury panel headed by editor-in-chief of the STV entertainment and music editorial board Martin Sarvaš. Due to being the highest placed performer from Slovakia, Hasprová gained the right to represent the country at the Eurovision Song Contest 1998, and was also awarded a monetary prize of US$5,000. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, Berco Balogh [sk] and Lucie Bílá Boom Band performed as guests.

### Song selection

On 9 March 1998, STV announced that Katarina Hasprova would perform the song "Modlitba" at the Eurovision Song Contest 1998. "Modlitba" was written by Gabriel Dušík and Anna Wepperyová.

## At Eurovision

The Eurovision Song Contest 1998 took place at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, UK, on 9 May 1998. According to the Eurovision rules, the twenty-five participants were made up of the previous year's winning country and host nation UK, the eighteen countries which had the highest average points total over the preceding five contests, and any eligible countries which did not compete in the 1997 contest. Slovakia was one of the eligible countries which did not compete in the 1997 contest, and thus were permitted to participate. The running order for the contest was decided by a draw held on 13 November 1997. Slovakia was assigned to perform 6th at the 1998 Contest, following Switzerland and preceding Poland.
Heading into the final of the contest, BBC reported that bookmakers ranked the entry joint 17th out of the 25 entries. The Slovak performance featured Hasprová on stage wearing a black dress, joined by one drummer and three guitarists in black outfits. After the voting concluded, Slovakia scored 8 points, all from Croatia, and placed 21st in a field of 25. At the time, this result was Slovakia's worst placing in its competitive history, and was the nation's first finish outside of the top 20. The Slovak conductor at the contest was Vladimír Valovič.

### Voting

The same voting system in use since 1975 was again implemented for 1998 contest, with each country providing 1–8, 10 and 12 points to the ten highest-ranking songs as determined by a selected jury or the viewing public through televoting, with countries not allowed to vote for themselves. Slovakia opted to use public televoting to determine which countries would receive their points. STV appointed Alena Heribanova as its spokesperson to announce the points awarded by the Slovak public during the show.

## After Eurovision

Due to a poor average score, Slovakia was excluded from the Eurovision Song Contest 1999 and was therefore not eligible to participate until 2000. However, after being due to return in 2000, STV withdrew due to financial concerns. Slovakia ultimately returned to the contest 11 years later, in 2009.
It was mentioned in Eurovision Song Contest 2024, when the host, Petra Mede, challenged a random Eurovision fan to "give her a year and a country, and she can sing it".