# Montenegro in the Eurovision Song Contest

Montenegro has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 12 times since its debut in 2007. The Montenegrin participant broadcaster in the contest is Radio and Television of Montenegro (RTCG).
Before its independence, the Socialist Republic of Montenegro participated in the contest as part of Yugoslavia (both the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1961 to 1991 and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1992), and the Republic of Montenegro participated as part of Serbia and Montenegro (from 2004 to 2006). Entries selected by RTCG, formerly known as Radio-Televizija Titograd (RTT) during the era of Yugoslav participation, represented Yugoslavia in 1983 and 1984 and Serbia and Montenegro in 2005.

## Participation

Radio and Television of Montenegro (RTCG) is a full member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) since 2006, thus eligible to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest since then. It has participated in the contest representing Montenegro since its 52nd edition in 2007.
Before the country became independent on 3 June 2006, entries from Montenegro had participated in the contest as part of Yugoslavia and later Serbia and Montenegro. Entries from the former SR Montenegro placed 4th in 1983 and 18th in 1984 as part of Yugoslavia, and an entry from the Republic of Montenegro placed 7th in 2005 as part of Serbia and Montenegro.

## History

RTCG organised the national final MontenegroSong to select the country's entries in 2007 and 2008, and internally selected the entry in 2009.
Montenegro failed to qualify for the final on its debut in 2007, as well as its appearances in 2008 and 2009. The country placed 11th in the first semi-final in 2009, its best result at the time, with "Just Get Out of My Life" performed by Andrea Demirović. In November 2009, RTCG announced that Montenegro would not participate in 2010 due to financial difficulties. RTCG applied to participate in the 2011 contest, but with the caveat that the potential representative would have to find sponsors themselves to fund their participation. As that did not come to fruition, in December 2010, Montenegro decided to not participate in the contest on financial grounds.
On 20 November 2011, the head of RTCG revealed that Montenegro would participate in the 2012 contest in Baku. The country internally selected its entry, "Euro Neuro" performed by Rambo Amadeus, which failed to qualify from the first semi-final. In 2013, Montenegro internally selected Who See and Nina Žižić with the song "Igranka", which failed to qualify. In 2014, Montenegro qualified for the final for the first time in its history with Sergej Ćetković's "Moj svijet". In 2015, Montenegro again qualified for the final with "Adio", performed by Knez and composed by Željko Joksimović. The song achieved the best Montenegrin result to date, finishing in 13th place. In 2016, RTCG selected Highway and their song "The Real Thing" internally. They performed in the first semi-final but failed to qualify, placing 13th with 60 points. In 2017, RTCG selected Slavko Kalezić and his song "Space" internally. The song failed to qualify, placing 16th. In 2018, RTCG organised the national final Montevizija to select their entry, which was won by "Inje" performed by Vanja Radovanović. The song failed to qualify from the second semi-final, placing 16th with 40 points. In 2019, RTCG again selected its representative through Montevizija, which was won by "Heaven" performed by D mol. The song failed to qualify from the first semi-final, placing 16th with 46 points.
Despite initially confirming its participation in the 2020 contest and aiming to expand Montevizija, Montenegro ultimately did not enter the contest, which was later cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. RTCG later stated that the reason was due to "modest results" and financial issues. Montenegro also did not participate in the 2021 contest, but returned in 2022, having internally selected Vladana to represent the country with the song "Breathe". Once again, Montenegro failed to qualify for the final, finishing 17th in a field of 18 with 33 points in the second semi-final. Following another two-year absence, Montenegro is set to return in 2025, with plans to hold a new national final format, Montesong 2024, in order to determine its entry. On 31 October 2024, Boris Raonić, Director-General of RTCG, and Danijel Alibabić, President of the Association of Variety Performers of Montenegro, signed a formal cooperation agreement to establish Montesong as a common project, with Alibabić hinting at future editions of the festival. The first edition of Montesong was won by Neonoen with "Clickbait", however, the band was discovered to have performed the song prior to the cut-off date, leading to their withdrawal and runner-up Nina Žižić with "Dobrodošli" subsequently being chosen as the Montenegrin entrant in Basel.

## Participation overview

Prior to Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro's dissolution, artists from the Montenegrin federal unit represented Yugoslavia in 1983, 1984, and Serbia and Montenegro as a republic unit in 2005, as well as being intended to compete in 2006, where they withdrew.
| Year | Artist | Song | Language | Final | Points | Semi | Points |
| 2007 | Stevan Faddy | "'Ajde, kroči" ('Ајде, крочи) | Montenegrin | Failed to qualify | Failed to qualify | 22 | 33 |
| 2008 | Stefan Filipović | "Zauvijek volim te" (Заувијек волим те) | Montenegrin | Failed to qualify | Failed to qualify | 14 | 23 |
| 2009 | Andrea Demirović | "Just Get Out of My Life" | English | Failed to qualify | Failed to qualify | 11 | 44 |
| 2012 | Rambo Amadeus | "Euro Neuro" | English | Failed to qualify | Failed to qualify | 15 | 20 |
| 2013 | Who See | "Igranka" (Игранка) | Montenegrin | Failed to qualify | Failed to qualify | 12 | 41 |
| 2014 | Sergej Ćetković | "Moj svijet" (Мој свијет) | Montenegrin | 19 | 37 | 7 | 63 |
| 2015 | Knez | "Adio" (Адио) | Montenegrin | 13 | 44 | 9 | 57 |
| 2016 | Highway | "The Real Thing" | English | Failed to qualify | Failed to qualify | 13 | 60 |
| 2017 | Slavko Kalezić | "Space" | English | Failed to qualify | Failed to qualify | 16 | 56 |
| 2018 | Vanja Radovanović | "Inje" (Иње) | Montenegrin | Failed to qualify | Failed to qualify | 16 | 40 |
| 2019 | D mol | "Heaven" | English | Failed to qualify | Failed to qualify | 16 | 46 |
| 2022 | Vladana | "Breathe" | English, Italian | Failed to qualify | Failed to qualify | 17 | 33 |
| 2025 | Nina Žižić | "Dobrodošli" (Добродошли) | Montenegrin | Upcoming † | Upcoming † | Upcoming † | Upcoming † |

## Awards
### Barbara Dex Award

The Barbara Dex Award was an annually awarded, fan-voted accolade for the "worst dressed" artists in the Eurovision Song Contest.
| Year | Performer | Host city | Ref. |
| 2017 | Slavko Kalezić | Kyiv | |

## Related involvement
### Heads of delegation

Each participating broadcaster in the Eurovision Song Contest assigns a head of delegation as the EBU's contact person and the leader of their delegation at the event. The delegation, whose size can greatly vary, includes a head of press, the performers, songwriters, composers, and backing vocalists, among others.
| Year | Head of delegation |
| 2012–2017 | Sabrija Vulić |
| 2018 | Nataša Baranin |
| 2019 | Sabrija Vulić |

### Commentators and spokespersons

For the show's broadcast on RTCG, various commentators have provided commentary on the contest in the Montenegrin language. At the Eurovision Song Contest after all points are calculated, the presenters of the show call upon each voting country to invite each respective spokesperson to announce the results of their vote on-screen.
From 1961 until 1992, Montenegro competed as part of Yugoslavia, and from 2004 to 2005 as part of Serbia and Montenegro. The Montenegrin affiliates of the Yugoslav Radio Television (JRT) first and Udruženje javnih radija i televizija (UJRT) later broadcast the contest there with Montenegrin commentary.
| Year | Television | Television | Radio | Radio | Spokesperson | Ref. |
| Year | Channel | Commentator | Channel | Commentator | Spokesperson | Ref. |
| 2007 | TVCG 2 | Dražen Bauković and Tamara Ivanković | No broadcast | No broadcast | Vidak Latković | |
| 2008 | TVCG 2 | Dražen Bauković and Tamara Ivanković | No broadcast | No broadcast | Nina Radulović | |
| 2009 | TVCG 2 | Dražen Bauković and Tamara Ivanković | No broadcast | No broadcast | Jovana Vukčević | |
| 2010 | TVCG 2 | Dražen Bauković and Tamara Ivanković | No broadcast | No broadcast | Did not participate | |
| 2011 | No broadcast | No broadcast | No broadcast | No broadcast | Did not participate | |
| 2012 | TVCG 1 | Dražen Bauković and Tamara Ivanković | No broadcast | No broadcast | Marija Marković | |
| 2013 | TVCG 1 | Dražen Bauković and Tamara Ivanković | Radio Crne Gore, Radio 98 | Sonja Savović and Sanja Pejović | Ivana Sebek | |
| 2014 | TVCG 1 | Dražen Bauković and Tamara Ivanković | Radio Crne Gore, Radio 98 | Sonja Savović and Sanja Pejović | Tijana Mišković | |
| 2015 | TVCG 2 | Dražen Bauković and Tijana Mišković | No broadcast | No broadcast | Andrea Demirović | |
| 2016 | TVCG 1, TVCG SAT | Dražen Bauković and Tijana Mišković | No broadcast | No broadcast | Danijel Alibabić | |
| 2017 | TVCG 1, TVCG SAT | Dražen Bauković and Tijana Mišković | No broadcast | No broadcast | Tijana Mišković | |
| 2018 | TVCG 1, TVCG SAT | Dražen Bauković and Tijana Mišković | No broadcast | No broadcast | Nataša Šotra | |
| 2019 | TVCG 1, TVCG SAT | Dražen Bauković and Tijana Mišković | No broadcast | No broadcast | Ajda Šufta | |
| 2021 | No broadcast | No broadcast | No broadcast | No broadcast | Did not participate | |
| 2022 | TVCG 1, TVCG SAT | Dražen Bauković and Tijana Mišković | No broadcast | No broadcast | Andrijana Vešović | |
| 2023 | TVCG 2 | Dražen Bauković and Tijana Mišković | Radio 98 | Unknown | Did not participate | |
| 2024 | TVCG 1 | Dražen Bauković | Radio 98 | Unknown | Did not participate | |
* From 1961 until 1992, Montenegro competed as part of Yugoslavia and from 2004 to 2005 as part of Serbia and Montenegro.

## Photo gallery

* Stevan Faddy in Helsinki (2007)
* Stefan Filipović in Belgrade (2008)
* Andrea Demirović in Moscow (2009)
* Rambo Amadeus in Baku (2012)
* Who See in Malmö (2013)
* Sergej Ćetković in Copenhagen (2014)
* Knez in Vienna (2015)
* Highway in Stockholm (2016)
* Slavko Kalezić in Kyiv (2017)
* Vanja Radovanović in Lisbon (2018)
* D mol in Tel Aviv (2019)
* Vladana in Turin (2022)