Overview
Beovizija () was a music festival established in 2003. Since 2007 it was the national selection for Serbia's representative at the Eurovision Song Contest. Beovizija was organised and broadcast live each year by RTS1, on RTRS in Bosnia, and internationally on Eurovision.tv and RTS SAT as of 2008. It was held during February and March at Belgrade's Sava Centar, and in RTS studios in 2019 and 2020.
The competition started in 2004 and was annually one of the most watched entertainment events in Serbia. In December 2009, RTS announced that it is changing the way it will select its Eurovision competitor and has thus cancelled Beovizija. However, on January 19, 2018, RTS confirmed the return of Beovizija as a national selection for the Serbian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018, and it has been used until 2020. After not being held in 2021, it was due to be held in 2022 as a song contest unrelated to Eurovision, but it was eventually cancelled.
History
Serbia and Montenegro were originally due to enter the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time in 2003 since an 11-year expulsion. The expulsion was brought about the break out of wars in the former Yugoslavia under which Serbia and Montenegro participated for the last time in 1992. Unfortunately, the EBU stated that too many countries wanted to enter in that year and so some would be forced to withdraw. Serbia and Montenegro (who participated as one country at the time) was one of them. As a result, Serbia and Montenegro entered the following year instead.
Originally the festival was supposed to commence in 2004 and was to be the country's selection for Eurovision however later Radio Television of Montenegro expressed the wish for a united festival in determining the country's contender at the European event. It was decided that Beovizija would be Serbia's semi final while Montevizija (held in Podgorica) would be Montenegro's semi-final. The best from the two would compete in a united final show contest under the name Evropesma/Europjesma.
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