Turkey's Eurovision History

The Eurovision Song Contest, which was held for the first time in 1956 and has been increasing in popularity every year, has become a cultural entertainment followed by people of all ages. Every year, many new singers participate in the competition, whose aim is to strengthen cultural ties between countries and nations.

In the 1980s, the number of participants exceeded 20 in the competition, in which 7 countries participated in 1956. Turkey participated in this contest for the first time in 1975 with Semiha Yankı's song titled "Seninle Bir Dakika" and became the last with 3 points in the final.

Although quality singers such as Ajda Pekkan, Kayahan, Nilüfer, and MFÖ represented Turkey in the following years, the results were always bad. The bad results significantly reduced the interest of the Turkish people in Eurovision in those years. In the late 1990s, a woman would completely change these bad consequences.

In 1997, Şebnem Paker achieved tremendous success by bringing her first third place in Turkey's history. After those years, Türkiye got rid of the last places and started to push the top 10. The televoting system played a major role in this success.

May 24, 2003, was the breaking point in Turkey's Eurovision history. Sertab Erener won the contest, which was a tough one that year, by finishing 2 points ahead of Belgium with her song Every Way That I Can. This victory was Turkey's first Eurovision victory and increased the Turkish people's interest in Eurovision.

After 2003, Türkiye became one of the most successful countries in the competition. Hadise, Manga, Mor ve Ötesi, and Athena have participated in Türkiye in the competition and they have brought new success to Türkiye in this competition.

In 2010, Manga became the name that came closest to the opportunity of being the first in Turkey's Eurovision history for the second time. Participating in the song We Could Be The Same, Manga collected 170 points in the competition and came second after Lena Meyer Landrut, who represented Germany. After these results, many people in Turkey still think that Turkey is the real winner of the ESC 2010.

After 2012, Türkiye decided not to participate in Eurovision again. Because, according to Turkey, political voting is done in the competition. Türkiye withdrew from the competition on the grounds of this and never participated again. I hope one day we will see Turkey again in the Eurovision stages.