Now that Slovenia have confirmed their participation for Tel Aviv 2019, speculation over the Slovenian selection, EMA, has begun. Lea Sirk, who successfully brought Slovenia back to the grand final earlier this year, is currently the hot favourite to host the 2019 edition.
According to Slovenian Eurovision blog, Evrovizija, Lea is among a number of possible presenters being considered by RTVSLO. This wouldn’t be the first time a former entrant had hosted the selection. Notably, EMA 2015 was co-hosted by three former Slovenian Eurovision representatives: Darja Švajger (1995, 1999), Maja Keuc (2011) and Tinkara Kovač (2014).
Evrovizjia also reports that RTVSLO are yet to formally approve their programming plan for 2019, but are expected to in the coming weeks. Once confirmed, we should receive more concrete details about the 2019 selection show.
Slovenia at the Eurovision Song Contest
Slovenia have competed in the contest 24 times as an independent nation. Previously, they competed as Yugoslavia alongside Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. As Yugoslavia, only four of the 27 entries were Slovenian.
Slovenia officially debuted in 1993, where they were represented by 1X Band with “Tih deževen dan”. They finished in 22nd place with nine points. Slovenia’s best result to date is seventh place, which they achieved in 1995 with Darja Švajger’s “Prisluhni mi” and in 2001 with Nuša Derenda’s “Energy”.
As mentioned above, Lea Sirk brought Slovenia to the grand final for the first time since 2015 earlier this year. “Hvala, Ne!”, the high-impact, energetic Slovenian language bop, defied the expectations of many by qualifying from its semi. In semi final two, it ranked ninth in both the televote and jury vote. It eventually finished 22nd with 64 points in the final.
The straight-talking and charismatic singer-songwriter gave some of the most entertaining interviews back in Lisbon, so we’re sure she’d make an excellent host!
Do you hope that the rumours are true? Are you looking forward to EMA 2019? Let us know below! Be sure to follow @ESCXTRA on Twitter and like our Facebook page.
Comments on Slovenia: Lea Sirk to host EMA 2019?