Beovizija

Beovizija Беовизија
Created by	RTS
Country of origin	Serbia
Original language(s)	Serbian
Production
Location(s)	Sava Centar Belgrade, Serbia
Release
Original release	2003 – 2009

Beovizija (Serbian: Беовизија) 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 Herzegovina, and internationally on Eurovision.tv and RTS SAT as of 2008. It was held during February at Belgrade's Sava Centar. 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. Therefore, the last Beovizija held was in 2009.

Serbia and Montenegro were originally due to enter the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time in 2003 since a 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 Evrop(j)esma.

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