The Republic of Macedonia, present in the contest as the "former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009. It was represented by the song "Nešto što kje ostane" by the group Next Time. It earned tenth place in the first semi-final, failing to proceed to the final round.
Before Eurovision
Possible withdrawal
A possible withdrawal of Macedonia from the 2009 contest was rumoured, due to financial difficulties within MKRTV which could have ended in bankruptcy or liquidation of the company. As such, there would have been no Macedonian broadcaster within the European Broadcasting Union, the contest’s organisers, and so a withdrawal of Macedonia from the contest would have been inevitable. Despite this, MKRTV confirmed Macedonia’s participation at the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia.
MKRTV officially revealed that they were looking for a new selection method for the country for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009. Weekly debate programs were held by MKRTV on television, which were used as a platform for discussion between MKRTV and the Macedonian public on how the selection process for the Macedonian entry can be fair and successful.
Format
The contest consisted of two semi finals held on 19 and 20 February 2009. Sixteen songs competed in each semi-final and the top six from each semi-final qualified for the final on 21 February 2009. The results of the semi-finals and the final were determined by a 50/50 combination of votes from a jury panel and public televoting. All shows took place at the Universal Hall in Skopje, and were hosted by Zoran Ljutkov and Biljana Gjorgjiovska.
Competing entries
A submission period for interested artists and composers to submit their entries was opened on 26 November 2008 and closed on 25 December 2008. MRT received 142 submissions at the close of the deadline. A seven-member jury selected thirty-two artists and songs for the competition from the received submissions. The names of the competing songs and their composers were announced on 6 January 2010, with twenty of the performers being announced on 15 January 2010. The selection jury consisted of Gordana Andrashevska, Ljupčo Mirkovski, Meri Popova, Radica Mitić, Ariton Krliu and Danail Darkovski. Among the competing artists, Kaliopi was selected to represent Macedonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 1996 but was eliminated in the preliminary round. Previous Skopje Fest participants included Andrijana Janevska ; Risto Samardžiev ; Ana Simonovska ; Filip Jordanovski ; Tuna of Proekt Makedonija ; Verce Pandilovska and Vlatko Ilievski. Nikola Perevski and Vladimir Krstevski co-wrote the 2002 Macedonian Eurovision entry.
Semi-final 1
The first semi-final took place on 19 February 2009. Sixteen songs competed for eight spots in the final with the outcome decided upon by the combination of the votes from a jury panel and a public televote.
Semi-final 2
The second semi-final took place on 20 February 2009. Sixteen songs competed for eight spots in the final with the outcome decided upon by the combination of the votes from a jury panel and a public televote.
Final
The final took place on 21 February 2009 where the sixteen entries that qualified from the preceding two semi-finals competed. The winner was chosen through a 50/50 combination of the votes from a jury panel and a public televote. At the conclusion of the voting, Next Time and the song "Nešto što kje ostane" was selected as the winner.
At Eurovision
The song competed in the first semi-final but failed to qualify for the final, finishing 10th.
The commentators for MKTV were Karolina Petkovska and Aleksandra Jovanovska. The spokesperson for MKTV,i.e. the results of the Macedonian televote in combination with the jury were given by Frosina Josifovska. https://web.archive.org/web/20110928131420/http://www.vest.com.mk/?ItemID=077AE751AC6C3844A53CAD619CA958EF
