Tere Europe, this is Tallinn calling! We are heading up north to the Baltics tonight, namely to Estonia for the First Semi-final of Eesti Laul 2023.

Estonia is gearing up for the forthcoming 2023 Eurovision Song Contest in full steam. The Baltic country will be kicking off its search for its Eurovision act and entry tonight.

How to watch?

You can watch the First Semi-final of Eesti Laul 2023 at 18:30 CET via the following channels:

• ETV
• ERR webstream

About the show

A total of 20 acts will be battling in the Eesti Laul 2023 semi-finals, 10 acts will compete in each semifinal. Five acts from each semi-final will proceed to the Grand Final after a mixed jury/public voting deliberation. Hence a total of 10 acts will battle for the golden ticket to Liverpool at the Grand Final.

The semi-finals  will be held at Viimsi Atrium the whilst the Grand Final will be held at the Tondiraba Ice Hall in Tallinn. The hosts of the Eesti Laul 2023 Semi-finals are Tõnis Niinemets and Grete Kuld.

The Participants

1. JANEK – “House of Glass”
2. Ellip – “Pretty Girl”
3. Kaw – “Valik”
4. MERLYN – “Unicorn Vibes”
5. MIA – “Üks samm korraga”
6. Neon Letters & Maiko – “Tokimeki”
7. OLLIE – “Venom”
8. Andreas – “Why Do You Love Me”
9. Bedwetters – “Monsters”
10. Anett x Fredi – “You Need to Move On”

About Eesti Laul 2023

Eesti Laul 2023 will consist of three televised live shows. The Eesti Laul 2023 Semi-finals will be held on 12 and 14 January. Whilst the  2023 Estonian entry and act will be selected via Eesti Laul 2023 Grand Final on Saturday 11 February.

Eesti Laul  2023 Calendar

• 12/01/2023- Eesti Laul Semifinal #1
• 14/01/2023- Eesti Laul Semifinal #2
• 11/02/2023- Eesti Laul Grand Final

Estonia in Eurovision

The Baltic nation attempted to join the Eurovision family in 1993 when it competed in the preliminary semifinal in Slovenia, unfortunately Estonia didn’t qualify and had to wait for one more year to enter the competition.

Estonia debuted at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994 with Silvi Vrait and went on to win the competition in 2001 with Tanel Padar and Dave Benton‘s Everybody. The following year the Baltic country successfully hosted the 2002 Eurovision Song Contest in Tallinn.

2022 saw Stefan represent Estonia at the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest with his entry  ‘Hope’.

Photo credit: ERR