Karmel Eikner and Marko Reikop are hosting next year's Estonian final, Eurolaul 2004, making them them more or less standard inventory in Eurolaul business; both of them co-hosted the 1996 and 2002 Eurolauls – and Reikop a third time in 2003 with Romi Erlach.
The 2004 Estonian final will also be facing a new voting scheme; because the Estonian broadcaster ETV came under considerable criticism for not allowing the public to vote or have a say in the Eurolaul result, the winner of the 2004 final will be chosen purely through telephone and SMS voting. In recent years a panel of 'international experts' had selected the song.
ETV will be allowing songs in any language as they have done previously. Ten songs will be announced by the end of December, when the Eurolaul 2004 website will also be launched. The deadline for submitting songs is 8th December, 2003. Traditionally songs tend to arrive at the very last minute, and thus far only eight songs have been received by ETV.
Estonia will be an indirect participant in the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest (ESC); their 2003 entrant, Ruffus, ended only 21st, and so the Estonians must first pass the semifinal of the ESC, to be held on 12th May, 2004. The “real” ESC takes place on 15th May.
