The Eurovision Song Contest 1993 was the 38th edition held on 15 May 1993 at the Green Glens Arena in Millstreet, Ireland thanks to Linda Martin's win the previous year. The event was hosted by Fionnuala Sweeney.
With a population of about 1,500, Millstreet is the smallest town or city to ever host Eurovision. Delegations were accommodated in Killarney, with shuttle buses taking them to and from the venue.
This edition marked several new introductions to the contest. With the break-up of the former Soviet states as well as Yugoslavia, a qualifying round was held prior to the Millstreet contest on 3 April 1993 in Ljubljana, Slovenia which resulted in the debuts of three former Yugoslav countries Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia.
A new relegation rule was also introduced in which the six lowest-placing nations would be forced to sit out the following year's contest. Additionally, it was the last time juries would deliver their votes via telephone lines, as the contest's broadcasting technology continued to innovate.
It was also the first contest for Christian Clausen, having taken over as Executive Supervisor from Frank Naef, who had recently retired after 15 years and 16 contests. Naef attended the 1993 contest as part of the audience, and Fionnuala paid a short tribute to him before the voting started.
For the second year in a row and fifth time overall, Ireland was the winner with the song In Your Eyes performed by Niamh Kavanagh. This victory leveled Ireland with France and Luxembourg at five wins overall.
Unable to reach the jury in Malta earlier in the voting due to technical difficulties, they would deliver their verdict last in one of the most intense and exciting finishes ever. To win by 1 point, the United Kingdom (who was sitting second) would need 12 points and hope Ireland didn't get any points at all. Malta eventually gave their 12 and the victory to Ireland, sending the audience in the arena into a jubilant celebration.
A documentary entitled Why Not Millstreet was made for RTE, taking viewers behind the scenes of the 1993 contest.
Participants[]
Countries that were relegated/withdrawn in 1994 are marked in pink. Cyprus was not relegated as Italy withdrew in 1994.
| Draw | Country | Artist | Song | Language | Translation | Place | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 |  Italy
|
Enrico Ruggeri | Sole d'Europa | Italian | Sun of Europe | 12 | 45 |
| 02 |  Türkiye
|
Burak Aydos | Esmer Yarim | Turkish | My darling brunette | 21 | 10 |
| 03 |  Germany
|
Münchener Freiheit | Viel zu weit | German | Much too far | 18 | 18 |
| 04 |  Switzerland
|
Annie Cotton | Moi, tout simplement | French | Quite simply me | 3 | 148 |
| 05 |  Denmark
|
Tommy Seebach Band | Under stjernerne på himlen | Danish | Under the stars of the sky | 22 | 9 |
| 06 |  Greece
|
Katerina Garbi | Ellada, Chora Tou Fotos | Greek | Greece, country of light | 9 | 64 |
| 07 |  Belgium
|
Barbara Dex | Iemand als jij | Dutch | Someone like you | 25 | 3 |
| 08 |  Malta
|
William Mangion | This Time | English | -- | 8 | 69 |
| 09 |  Iceland
|
Inga | Þá veistu svarið | Icelandic | Then you'll know the answer | 13 | 42 |
| 10 |  Austria
|
Tony Wegas | Maria Magdalena | German | Mary Magdalene | 14 | 32 |
| 11 |  Portugal
|
Anabela | A cidade | Portuguese | A city | 10 | 60 |
| 12 |  France
|
Patrick Fiori | Mama Corsica | French, Corsican | -- | 4 | 121 |
| 13 |  Sweden
|
Arvingarna | Eloise | Swedish | 7 | 89 | |
| 14 |  Ireland
|
Niamh Kavanagh | In Your Eyes | English | 1 | 187 | |
| 15 |  Luxembourg
|
Modern Times | Donne-moi une chance | French, Luxembourgish | Give me a chance | 20 | 11 |
| 16 |  Slovenia
|
1X Band | Tih deževen dan | Slovene | A quiet rainy day | 22 | 9 |
| 17 |  Finland
|
Katri Helena | Tule luo | Finnish | Come to me | 17 | 20 |
| 18 |  Bosnia and Herzegovina
|
Fazla | Sva bol svijeta | Bosnian | All the pain in the world | 16 | 27 |
| 19 |  United Kingdom
|
Sonia | Better The Devil You Know | English | -- | 2 | 164 |
| 20 |  The Netherlands
|
Ruth Jacott | Vrede | Dutch | Peace | 6 | 92 |
| 21 |  Croatia
|
Put | Don't Ever Cry | Croatian, English | -- | 15 | 31 |
| 22 |  Spain
|
Eva Santamaría | Hombres | Spanish | Men | 11 | 58 |
| 23 |  Cyprus
|
Zimboulakis and Van Beke | Mi Stamatas | Greek | Don't stop | 19 | 17 |
| 24 |  Israel
|
The Shiru Group | Shiru | Hebrew, English | Sing | 24 | 4 |
| 25 |  Norway
|
Silje Vige | Alle mine tankar | Norwegian | All my thoughts | 5 | 120 |
Trivia[]
- In Your Eyes' winning score of 187 points set a new record, which was immediately broken the following year.
- This was the second consecutive year in which Ireland and the UK would occupy the top two places.
- Coincidentally, Niamh and Sonia also shared the same birthday (13 February), however Niamh is 3 years older.
- Niamh and Sonia also both participated in some capacity in the 2023 contest in Liverpool to mark the 30th anniversary of their appearances in Millstreet: Sonia performed her entry as part of the "Liverpool Songbook" interval during the grand final, while Niamh presented the Irish vote results.
- Despite winning the pre-qualifier round, Slovenia's Tih deževen dan ended up placing the lowest of the debutants, leading to their relegation in the following year.
- Moi, tout simplement was the last French-language song to make it onto the podium until 2021, when both Voilà and Tout l'univers finished in the top 3.
- This would be the last time Finland would participate in an odd-numbered year until 2005.
- It would be the last participation for Luxembourg until it was announced by RTL on 12 May 2023 that it would return for the 2024 contest after a 31-year absence.
Videos[]
Kvalifikacija za Millstreet (ESC 1993 Semi-final) - full contest - Slovene Commentary
Eurovision Song Contest 1993 Full Show (No Commentary)