Turkey was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1997 with the song "Dinle", composed by Levent Çoker, with lyrics by Mehtap Alnıtemiz, and performed by Şebnem Paker. The Turkish participating broadcaster, Türkiye Radyo ve Televizyon Kurumu (TRT), selected its entry through a national final. Both Şebnem Paker and Levent Çoker had represented Turkey in 1996.
Before Eurovision
20. Eurovision Şarkı Yarışması Türkiye Finali
Türkiye Radyo ve Televizyon Kurumu (TRT) held the national final on 1 March 1997 at its television studios in Ankara, hosted by Bülend Özveren and Meltem Ersan. Ten songs competed, and the winner was determined by an expert jury. Songs #1, 3, 4, 5 and 8 were performed by the use of backing tracks; however, they were still backed by the orchestra with their respective conductors. Songs #6, 9 and 10 were played live, while songs #2 and 7 used full playback. Ümit Eroğlu was the chief conductor in this preselection. His orchestra consisted of 49 musicians.
At Eurovision
Heading into the final of the contest, RTÉ reported that bookmakers ranked the entry 25th (last) out of the 25 entries. On the night of the contest Şebnem performed 2nd in the running order, following Cyprus and preceding Norway. At the close of the voting, Dinle had received 121 points placing Turkey 3rd. This was the best result Turkey had ever reached at the contest up to that time, and will remain so until their victory in 2003. 18 participants voted for Dinle. The Turkish jury awarded its 12 points to Malta.
Voting
References
