Editing Eurovision Song Contest 2003 (section)

==Participants==
{{further|List of countries in the Eurovision Song Contest}}
{{interlanguage link info|section=yes}}
{{ESC 2003 participants}}
Per the rules of the contest, twenty-six countries were allowed to participate in the event, a new record number of competing entries in a single edition.<ref name="2003 rules">{{cite web |title=Rules of the 48th Eurovision Song Contest (2003) |url=http://www.ebu.ch/departments/television/pdf/ESC2003Rules_E.pdf |publisher=European Broadcasting Union |access-date=29 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030819205208/http://www.ebu.ch/departments/television/pdf/ESC2003Rules_E.pdf |archive-date=19 August 2003 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Record26">{{cite press release |date=18 November 2002 |title=Record 26 countries to compete in 2003 Song Contest |url=http://www.ebu.ch/en/union/news/2002/song_contest_2003.php |url-status=dead |publisher=European Broadcasting Union |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040704194054/http://www.ebu.ch:80/en/union/news/2002/song_contest_2003.php |archive-date=4 July 2004 |access-date=29 March 2024}}</ref> Originally a total of twenty-five countries were scheduled to participate in the event, however {{esccnty|Ukraine}} was added to the line-up shortly before the publication of the competing countries in November 2002, making its début appearance in the contest.<ref name="Record26" /><ref name="Decade2003">{{cite web |title=The end of a decade: Riga 2003 |url=https://eurovision.tv/story/the-end-of-a-decade-riga-2003 |publisher=European Broadcasting Union |access-date=29 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170802084115/https://eurovision.tv/story/the-end-of-a-decade-riga-2003 |archive-date=2 August 2017 |language=en |date=24 December 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> {{esccnty|Iceland}}, {{esccnty|Ireland}}, the {{esccnty|Netherlands}}, {{esccnty|Norway}}, {{esccnty|Poland}}, and {{esccnty|Portugal}} returned after being absent from the previous year's event, and competed alongside Ukraine, the "[[Big Four (Eurovision)|Big Four]]" largest contributing participating countries{{snd}}{{esccnty|France}}, {{esccnty|Germany}}, {{esccnty|Spain}}, and the {{esccnty|United Kingdom}}{{snd}}and the remaining fifteen highest-scoring participating countries from the {{escyr|2002||2002 contest}}.<ref name="remember">{{cite web |title=Remember the three way thriller of 2003? |url=https://eurovision.tv/story/remember-the-three-way-thriller-of-2003 |publisher=European Broadcasting Union |access-date=29 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180513172034/https://eurovision.tv/story/remember-the-three-way-thriller-of-2003 |archive-date=13 May 2018 |language=en |date=24 May 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="O'Connor 03">{{cite book |last=O'Connor |first=John Kennedy |author-link=John Kennedy O'Connor |title=The Eurovision Song Contest: The Official History |date=2010 |publisher=[[Carlton Publishing Group|Carlton Books]] |location=London, United Kingdom |isbn=978-1-84732-521-1 |edition=2nd |pages=172–175}}</ref> Having received the lowest scores in the 2002 contest, {{esccnty|Denmark}},<ref name="O'Connor 02">{{cite book |last=O'Connor |first=John Kennedy |author-link=John Kennedy O'Connor |title=The Eurovision Song Contest: The Official History |date=2010 |publisher=[[Carlton Publishing Group|Carlton Books]] |location=London, United Kingdom |isbn=978-1-84732-521-1 |edition=2nd |pages=168–171}}</ref> {{esccnty|Finland}},<ref>{{cite web |title=From 'Pump-Pump' to 'Cha Cha Cha': Finland's vibrant Eurovision history |url=https://eurovision.tv/story/finlands-vibrant-eurovision-history |publisher=European Broadcasting Union |access-date=29 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230809125933/https://eurovision.tv/story/finlands-vibrant-eurovision-history |archive-date=9 August 2023 |language=en |date=9 August 2003 |url-status=live}}</ref> {{esccnty|Lithuania}},<ref>{{cite web |author=Andžej |title=A brief history of Lithuania in Eurovision Song Contest {{!}} Eurodiena.lt – Eurovizija. Konkurso dienoraštis |url=https://eurodiena.lt/58674/eurovizija/a-brief-history-of-lithuania-in-eurovision-song-contest/ |access-date=29 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201104949/http://eurodiena.lt/58674/eurovizija/a-brief-history-of-lithuania-in-eurovision-song-contest/ |archive-date=1 December 2017 |date=10 October 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> {{esccnty|North Macedonia|t=Macedonia}},<ref>{{cite news |title=Се огласи МРТ: Македонија нема да учествува на Евровизија 2023 |trans-title=MRT announced: Macedonia will not participate in Eurovision 2023 |url=https://www.muzika24.mk/festvali/se-oglasi-mrt-makedonija-nema-da-uchestvuva-na-evrovizija-2023/57716/ |access-date=29 March 2024 |work=Muzika24 |date=14 October 2022 |language=mk |archive-date=29 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240329142554/https://www.muzika24.mk/festvali/se-oglasi-mrt-makedonija-nema-da-uchestvuva-na-evrovizija-2023/57716/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and {{esccnty|Switzerland}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Swiss dropped from Eurovision line-up |url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/culture/swiss-dropped-from-eurovision-line-up/2730848 |publisher=[[SWI swissinfo]] |access-date=29 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240329134443/https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/culture/swiss-dropped-from-eurovision-line-up/2730848 |archive-date=29 March 2024 |date=27 May 2002 |url-status=live}}</ref> were subsequently [[Relegation in the Eurovision Song Contest|relegated]] and were prevented from participating in this year's event.<ref name="2003 rules" />

Twenty-four countries participated in the 2002 contest in [[Tallinn]]; of these, fourteen were expected to compete in 2003. The bottom ten in Tallinn would be relegated, to allow countries to compete for the first time.<ref>Sietse Bakker (25 May 2002). [https://web.archive.org/web/20090628180628/http://www.esctoday.com/news/read/689 Latvia won the 47th Eurovision Song Contest]. ESCToday. Retrieved on 23 March 2008.</ref> In reality, only five countries were relegated{{snd}}nineteen countries that entered in 2002 competed in Riga.<ref>Sietse Bakker. [https://web.archive.org/web/20090524051134/http://www.esctoday.com/news/read/780 EBU released list of participant for 2003]. ESCToday. Retrieved on 23 March 2008.</ref> Originally, {{Esccnty|Serbia and Montenegro}}, {{Esccnty|Albania}}, and {{Esccnty|Belarus}} had planned 2003 debuts, but the EBU's late changes to the relegation procedure meant that they could not compete.<ref>Sietse Bakker. [https://web.archive.org/web/20070515112113/http://www.esctoday.com/news/read/747 No new countries at next Eurovision Song Contest]. ESCToday. Retrieved on 23 March 2008.</ref> The countries eventually made their debuts in 2004.

The 2003 contest was one of the few editions where no lead artists had previously competed as lead artists in past contests, although Slovenian representative [[Karmen Stavec|Karmen]] had previously performed as a backing singer to [[Vili Resnik]] for {{esccnty|Slovenia|y=1998|t=Slovenia in 1998}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=Slovenia : Karmen Stavec talks to Eurovision.tv |url=https://eurovision.tv/story/slovenia-karmen-stavec-talks-to-eurovision-tv |publisher=European Broadcasting Union |access-date=29 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922122653/https://eurovision.tv/story/slovenia-karmen-stavec-talks-to-eurovision-tv |archive-date=22 September 2020 |language=en |date=30 January 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|-
|+ Eurovision Song Contest 2003 participants<ref>{{cite web |title=Riga 2003 – Participants |url=https://eurovision.tv/event/riga-2003/participants |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321151101/https://eurovision.tv/event/riga-2003/participants |archive-date=21 March 2023 |access-date=14 June 2023 |publisher=European Broadcasting Union}}</ref>
|-
! scope="col" | Country
! scope="col" | Broadcaster
! scope="col" | Artist
! scope="col" | Song
! scope="col" | Language
! scope="col" | Songwriter(s)
|-
! scope="row" | {{Esc|Austria}}
| [[ORF (broadcaster)|ORF]]
| [[Alf Poier]]
| "{{lang|de|Weil der Mensch zählt|i=unset}}"
| German{{efn|name=aut|Specifically [[Styria]]n, a [[Southern Bavarian]] dialect}}
| Alf Poier
|-
! scope="row" | {{Esc|Belgium}}
| [[RTBF]]
| [[Urban Trad]]
| "[[Sanomi]]"
| Imaginary{{efn|In a [[constructed language]]}}
| {{ill|Yves Barbieux|fr}}
|-
! scope="row" | {{Esc|Bosnia and Herzegovina}}
| [[Radio and Television of Bosnia and Herzegovina|PBSBiH]]
| [[Mija Martina]]
| "{{lang|hr|Ne brini|i=unset}}"
| Croatian, English
| {{hlist|Arjana Kunštek|Ines Prajo}}
|-
! scope="row" | {{Esc|Croatia}}
| [[Croatian Radiotelevision|HRT]]
| [[Claudia Beni]]
| "{{lang|hr|[[Više nisam tvoja]]|i=unset}}"
| Croatian, English
| {{ill|Andrej Babić|de}}
|-
! scope="row" | {{Esc|Cyprus|1960}}
| [[Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation|CyBC]]
| [[Stelios Constantas]]
| "Feeling Alive"
| English
| Stelios Constantas
|-
! scope="row" | {{Esc|Estonia}}
| [[Eesti Televisioon|ETV]]
| [[Ruffus]]
| "Eighties Coming Back"
| English
| [[Vaiko Eplik]]
|-
! scope="row" | {{Esc|France}}
| {{lang|fr|[[France Télévisions]]|i=unset}}
| [[Louisa Baïleche]]
| "{{lang|fr|Monts et merveilles|i=unset}}"
| French
| Hocine Hallaf
|-
! scope="row" | {{Esc|Germany}}
| [[Norddeutscher Rundfunk|NDR]]{{efn|On behalf of the German public broadcasting consortium [[ARD (broadcaster)|ARD]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Alle deutschen ESC-Acts und ihre Titel |trans-title=All German ESC acts and their songs |url=https://www.eurovision.de/teilnehmer/vorentscheid386_glossaryPage-25.html |website=www.eurovision.de |publisher=ARD |access-date=12 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230612084259/https://www.eurovision.de/teilnehmer/vorentscheid386_glossaryPage-25.html |archive-date=12 June 2023 |language=de |url-status=live}}</ref>}}
| [[Lou (German singer)|Lou]]
| "Let's Get Happy"
| English
| {{hlist|[[Bernd Meinunger]]|[[Ralph Siegel]]}}
|-
! scope="row" | {{Esc|Greece}}
| [[Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation|ERT]]
| [[Mando (singer)|Mando]]
| "[[Never Let You Go (Mando song)|Never Let You Go]]"
| English
| {{hlist|Teri Siganos|[[Adamantia Stamatopoulou]]}}
|-
! scope="row" | {{Esc|Iceland}}
| [[RÚV]]
| [[Birgitta Haukdal|Birgitta]]
| "Open Your Heart"
| English
| {{hlist|[[Birgitta Haukdal]]|Hallgrímur Óskarsson|{{ill|Sveinbjörn I. Baldvinsson|is}}}}
|-
! scope="row" | {{Esc|Ireland}}
| [[RTÉ]]
| [[Mickey Joe Harte|Mickey Harte]]
| "We've Got the World"
| English
| {{hlist|Martin Brannigan|Keith Molloy}}
|-
! scope="row" | {{Esc|Israel}}
| [[Israel Broadcasting Authority|IBA]]
| [[Lior Narkis]]
| "Words for Love"
| Hebrew
| {{hlist|{{ill|Yossi Gispan|he|יוסי גיספן}}|{{ill|Yoni Ro'eh|he|יוני רועה}}}}
|-
! scope="row" | {{Esc|Latvia}}
| [[Latvijas Televīzija|LTV]]
| [[F.L.Y.]]
| "Hello from Mars"
| English
| {{hlist|[[Mārtiņš Freimanis]]|[[Lauris Reiniks]]}}
|-
! scope="row" | {{Esc|Malta}}
| [[Public Broadcasting Services|PBS]]
| [[Lynn Chircop]]
| "To Dream Again"
| English
| {{hlist|Cynthia Sammut|Alfred Zammit}}
|-
! scope="row" | {{Esc|Netherlands}}
| [[Nederlandse Omroep Stichting|NOS]]
| [[Esther Hart (singer)|Esther Hart]]
| "One More Night"
| English
| {{hlist|[[Alan Michael (musician)|Alan Michael]]|Tjeerd van Zanen}}
|-
! scope="row" | {{Esc|Norway}}
| [[NRK]]
| [[Jostein Hasselgård]]
| "I'm Not Afraid to Move On"
| English
| {{hlist|[[Arve Furset]]|VJ Strøm}}
|-
! scope="row" | {{Esc|Poland}}
| [[Telewizja Polska|TVP]]
| [[Ich Troje]]
| "{{lang|de|Keine Grenzen|i=unset}} – {{lang|pl|Żadnych granic|i=unset}}"
| German, Polish, Russian
| {{hlist|{{ill|André Franke|de}}|[[Joachim Horn-Bernges]]|[[Jacek Łągwa]]|[[Michał Wiśniewski]]}}
|-
! scope="row" | {{Esc|Portugal}}
| [[Radiotelevisão Portuguesa|RTP]]
| [[Rita Guerra]]
| "{{lang|pt|Deixa-me sonhar|i=unset}}"
| Portuguese, English
| Paulo Martins
|-
! scope="row" | {{Esc|Romania}}
| [[TVR (TV network)|TVR]]
| [[Nicoleta Alexandru|Nicola]]
| "[[Don't Break My Heart (Nicola song)|Don't Break My Heart]]"
| English
| {{hlist|{{ill|Mihai Alexandru (songwriter)|ro|Mihai Alexandru|lt=Mihai Alexandru}}|[[Nicoleta Alexandru]]}}
|-
! scope="row" | {{Esc|Russia}}
| [[Channel One Russia|C1R]]
| [[t.A.T.u.]]
| "{{lang|ru-latn|[[Ne ver', ne boysia]]|i=unset}}" <small>({{lang|ru|Не верь, не бойся}})</small>
| Russian
| {{hlist|[[Mars Lasar]]|[[Valery Polienko]]}}
|-
! scope="row" | {{Esc|Slovenia}}
| [[Radiotelevizija Slovenija|RTVSLO]]
| [[Karmen Stavec|Karmen]]
| "Nanana"
| English
| {{hlist|Karmen Stavec|Martin Štibernik}}
|-
! scope="row" | {{Esc|Spain}}
| [[Televisión Española|TVE]]
| [[Beth (singer)|Beth]]
| "{{lang|es|[[Dime (Beth song)|Dime]]|i=unset}}"
| Spanish
| {{hlist|Amaya Martínez|Jesús María Pérez}}
|-
! scope="row" | {{Esc|Sweden}}
| [[Sveriges Television|SVT]]
| [[Fame (duo)|Fame]]
| "[[Give Me Your Love (Fame song)|Give Me Your Love]]"
| English
| {{hlist|{{ill|Calle Kindbom|sv}}|{{ill|Carl Lösnitz|sv}}}}
|-
! scope="row" | {{Esc|Turkey}}
| [[Turkish Radio and Television Corporation|TRT]]
| [[Sertab Erener]]
| "[[Everyway That I Can]]"
| English
| {{hlist|[[Demir Demirkan]]|Sertab Erener}}
|-
! scope="row" | {{Esc|Ukraine|1992}}
| [[Suspilne|NTU]]
| [[Oleksandr Ponomariov|Olexandr]]
| "{{lang|es|Hasta la vista|i=unset}}"
| English
| {{hlist|[[Svika Pick]]|{{ill|Mirit Shem Or|he|מירית שם אור}}}}
|-
! scope="row" | {{Esc|United Kingdom}}
| [[BBC]]
| [[Jemini]]
| "[[Cry Baby (Jemini song)|Cry Baby]]"
| English
| Martin Isherwood
|}