Skopje Fest

Skopje Fest (Macedonian: Скопје Фест) or Festival na zabavni melodii Skopje (Фестивал на забавни мелодии Скопје) is one of the main musical events in the Republic of Macedonia.

SkopjeFest began in 1968 in the Universal Hall in Skopje, and continued until 1980. In this short time, the festival became one of the biggest music events in Yugoslavia. Skopjefest was the place where famous Macedonian singers such as Slave Dimitrov, Zafir Hadzimanov, Nina Spirova made their performances together with eminent Yugoslav performers. Audiences enjoyed over 50 songs.

After Macedonia gained its independence peacefully from Yugoslavia, SkopjeFest was revived in 1994, and has since taken over from MakFest as Macedonia's premier music festival.

The show involves some of Macedonia's finest performers, singing original tracks submitted to MRT (Makedonska Radio Televizija), usually accompanied by the orchestra of MRT (excluding some of its latest editions).

It has also been used as the Macedonian national selections for the Eurovision Song Contest, since the late 1990s. The first Macedonian representative in Eurovision, was Macedonian singer Vlado Janevski who won SkopjeFest 1998 with the song "Ne Zori Zoro", for the Eurovision Song Contest 1998. This was Macedonia's first participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. Ever since, SkopjeFest has been shadowed by many controversial debates regarding the strategies behind the song selections and the lack of transparence concerning the winner. Such allegations are not new to this contest. However, they intensified as the Eurovision participation became a factor. After the decision to make SkopjeFest the National Pre-Selection round for Macedonia's representative to Eurovision, the traditional point award ceremony was eliminated and replaced by the controversial announcement of only the Top 3 places. Neither the points of the jury nor the televoting results are made public.

Up until 2002, SkopjeFest used to be the biggest musical activity in the country. However, it faced financial problems. In 2003, the festival wasn't held in order to save money for the next year when Macedonia was going to particate in the Eurovision Song Contest. In the meantime, MRT made new criteria for the national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest, the festival returned in 2004 only to celebrate the 60th anniversary of MRT. After that, financial problems increased and it wasn't organised until 2008, again as an ESC national final.

After the first details about selecting the Macedonian participant for the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 were revealed, it was announced that Skopje Fest will continue being held as an independent event without being involved in the Macedonian selection process for the Eurovision Song Contest.^[1] On 15 July 2014, it was announced that Skopje Fest will return as the Macedonian national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2015.^[2]

Winners

References

City of Skopje Municipalities Aerodrom Butel Čair Centar Gazi Baba Gjorče Petrov Karpoš Kisela Voda Saraj Šuto Orizari Geography Matka Canyon Skopje statistical region Skopska Crna Gora Vardar River Vodno Mountain History Timeline of Skopje history Landmarks Cerje Čifte Hammam Kale Fortress Kapan Han Macedonia Square Millennium Cross Mustafa Pasha Mosque Old Bazaar Pella Square Porta Macedonia Ristiḱ Palace Scupi Skopje Aqueduct Skopje Zoo Stone Bridge Suli Han Sultan Murad Mosque Tauresium Tumba Madžari Churches Church of the Ascension of Jesus Church of St Clement of Ohrid Church of St Panteleimon Marko's Monastery Museums Museum of Macedonia Museum of the Macedonian Struggle National Gallery of Macedonia Contemporary Art Museum of Macedonia Skopje City Museum Holocaust Memorial Center for the Jews of Macedonia Memorial House of Mother Teresa Sports venues Avtokomanda Boris Trajkovski Sports Center Boris Trajkovski Stadium Čair Stadium Cementarnica Stadium Independent Macedonia sport hall Gjorče Petrov Stadium Jane Sandanski Arena Komunalec Stadium Philip II Arena Rasadnik Hall SRC Kale Železarnica Stadium Sports clubs FK Alumina FK Balkan Skopje FK Butel FK Cementarnica 55 FK Gorno Lisiče FK Ilinden Skopje FK Lokomotiva Skopje FK Madžari Solidarnost FK Makedonija Gjorče Petrov FK Metalurg Skopje FK Rabotnički FK Shkupi FK Skopje FK Sloga Jugomagnat KK MZT Skopje FK Vardar KK Rabotnički KK Torus KK Vardar RK Metalurg Skopje RK Tineks Prolet RK Vardar ŽRK Metalurg ŽRK Vardar Education FON University European University Ss. Cyril and Methodius University University American College Skopje Yahya Kemal College Events Basker Fest Dance Fest Skopje Oro Bez Granici Kota 2023 Skopje Fest Skopje Film Festival Skopje Jazz Festival Skopje Summer Festival Super Dzvezda Theatre Fest Transportation Skopje Airport People List of people from Skopje

Music of the Republic of Macedonia Festivals Macedonia in the Eurovision Song Contest Macedonia in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest Ohrid Fest Ohrid Summer Festival Si-Do Skopje Fest MakFest Skopje Jazz Festival Genres Folk music Starogradska muzika Čalgija Pop Rock Hip hop See also Music of the geographical region of Macedonia Music of Southeastern Europe Radio stations in the Republic of Macedonia