The submission period for the next edition of Eesti Laul has ended. The Estonian national broadcaster ERR has announced that it has received a record-breaking number of entries for its national selection.

Eesti Laul is the Estonian national selection process which was introduced in 2009, replacing the previous Eurolaul festival, used for selecting their entry for Eurovision Song Contest since the country’s first appearance back in 1994.

Over the past seven years, Eesti Laul has received a total of 1128 entries. The highest number of submitted entries was seen in the 2014 edition of the festival, when ERR received a total of 188 songs. This time the number has been topped once more with an impressive figure of 219 submissions!

Eesti Laul producer Heidy Purga expressed her delight for such an interest in the contest: “We have been on a tidal wave for years now. I don’t remember there having been so much direct communication with different artists before the deadline, all from enquires about the appropriate title for their entries to questions regarding the rules. We can say that Eesti Laul is a unique event, which artists set their sights on”.

ERR’s Head of Entertainment Mart Normet said: “We’re proud. Exaggerating slightly, I can say that everyone is here: the good old artists as well as new talents. The competition will be fierce.”

It’s up to a jury now to select twenty songs that will compete in two semi-finals scheduled for February 2015. These songs will be presented on 4th December in a television show (Ringvaade) on ETV. The first semi-final will be held on 7th February, whilst the second one is scheduled one week later, on 14th February. The final show will see five best acts from the two semi-finals and will take place on 21st February.

Since the introduction of Eesti Laul, Estonia has seen two top 10 placings in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest – firstly with Urban Symphony in 2009, and then with Ott Lepland in 2012. Both entries finished sixth. Last year’s entrant Tanja failed to qualify to the final of Eurovision 2014, finishing 12th in the semi-final.

Let’s remind ourselves of Tanja’s performance in Copenhagen and her song Amazing: