Hungary was represented by boyband V.I.P., with the song "Miért kell, hogy elmenj?", at the 1997 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 3 May in Dublin. "Miért kell, hogy elmenj?" was chosen as the Hungarian entry at the national final on 28 February.
Final
The national final was organised by broadcaster Magyar Televízió (MTV) and held at their studios in Budapest, hosted by István Vágó. 19 songs took part with the winner being chosen by voting from five regional juries, who each awarded 10-7-5-3-1 to their top five songs.[1]
Hungarian National Final - 28 February 1997
Draw
Artist
Song
Votes
Place
1
Rockfort
"Jolly"
14
3
2
Marianna Rozsi
"Nem bújhatsz el"
0
14=
3
Adrienne Almási
"Eltévedt üzenet"
0
14=
4
Szerda Délután
"Valami eltűnt"
0
14=
5
Melinda és Lui
"Talán"
0
14=
6
Orsi
"Választok egy csillagot"
10
6
7
V.I.P.
"Miért kell, hogy elmenj?"
27
1
8
Orsolya Ferencz
"Ne bántsd a feketerigót"
0
14=
9
CET
"Egy pillanat volt"
12
5
10
Péter Popper
"Szavak nélkül"
5
9=
11
Veronika Nádasi
"Tavasz a télben"
21
2
12
Csilla Auth
"Nem lehet az utolsó az első szerelem"
3
11=
13
Dina
"Ugye szólsz"
5
9=
14
Cotton Club Singers
"Úgy szeress, mint én"
8
7=
15
Gábor Majsai
"Mitől olvad a szíved fel?"
3
11=
16
Harvest
"A hatordik sorban"
0
14=
17
Yellow Rebel
"Csak te legyél"
1
13
18
Tamas Takáts
"Újra itt volnál"
8
7=
19
Renáta Krassy
"Dal neked"
13
4
At Eurovision
On the night of the final V.I.P. performed 19th in the running order, following Malta and preceding Russia. At the close of voting "Miért kell, hogy elmenj?" had picked up 39 points (the highest an 8 from the United Kingdom), placing Hungary joint 12th (with Greece) of the 25 entries. The Hungarian jury awarded its 12 points to contest winners the United Kingdom.[2]
Hungary
United Kingdom
Spain
Ireland
Poland
Turkey
Austria
Estonia
Italy
France
Germany