Bosnia's Delegation Crosses Sarajevo's Airport Under Sniper Fire

MAY 15 1993 · 12:00

Fazla · "Sva bol svijeta" · Bosnia and Herzegovina · 1993 Placement: 16 · Score: 27 · Language: Bosnian · Composers: Dino Dervishalidović, Fahrudin Pecikoza · Venue: Green Glens Arena · Host: Millstreet, Ireland · Type: protest · Broadcast: color analog Sarajevo, March 1993. The city has been under siege for 11 months. Fazla — Muhamed Fazlagić — and his team sprint across Sarajevo Airport's exposed runway on foot, under sniper fire from Serbian positions. Conductor Sinan Alimanović can't make it out. Irish host conductor Noel Kelehan conducts the Bosnian entry at Millstreet. Fazla sings 'Sva bol svijeta' ('All the pain of the world') in a dark suit, voice controlled, face composed. 16th place with 27 points. Context Bosnia had declared independence in April 1992; Eurovision was their debut. The Siege of Sarajevo had killed thousands already. Getting the delegation out required a UN arrangement through the airport's French-controlled 'Tunnel of Hope' zone. Dino Dervishalidović — who co-wrote — was already a major Yugoslav pop songwriter. Legacy Fazla's Millstreet performance is one of Eurovision's clearest wartime statements. Dervishalidović became the pseudonymous Dino Merlin — Bosnia's most important postwar pop singer — representing the country multiple times including 1999. The runway crossing is now standard Eurovision-history curriculum. 'Sva bol svijeta' is a Bosnian national cultural anchor. Mythology Persistent lore holds that one delegation member was grazed by a sniper round; undocumented in Irish official archives but repeated by Fazla and his team.