Kross Song Festival of 1997

This was the 2nd edition of the Kross Song Festival series. It is a direct continuation of the Kross European Song Contest (1920-1994) and would therefore be the 70th edition of that contest. Preparations began in August 1996 at a Kross Company executive finance meeting. Lucy Lydekker would take over from Katelyn Ratz as executive producer. No assistant would be designated for the first time in history.

In terms of participating nations, Slovakia was the only debuting nation. Luxembourg didn't return, they left in 1996 due to financial issues. Belgium and Latvia both withdrew due to bad results, both coming last in their respective semi finals, both said they would like to return in 1998. Israel also left due to bad results, having only just returned in the 1996, being absent in the 1994 edition as well.

Hosting
Albania won the previous edition but due to rules reform, this did not guarantee them a placement as the host. They did however, skip the audition stage. Albania was heavily favoured by the council who preferred the winning nation hosting. Finland's Helsinki did well for getting 3rd place.

Song Information
Returning artists:


 * Norway.png Norway
 * Finland.png Finland
 * Lithuania.png Lithuania
 * Portugal.png Portugal

Other countries

 * Algeria.png Algeria had no comment on participation. They did not appear on the list of finalists.
 * Andorra.png Andorra had no comment on participation. They did not appear on the list of finalists.
 * Canada.png Canada stated they withdrew because of bad results. They stated they may return in 1994.
 * Egypt.png Egypt had no comment on participation. They did not appear on the list of finalists.
 * Lebanon.png Lebanon had no comment on participation. They did not appear on the list of finalists.
 * Libya.png Libya had no comment on participation. They did not appear on the list of finalists.
 * SanMarino.png San Marino's broadcaster had declared bankruptcy. They did not appear on the list of finalists.