in one of the official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina. 31 valid submissions out of 50 were received at the closing of the deadline and on 27 December 2007, BHRT announced that they had internally selected Elvir Laković Laka to represent Bosnia and Herzegovina in Belgrade. The seven-member selection committee that determined Laka and the song to be performed at the contest, which was written by Laka himself, consisted of Dejan Kukrić (Bosnian Head of Delegation at the Eurovision Song Contest), Milorad Kenjalović (assistant professor at the University of Banja Luka Academy of Arts), Vesna Andree-Zaimović (musicologist), Jasmin Ferović (Head of Music at BH Radio 1), Damir Šehanović (music journalist), Admir Đulandžić (music producer of MP BHRT) and Maja Čengić (press and public relations officer for the Bosnian Eurovision Delegation). The song, "Pokušaj", was presented during a television special entitled BH Eurosong 2008 on 2 March 2008, which was held at the BHRT Studio A in Sarajevo and hosted by Maja Čengić and Aleksandar Seksan. The show was broadcast on BHT 1 and BH Radio 1. In addition to the presentation of the song, the show featured guest performances by the Sarajevo Drum Orchestra, Bosnian singers Adnan Šaran, Dino Šaran and Halid Bešlić, Finnish group ShoWhat featuring Stepup Dancers, 2007 Bosnian Eurovision entrant Marija Šestić, 2008 Croatian Eurovision entrants Kraljevi ulice and 75 Cents, 2008 Macedonian Eurovision entrants Tamara, Vrčak and Adrian, 2008 Polish Eurovision entrants Isis Gee, and 2008 Slovenian Eurovision entrant Rebeka Dremelj. A Bosnian language version and English language version of the song were prepared, with the song being performed in Bosnian at the Eurovision Song Contest. Promotion Laka made several appearances across Europe to specifically promote "Pokušaj" as the Bosnian Eurovision entry. On 9 March, Laka performed "Pokušaj" during the semi-final of the Serbian Eurovision national final Beovizija 2008. On 25 April, Laka performed during the UK Eurovision Preview Party, which was held at the Scala venue in London, United Kingdom and hosted by Paddy O'Connell. Laka also took part in promotional activities in Belgium and performed during an event held at the Place Sainte-Catherine in Brussels on 28 April. At Eurovision It was announced in September 2007 that the competition's format would be expanded to two semi-finals in 2008. According to the rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Four" (France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required