In the final, Estonia performed in position 15 and placed sixth out of the 25 participating countries, scoring 129 points.
The competition consisted of a ten-song final on 7 March 2009, broadcast on Eesti Televisioon (ETV), via radio on Raadio 2 with commentary by Madis Kimmel and Margus Kamlat as well as streamed online at the broadcaster's official website err.ee and the official Eurovision Song Contest website eurovision.tv.
[5][6] On 14 October 2008, ERR opened the submission period for artists and composers to submit their entries up until 8 December 2008.
Ithaka Maria, Kaire Vilgats, Lowry, Rolf Junior and Traffic have all competed in previous editions of Eurolaul, the national final used by ERR between 1993 and 2008.
[9][10] One of the initially selected acts, Popidiot, was disqualified from the competition due to violation of the rules and replaced with the song "Rändajad" performed by Urban Symphony.
[16][17] The jury panel that voted in the first round of the final consisted of Anne Erm (composer), Jaanus Nõgisto (musician), Birgit Õigemeel (singer), Siim Nestor (music critic), Mare Väljataga (singer), Owe Petersell (Raadio Elmar chief editor), Helen Sildna (Tallinn Music Week organiser), Ardo Ran Varres (composer), Marju Marynel Kuut (singer), Erik Morna (Raadio 2 head of music) and Jaagup Kreem (musician).
According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Four" (France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top nine songs from each semi-final as determined by televoting progress to the final, and a tenth was determined by back-up juries.
The two semi-finals and the final were broadcast in Estonia on ETV with commentary by Marko Reikop and Olav Osolin.
The members of Urban Symphony were joined by two backing vocalists: Marilin Kongo and Mirjam Mesak.
[19][20] At the end of the show, Estonia was announced as having finished in the top 10 and subsequently qualifying for the grand final.
This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act.
In addition, no member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently.