Serbia: Balkanika's Sanja Ilic passes away aged 70

Monday, 08 March 2021

• The founder of the group Balkanika and Serbian representative at Eurovision 2018, Sanja Ilic has passed away at the age of 70. 

  Sad news for the Eurovision family as Sanja Ilic has sadly passed away aged 70  from complications due to COVID-19. 

   

  Who was Sanja Ilic

  Sanja Ilić was born on 27 March 1951 in Belgrade and was  composer and keyboardist. He founded the group Balkanika in 1998, and with them he represented Serbia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal, with the song "Nova deca". He was previously the keyboardist of the Yugoslav band San from 1971 to 1975. 

  Ilić began his music career at age 12, when he composed a song for Serbian singer Dragan Laković. At age 16, he composed the song "Baj baj baj", which was later performed by Bisera Veletanlić at Jugovizija 1976, placing third. 

  Ilić continued his music career in the 1970s, performing in various bands such as Vragolani and San. He later composed the music for the Red Star Belgrade football team anthem. In 1982, he composed the song "Halo, Halo" which represented Yugoslavia in the Eurovision Song Contest 1982, performed by Aska. He later composed the song "Princeza", which attempted to represent Yugoslavia in the Eurovision Song Contest 1984.
  

  In 1998, Ilić founded the music ensemble Balkanika, and they performed their first concert together in 2000. With Balkanika, he represented Serbia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal, with the song "Nova deca"
  

  Ilić died on 7 March 2021 in Belgrade, twenty days short of his 70th birthday and  was one of the very popular and beloved acts in the Serbian music industry but widely accepted in the former Yugoslavian states. 

  News Source: Wikipeedia

  Image: N1 Info