| Year: | 1996 |
| Broadcaster: | Macedonian Radio Television (MRT) |
| Country: | Macedonia |
| Preselection: | Skopje Fest 1996 |
| Preselection Date: | 3 March 1996 |
| Entrant: | Kaliopi |
| Song: | Macedonian: Samo ti|i=no |
| Final Result: | Failed to qualify (26th) |
Macedonia was represented at the qualifying round for the Eurovision Song Contest 1996, with the song "Macedonian: Samo ti|i=no", written and performed by Kaliopi. The Macedonian participating broadcaster, Macedonian Radio Television (MRT), selected its entry through Skopje Fest 1996. The entry, which would have been the first-ever entry from independent Macedonia in the Eurovision Song Contest, failed to make it through the pre-selection round.
Macedonian Radio Television (MRT) held the national final on 3 March 1996 at the Macedonian: Makedonska Narodna Theatre|i=no in Skopje, hosted by Biljana Debarlieva and Borce Nikolovski. The winner was chosen by a combination of votes from an "expert" jury, radio stations across Macedonia, and the audience in the hall.[1]
| Draw | Artist | Song | Points | Place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marjan Nečak | "Marija" (Macedonian: Марија) | 10 | 14 | |
| 2 | Erol Redžepagić | "Koga kje prestanat solzite" (Macedonian: Кога ќе престанат солзите) | 0 | 18 | |
| 3 | Margica Antevska | "Te nema da go slušame Šopen" (Macedonian: Те нема да го слушаме Шопен) | 6 | 15 | |
| 4 | Jon Ilija Apelgrin | "Spomeni" (Macedonian: Спомени) | 17 | 12 | |
| 5 | Leonarda and Trio Eka | "Kambanite vo nokjta zvonat" (Macedonian: Камбаните во ноќта ѕвонат) | 45 | 7 | |
| 6 | Kiril Kotevski | "Dali nokjva si sonuvala" (Macedonian: Дали ноќва си сонувала) | 3 | 16 | |
| 7 | Katerina Micanova and Goce | "Zarobeni od džezot" (Macedonian: Заробени од џезот) | 0 | 18 | |
| 8 | Miki Jovanovski-Džafer | "Kolku vredi ljubovta" (Macedonian: Колку вреди љубовта) | 11 | 13 | |
| 9 | Karolina Gočeva | "Ma ajde kazi mi" (Macedonian: Ма ајде кажи ми) | 29 | 9 | |
| 10 | Sašo Kaimovski | "Zaboravi" (Macedonian: Заборави) | 87 | 6 | |
| 11 | Silvi Band | "Srekjna karta" (Macedonian: Среќна карта) | 2 | 17 | |
| 12 | Dejan Kuzmanovski and Petar Reinov | "Gospod prostuva" (Macedonian: Господ простува) | 0 | 18 | |
| 13 | Duo Marotov | "Tugja žena" (Macedonian: Туѓа жена) | 24 | 11 | |
| 14 | Intervali | "Pak e prolet" (Macedonian: Пак е пролет) | 143 | 4 | |
| 15 | Cvetanka Gligorova | "Vo tvojot pogled" (Macedonian: Во твојот поглед) | 127 | 5 | |
| 16 | Tanja Carovska | "Kade li leta" (Macedonian: Каде ли лета) | 28 | 10 | |
| 17 | Tijana Todevska | "Ti prostuvam" (Macedonian: Ти простувам) | 223 | 3 | |
| 18 | Kaliopi | "Samo ti" (Macedonian: Само ти) | 411 | 1 | |
| 19 | Avantura | "Ti se budiš utrovo" (Macedonian: Ти се будиш утрово) | 34 | 8 | |
| 20 | Maja Odžaklievska | "Prosti mi" (Macedonian: Прости ми) | 329 | 2 |
In 1996, for the only time in Eurovision history, an audio-only qualifying round (from which hosts were exempt) was held on 20 March as 29 countries wished to participate in the final but the European Broadcasting Union had set a limit of 22 (plus Norway). The countries occupying the bottom seven places after the pre-qualifier would be unable to take part in the main contest.[2] Kaliopi was not among those to qualify, placing joint 26th with 14 points and bringing Macedonia's participation in 1996 to a premature end.[3] [4]
Macedonia would eventually debut two years later, in 1998.