Turkey in the Eurovision Song Contest 1997
Turkey was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1997 with the song "Dinle", composed by Levent Çoker, with lyrics by Mehtap Alnıtemiz, and performed by Şebnem Paker. The Turkish participating broadcaster, the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation, selected its entry through a national final. Both Şebnem Paker and Levent Çoker had represented.
Before Eurovision
The Turkish Radio and Television Corporation held the national final on 1 March 1997 at its television studios in Ankara, hosted by Bülend Özveren and Meltem Ersan. Ten songs competed, and the winner was determined by an expert jury. Songs #1, 3, 4, 5 and 8 were performed by the use of backing tracks; however, they were still backed by the orchestra with their respective conductors. Songs #6, 9 and 10 were played live, while songs #2 and 7 used full playback. Ümit Eroğlu was the chief conductor in this preselection. His orchestra consisted of 49 musicians.| Draw | Artist | Song | Lyricist | Composer | Conductor | Points | Place |
| 1 | Burcu Güneş | "Gece" | Günay Çoban | Müfit Bayraşa | Ümit Eroğlu | 0 | 4 |
| 2 | Serdar Aydemir | "Aşkıma İnan" | Hakan Süersan | Hakan Süersan | n/a | 0 | 4 |
| 3 | Şebnem Özsaran | "Dördüncü Boyut" | Semih Güneri | Semih Güneri | Semih Güneri | 1 | 3 |
| 4 | Şebnem Paker & Grup Ethnic | "Dinle" | Mehtap Alnıtemiz | Levent Çoker | Levent Çoker | 10 | 1 |
| 5 | Sevan Deniz | "Hiç Gitme" | Sevan Deniz | Sevan Deniz | Güneş Apaydın | 0 | 4 |
| 6 | Tüzmen & Elçin Engin | "Şarkı" | Hale Turan | Şansal Engin | Ümit Eroğlu | 0 | 4 |
| 7 | Tuba Önal | "Sevda Bu Dostun" | Selma Çuhacı | Müfit Bayraşa | n/a | 0 | 4 |
| 8 | Erdal Çelik | "Seninle" | Erdal Çelik | Erdal Çelik | Mete Aydın Çelik | 0 | 4 |
| 9 | Pınar Ayhan & Grup S.O.S. | "Sen Nerede Ben Orada" | Selma Çuhacı | Erdinç Tunç | Ümit Eroğlu | 3 | 2 |
| 10 | Ece Sandallı | "Sevda" | Çetin Akcan | Ece Sandallı | Serdar Kalafatoğlu | 0 | 4 |
At Eurovision
On the night of the contest Şebnem performed 2nd in the running order, following Cyprus and preceding Norway. At the close of the voting, Dinle had received 121 points placing Turkey 3rd. This was the best result Turkey had ever reached at the contest up to that time, and will remain so until their victory in 2003. 18 participants voted for Dinle. The Turkish jury awarded its 12 points to Malta.Voting
| Score | Country |
| 12 points | |
| 10 points | |
| 8 points | |
| 7 points | |
| 6 points | |
| 5 points | |
| 4 points | |
| 3 points | |
| 2 points | |
| 1 point |
| Score | Country |
| 12 points | |
| 10 points | |
| 8 points | |
| 7 points | |
| 6 points | |
| 5 points | |
| 4 points | |
| 3 points | |
| 2 points | |
| 1 point |