List of countries in the Eurovision Song Contest
Participation in the contest is primarily open to all broadcasters with active EBU membership, with only one entrant per country allowed in any given year.
In addition, several transcontinental countries with only part of their territory in Europe have been represented: Turkey, from 1975 to 2012; Russia, from 1994 to 2021; Georgia, since 2007; and Azerbaijan, which made its first appearance in the 2008 edition.
Two of the countries that have previously sought to enter the competition, Lebanon and Tunisia, in Western Asia and North Africa respectively, are also outside of Europe.
A broadcaster from the Persian Gulf state of Qatar, in Western Asia, announced in 2009 its interest in joining the contest in time for the 2011 edition.
[10] Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and subsequent exclusion of Russia from the 2022 contest, the Russian broadcasters VGTRK and Channel One announced their intention to withdraw their EBU membership in February 2022 and were suspended from the union in May, preventing Russia from competing in future editions of the contest, or any EBU event for an indefinite period of time.
Établissement de la radiodiffusion-télévision tunisienne (ERTT) attempted to enter the 1977 edition representing Tunisia and was scheduled fourth in the running order; however, before selecting an act, it withdrew for undisclosed reasons.
[19] In the 1960s, the late Welsh singer, scholar, and writer Meredydd Evans proposed that Wales should have its own entry in the Eurovision Song Contest.
In 1969, Cân i Gymru was launched by BBC Cymru Wales as a selection show for the contest, with songs to be performed in Welsh.
Wales has appeared as an independent country in another EBU production, Jeux sans frontières, and Welsh national broadcaster Sianel Pedwar Cymru (S4C), that is a full EBU member, has been encouraged to take part in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, where it made its debut in 2018, finishing in last place.
In 1993, the collapse of the USSR in Eastern Europe and the subsequent merger of EBU and the International Radio and Television Organisation (OIRT) gave numerous broadcasters from new countries the opportunity to compete.
[8] A number of broadcasters in non-participating countries and territories have in the past indicated an interest in participating in the Eurovision Song Contest.
[30] During the Chinese broadcast of the 2018 contest's first semi-final on Mango TV, both Albania and Ireland were edited out of the show, along with their snippets in the recap of all nineteen entries.
[37][38] Since 2010, the Faroese national broadcaster Kringvarp Føroya (KVF) has been attempting to gain EBU membership and thus participate independently in the Eurovision Song Contest.
[41] Contextually to his participation, KVF, backed by Minister of Social Affairs and Culture Sirið Stenberg, resumed its attempts to gain full EBU membership.
[42] In May 2023, KVF announced that it would apply for EBU membership before the summer, with the initial aim of obtaining the status of an associate member.
[43] In mid-February 2024, ahead of Faroese singer Janus Wiberg's participation in Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2024, KVF stated that a five-year plan was being deployed in order to gain EBU membership.
[50] On 18 December 2015, it was announced that Khabar Agency, a major media outlet in Kazakhstan, had been accepted into the EBU as an associate member,[51] but were still not eligible to take part in the contest under the current rules.
[53] Kazakhstan made its debut at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018 alongside Wales, placing sixth.
[55] On 22 November 2018, the then executive supervisor of the contest, Jon Ola Sand, stated in a press conference that "we need to discuss if we can invite our associate member Kazakhstan to take part in the adult ESC in the future, but this is part of a broader discussion in the EBU and I hope we can get back to you on this issue later.
[62][63] According to the Kosovan newspaper Koha Ditore, a possible entry would have been selected via a national final called Akordet e Kosovës, a former pop show that had been taken off the air some years ago.
[64][65][66] In February 2023, RTK announced that it was developing a format bearing the same title of Festivali i Këngës, with the long-term aim of using it as the Kosovan national final for the contest, similarly to its Albanian counterpart.
[67][68] Later that year, the broadcaster confirmed that it would continue its efforts to obtain EBU membership,[69] and opened a submission period for the first edition of the event, which was held between 26 and 28 October 2023.
[72] Following the first edition, the CEO of RTK, Besnik Boletini, reaffirmed the country's continued efforts in order to be included in the contest as early as 2025.
[81] Liechtenstein has never participated in the Eurovision Song Contest: the principality has been prevented from competing due to the lack of a national broadcaster which is a member of the EBU.
[82] Attempts were made in the 1970s by the Liechtenstein government for the nation to participate, with a two-song national final held in November 1975 choosing "My Little Cowboy" sung by Biggi Bachmann and written by Mike Tuttlies and Horst Hornung as the winner over "Tu étais mon clown" by Anne Frommelt.
[88] Peter Kölbel, managing director of 1FLTV, officially confirmed the broadcaster's interest, revealing that they had plans to develop a national final similar to Deutschland sucht den Superstar, the German version of the Idol series.
[95] On 21 September 2016, 1FLTV announced that they would not be able to debut to the contest in 2017, but that they would set their eyes on a future participation once they overcome their financial hurdles.
It would also need the backing of the Liechtenstein government to be able to carry the cost of becoming an EBU member and paying the participation fee for the contest.
On 9 August 2022, 1 FL TV's managing director Sandra Woldt confirmed that the broadcaster would not be aiming to apply for EBU membership, thereby indefinitely ruling out a debut in the Eurovision Song Contest.
All former republics of the Soviet Union which were geographically situated in Europe (except for Kazakhstan) went on to make their debut appearances in the contest during the 1990s and 2000s: Estonia, Lithuania and Russia in 1994;[106][107][108] Latvia in 2000;[109] Ukraine in 2003;[110] Belarus in 2004;[111] Moldova in 2005;[112] Armenia in 2006;[113] Georgia in 2007;[114] and Azerbaijan in 2008.
