Withdrawn entries – This list presents all the cases when a country withdrew or was disqualified from the contest. 

On a number of occasions entries into the contest have been prevented from competing at a late stage, either through withdrawal by the participating broadcaster or through disqualification by the European Broadcasting Union. The list below highlights cases where an entry for a given country had been planned in a particular year but which ultimately did not occur, either by withdrawal, disqualification or the cancellation of the contest.

On a number of occasions participation in the contest has been either suggested or attempted by countries which are ineligible due to a lack of a participating EBU member broadcaster, such as past media reports of interest by broadcasters in China, Kosovo, Liechtenstein and Qatar. Participation has also been suggested for a number of nations and territories whose participation is currently covered by another country. Potential entries from Wales and Scotland (currently countries of the United Kingdom) and the Faroe Islands (currently a territory of Denmark) have been reported, but are generally prevented due to the exclusive participation rights of the sovereign nation to which they belong.^] Wales and Scotland have participated in other Eurovision events where the United Kingdom as a whole do not participate, including the Junior Eurovision Song Contest and Eurovision Choir.

• 1956 | United Kingdom | Denis Lotis & The Keynotes / Shirley Abicair | “Ev’rybody falls in love with someone” / “Little Ship”| English | 
• 1960 |  France | Marcel Amont | “Tom Pillibi” ()| French |
• 1961 | Sweden | Siw Malmkvist | “April April” ()| Swedish | 
• 1962 |Denmark | Gitte Hænning | “Jeg Snakker med mig Selv” ()| Danish | 
• 1963 |  Spain | José Guardiola | “Nubes de colores” ()| Spanish | 
• 1963 | Finland | Marjatta Leppänen | “Muistojeni laulu” (The song of my memories)| Finnish | 
• 1965 | Finland | Marjatta Leppänen | “Iltaisin” (In the evening)| Finnish | 
• 1967 |  Italy | Claudio Villa| “Non pensare a me” ()| Italian | Disq.
• 1968 |  Norway | Odd Børre| “ Jag har aldri vært så glad i no’en som deg” ()| Italian | Ret.
• 1968 |  Spain | Joan Manuel Serrat | “La la la” ()| Spanish-Catalan | 
• 1970| Portugal | Sérgio Borges | “Onde Vais Rio Que Eu Canto” ()| Portuguese | 
• 1971| Belgium | Nicole & Hugo | “Goeiemorgen, morgen” ()| Dutch | 
• 1972 |  Israel | Ilanit (אילנית) | “Chayekha ve chayai” (שינית את חיי) | Hebrew |
• 1974 |  France | Dani | “La vie à 25 ans” (That old familiar feeling)| French | Ret. The President of France died
• 1974 |  Malta | Enzo Gusman | “Paċi fid-dinja” () | Maltese | Lack of funding
• 1976 |  Malta | Enzo Gusman | “Sing Your Song, Country Boy” () | English | Lack of funding
• 1976 | Germany | Tony Marshall | “Der Star” (Joue ta vie) | German | Disq.
• 1976 |  Liechtenstein| Biggi Bachmann | “My Little Cowboy” () | English | No national broadcaster
• 1979 |  Turkey | Maria Rita Epik & 21. Peron | “Seviyorum” (I love you) | Turkish | Ret. Boycotted the host Israel under pressure from Arab states
• 1980 |  Israel | The Brothers and the Sisters (האחים והאחיות) | “Pizmon hozer” (פזמון חוזר) | Hebrew | Conflict with Israel’s Day of Remembrance
• 1982 | Greece | Themis Adamantidis (Θέμης Αδαμαντίδης) | “Sarantapente kopelies” (Σαρανταπέντε κοπελιές) | Greek| The song was previously released
• 1985 |  Yugoslavia | Zorica Kondža & Josip Genda | “Pokora” (Покора, Penance) | Croatian | Anniversary of the death of Josip Broz Tito
• 1986 | Greece | Polina (Πωλίνα Μισαηλίδου) | “Wagon-lit” (Βαγκόν λι) | Greek | The contest was held the night before Orthodox Easter
• 1988 |  Cyprus| Giannis Demetriou & Scott Adams (Γιάννης Δημητρίου) | “Thimame / Thimame (San to rock ‘n’ roll)” (Θυμάμαι / Θυμάμαι (Σαν το ροκ-εν-ρολ)) | Greek | Disq. The song had previously competed in the preselection
• 1990 |  Malta | Mary Rose Mallia | “Our Little World of Yesterday” ()  | English | Maximum number of participants had already submitted
• 1990 | Austria| Duett | “Das Beste” (I couldn’t imagine life without you) | German | Disq.
• 1992 | Switzerland| Geraldine Olivier | “Soleil, soleil” (Soleil, Soleil) | German | Disq.
• 1999 | Bosnia & Herzegovina| Hari Mata Hari | “Starac i more” (Sailing together) | Bosnian | Disq.
• 1999 | Germany| Corinna May | “Hör’ den Kindern einfach zu” () | German | Disq.
• 2002| Lituania| B’Avarija | “We all” (Mes čia!) | English | Disq.
• 2005 |  Lebanon | Aline Lahoud | “Quand tout s’enfuit” () | French | Ret. Lebanese law bans broadcast of Israeli content
• 2005 | Belarus| Angelica Agurbash (Анжалікі Агурбаш) | “Boys and girls” () | English | Ret.
• 2006 |  Serbia and Montenegro | No Name| “Moja ljubavi” (Моја љубави) | Montenegrin | Ret. Nationalistic jury voting in the preselection
• 2006 | France | Virginie Pouchain | “Vous, c’est nous” () | French | Ret. 
• 2009 |  Georgia | Stephane & 3G (სტეფანე და 3G) | “We Don’t Wanna Put In” () | English | Ret. Politically inappropriate lyrics
• 2010 | Belarus | 3+2 | “Far away” () | English | Ret. 
• 2010 |  Ukarine | Vasyl Lazarovich ( Василь Лазарович) | “I love you…” () | French | Ret. 
• 2011 |  Belarus | Anastasiya Vinnikova (Анастасия Винникова)| “I am Belarussian” (Born in Byelorussia) | English | Ret. 
• 2012 | Italy | Nina Zilli| “Per sempre” () | Italian| Ret. 
• 2012 | Belarus | Alyona Lanskaya (Алёна Ланская)| “All my life” () | English | Ret. 
• 2013 | FYRO Macedonia | Vlatko Lozanoski & Esma Redžepova (Влатко Лозаноски & Есма Реџепова)| “Imperija” (Империја) | Macedonian | Ret. 
• 2013 | Belarus | Alyona Lanskaya (Алёна Ланская)| “Rhythm of love” (Born in Byelorussia) | English | Ret. 
• 2013 | Bulgaria | Elitsa Todorova & Stoyan Yankoulov (Елица Тодорова & Стоян Янкулов)| “Kismet” () | Bulgarian | Ret. 
• 2016 |  Romania | Ovidiu Anton | “Moment of Silence” () | English | Debts of the broadcaster
• 2017 |  Russia | Julia Samoylova (Юлия Самойлова)| “Flame Is Burning” () | English | The artist had a travel ban to the host Ukraine
• 2019 |  Ukraine | Maruv / MARUV | “Siren Song” (Пісня сирени) | English | Broadcaster could not reach an agreement with an artist to represent country
• 2020 |  Albania | Arilena Ara | “Fall from the Sky” (Shaj) | English | Contest cancelled
• 2020 |  Armenia | Athena Manoukian (Αθηνά Μανουκιάν; Աթենա Մանուկյան) | “Chains on You” | English | Contest cancelled
• 2020 |  Australia | Montaigne | “Don’t Break Me” | English | Contest cancelled
• 2020 |  Austria | Vincent Bueno | “Alive” (Lebendig) | English | Contest cancelled
• 2020 |  Azerbaijan | Efendi (Samira Azer gizi Efendiyeva, Samirə Azər qızı Əfəndiyeva; Samira Efendi) | “Cleopatra” (Kleopatra) | English | Contest cancelled
• 2020 |  Belarus | VAL (Гурт  ВАЛ) | “Da vidna” (Да відна, Before dawn) | Belarusian | Contest cancelled
• 2020 |  Belgium | Hooverphonic | “Release Me” | English | Contest cancelled
• 2020 |  Bulgaria | VICTORIA (Victoria Georgieva, Виктория Георгиева) | “Tears Getting Sober” (Сълзите стават трезви) | English | Contest cancelled
• 2020 |  Croatia | Damir Kedžo | “Divlji vjetre” (Wild Wind) | Croatian | Contest cancelled
• 2020 |  Cyprus | Sandro | “Running” () | English | Contest cancelled
• 2020 |  Czech Republic | Benny Cristo | “Kemama” () | English | Contest cancelled
• 2020 |  Denmark | Ben & Tan | “YES” (Ja!) | English | Contest cancelled
• 2020 |  Estonia | Uku Suviste | “What Love Is” () | English | Contest cancelled
• 2020 |  Finland | Aksel () | “Looking Back” () | English | Contest cancelled
• 2020 |  France | Tom Leeb | “Mon alliée (The Best in Me)” () | French, English | Contest cancelled
• 2020 |  Georgia | Tornike Kipiani (თორნიკე ყიფიანი) | “Take Me as I Am” () | English | Contest cancelled
• 2020 |  Germany | Ben Dolic | “Violent Thing” (Brutales Ding) | English | Contest cancelled
• 2020 |  Greece | Stefania (Stefania Liberakakis, Στεφανία Λυμπερακάκη, Stefanía Lymperakáki) | “SUPERG!RL” () | English | Contest cancelled
• 2020 |  Iceland | Daði og Gagnamagnið | “Think About Things” (Gagnamagnið, The datavolume) | English | Contest cancelled
• 2020 |  Ireland | Lesley Roy | “Story of My Life” () | English | Contest cancelled
• 2020 |  Israel | Eden Alene (עדן אלנה‎; ኤደን አለነ, My beloved) | “Feker Libi” (ፍቅር ልቤ) | English, Amharic, Hebrew, Arabic | Contest cancelled
• 2020 |  Italy | Diodato | “Fai rumore” () | Italian | Contest cancelled
• 2020 |  Latvia | Samanta Tīna | “Still Breathing” (Vēl elpoju) | English | Contest cancelled
• 2020 |  Lithuania | THE ROOP | “On Fire” () | English | Contest cancelled
• 2020 |  Malta | Destiny (Destiny Chukunyere) | “All of My Love” () | English | Contest cancelled
• 2020 |  Moldova | Natalia Gordienko | “Prison” () | English | Contest cancelled
• 2020 | The Netherlands | Jeangu Macrooy | “Grow” () | English | Contest cancelled
• 2020 |  North Macedonia | Vasil (Vasil Garvanliev, Васил Гарванлиев) | “YOU” | English | Contest cancelled
• 2020 |  Norway | Ulrikke (Ulrikke Brandstorp) | “Attention” (Oppmerksomhet) | English | Contest cancelled
• 2020 |  Poland | Alicja (Alicja Szemplińska) | “Empires” () | English | Contest cancelled
• 2020 |  Portugal | Elisa | “Medo de sentir” (Afraid of feeling / Fear of feeling) | Portuguese | Contest cancelled
• 2020 |  Romania | ROXEN | “Alcohol You” () | English | Contest cancelled
• 2020 |  Russia | Little Big | “UNO” (Один, One) | English, Spanish | Contest cancelled
• 2020 |  San Marino | Senhit | “Freaky!” () | English | Contest cancelled
• 2020 |  Serbia | Hurricane (Харикејн, Hurricane Girls) | “Hasta la vista” (Видимо се, See you later) | Serbian | Contest cancelled
• 2020 |  Slovenia | Ana Soklič | “Voda” (Water) | Slovene | Contest cancelled
• 2020 |  Spain | Blas Cantó | “Universo” (Universe) | Spanish | Contest cancelled
• 2020 |  Sweden | The Mamas | “Move” () | English | Contest cancelled
• 2020 |   Switzerland | Gjon’s Tears | “Répondez-moi” (Answer me, Antwortet mir) | French | Contest cancelled
• 2020 |  Ukraine | Go_A  (Ґоу_Ей)  | “Solovey” (Соловей, Nightingale) | Ukrainian | Contest cancelled
• 2020 |  United Kingdom | James Newman | “My Last Breath” | English | Contest cancelled

Entries that failed to qualify – The 1993 and 1996 contests featured a pre-qualifying round. Unlike the semi-final system that has been in place since 2004, in which countries that do not advance past the semi-finals are still credited as having participated in the contest, countries that did not pass the pre-qualifying rounds in 1993 and 1996 have not been credited with having participated in the contests for those years.

Pre-qualifying competitions were held in advance of the 1993 and 1996 editions of the contest, as a measure to reduce the number of competing entries. In 1993 Kvalifikacija za Millstreet was held between seven new Eastern European countries competing for three places in the contest proper; in 1996 an audio-only competition was held for all interested participants, with Norway automatically qualified as host country and 29 additional countries competing for 22 places in the contest. Unlike the semi-final system in place since 2004, in which countries that do not advance from the semi-finals are still credited as having participated in the contest, countries which competed in these pre-qualifying rounds but failed to progress to the main contest have not been credited with having participated in that year’s contest.

• 1993 |  Estonia | Janika Sillamaa | “Muretut meelt ja südametuld” () | Estonian | Did not qualify from Eastern European preselection (Kvalifikacija za Millstreet)
• 1993 |  Hungary | Andrea Szulák | “Árva reggel” () | Hungarian | Did not qualify from Eastern European preselection (Kvalifikacija za Millstreet)
• 1993 |  Romania | Dida Drăgan | “Nu pleca” () | Romanian | Did not qualify from Eastern European preselection (Kvalifikacija za Millstreet)
• 1993 |  Slovakia | Elán | “Amnestia na neveru” (Love addiction) | Slovak | Did not qualify from Eastern European preselection (Kvalifikacija za Millstreet)
• 1996 |  Denmark | Dorthe Andersen & Martin Loft | “Kun med dig” () | Danish | Did not qualify from audio preselection (Eurovision Song Contest 1996 Pre-Qualifying Round)
• 1996 |  FYRO Macedonia | Kaliopi (Калиопи Грил) | “Samo ti” ” (Само ти) | Macedonian | Did not qualify from audio preselection (Eurovision Song Contest 1996 Pre-Qualifying Round)
• 1996 |  Germany | Leon | “Planet of Blue (Blauer Planet)” () | German (English) | Did not qualify from audio preselection (Eurovision Song Contest 1996 Pre-Qualifying Round)
• 1996 |  Hungary | Gjon Delhusa | “Fortuna” () | Hungarian | Did not qualify from audio preselection (Eurovision Song Contest 1996 Pre-Qualifying Round)
• 1996 |  Israel| Galit Bell (גלית בל) | “Shalom olam” (שלום עולם) | Hebrew | Did not qualify from audio preselection (Eurovision Song Contest 1996 Pre-Qualifying Round)
• 1996 |  Romania | Monica Anghel & Sincron | “Rugă pentru pacea lumii” () | Romanian | Did not qualify from audio preselection (Eurovision Song Contest 1996 Pre-Qualifying Round)
• 1996 |  Russia | Andrey Kosinskiy (Андрей Косинский) | “Ya eta ya” (Я это я) | Danish | Did not qualify from audio preselection (Eurovision Song Contest 1996 Pre-Qualifying Round)