(en) Other countries and territories. A number of broadcasters in non-participating countries and territories have in the past indicated an interest in participating in the Eurovision Song Contest. For broadcasters to participate, they must be a member of the EBU and register their intention to compete before the deadline specified in the rules of that year’s event. Each participating broadcaster pays a fee towards the organisation of the contest. Should a country withdraw from the contest after the deadline, they will still need to pay these fees, and may also incur a fine or temporary ban.
China. China aired the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 and then Chinese provincial television channel Hunan Television had confirmed its interest in participating in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016. The EBU had responded saying “we are open and are always looking for new elements in each Eurovision Song Contest”. However, on 3 June 2015, the EBU denied that China would participate as a guest or full participant in 2016.
During the Chinese broadcast of the first 2018 semi-final on Mango TV, both Albania and Ireland were edited out of the show, along with their snippets in the recap of all 19 entries. Albania was skipped due to a ban that took effect in January 2018 prohibiting showing on television performers with tattoos while Ireland was censored due to its representation of a homosexual couple on-stage. In addition, the LGBT flag and tattoos on other performers were also blurred out from the broadcast. As a result, the EBU has terminated its partnership with Mango TV, citing that censorship “is not in line with the EBU’s values of universality and inclusivity and its proud tradition of celebrating diversity through music,” which led to a ban on televising the second semi-final and the grand final in the country. A spokesperson for the broadcaster’s parent company Hunan TV said they “weren’t aware” of the edits made to the programme.
Faroe Islands. 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. However, KVF cannot obtain EBU membership due to the islands being a constituent part of the Danish Realm.
In late 2018, KVF showed renewed interest in joining the EBU and participating in the contest. According to the broadcaster, they are not excluded by the rule that only independent nations can join, and as a result, the Faroese broadcaster started internal discussions on applying for EBU membership and participating in the contest, and additionally organising a national final similar to Dansk Melodi Grand Prix.
The first Faroese artist to compete in the contest was Reiley, who represented Denmark in 2023. Contextually to his participation, KVF, backed by Minister of Social Affairs and Culture Sirið Stenberg, resumed its attempts to gain full EBU membership. KVF announced that it would apply for EBU membership before the summer of 2023, with the initial aim of obtaining the status of an associate member.
Gibraltar. Since 2006, Gibraltarian broadcaster Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) has been attempting to gain EBU membership and thus participate independently in the Eurovision Song Contest. However, GBC cannot obtain EBU membership due to the British Overseas Territory not being independent from the United Kingdom. Gibraltar broadcast the final of the contest from 2006 to 2008.
Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan has never participated in the Eurovision Song Contest. Kazakhstan is negotiating to join the European Broadcasting Union. The state television company (K-1) has been hoping for pending or approved EBU membership since 2008. If this happens, they may be eligible to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest. Nevertheless, they have broadcast the Eurovision Song Contests from 2010 onwards. However, according to the EBU, no Kazakh broadcaster has ever formally applied to join the EBU.
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, but were still not eligible to take part in the contest under the current rules. Only countries which are part of the European Broadcasting Area are eligible to participate, with Australia being the only exception after being an associate member for over 30 years.
On 22 December 2017, Channel 31 announced that they planned to debut in the 2019 contest, due to their new EBU membership.
Kazakhstan made its debut at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018 alongside Wales, placing sixth. On 30 July 2018, the EBU stated that the decision to invite Kazakhstan was made solely by the Junior Eurovision Steering Group, and there were no current plans to invite associate members other than Australia.
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.” However, Sand later clarified that Kazakhstan would not have an entry in the 2019 edition.
In May 2022, the Khabar TV channel refused to broadcast the Eurovision 2022 Grand Final due to the low ratings of the show format and the time difference, which is not so convenient for Kazakh viewers.
Kosovo. Kosovo has never participated in the Eurovision Song Contest on its own, but the contest has had a long history within the country, which has broadcast it since 1961. After the start of Kosovo’s UN administration, the Kosovan public broadcaster RTK was independently licensed by the EBU to broadcast all three shows. Despite not having participated in the song contest, Kosovo did participate in the Eurovision Young Dancers 2011.
As Kosovo is not a member of the United Nations and RTK not a member of the International Telecommunication Union, RTK cannot apply to become a full member of the EBU.
Jugovizija was the national pre-selection of Yugoslavia organised by the Yugoslav broadcaster Yugoslav Radio Television (JRT) since 1961 and it featured entries submitted by the subnational public broadcasting centres based in the capitals of each of the constituent republics and autonomous provinces. Each broadcasting centre had its own regional jury. SAP Kosovo was represented by RTV Priština, but their entry never won. Jugovizija 1986 was organised by RTV Priština. Before the Kosovo declaration of independence in 2008, Viktorija, a singer from Vučitrn, represented Yugoslavia as part of Aska in 1982; and Nevena Božović, who is from Mitrovica, represented Serbia in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2007. After the breakup of Yugoslavia, numerous Kosovo Albanian singers have participated at the Festivali i Këngës, the Albanian national selection for Eurovision organised by RTSH. The most notable participants to date have been Rona Nishliu, Lindita, and Albina Kelmendi and her family, who represented Albania in 2012, 2017 and 2023, respectively. Numerous Kosovo Serb singers have participated in Serbian national selections organised by RTS. Nevena Božović also represented Serbia as a member of Moje 3 in 2013 and as a solo artist in 2019.
After Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia in 2008, its broadcaster Radio Television of Kosovo (RTK) applied for EBU membership, and wished to enter Kosovo into the 2009 contest. There is a signed co-operation agreement between the EBU and RTK; and the EBU supports the membership of RTK. Since 2013, RTK has had observer status within the EBU, and did participate in the Eurovision Young Dancers 2011. According to the Kosovan newspaper Koha Ditore, a possible entry would be selected via a national final called Akordet e Kosovës, a former pop show that had been taken off the air some years ago.
In February 2023, RTK declared to be in the process of 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. Later that year, the broadcaster confirmed that they would continue their efforts to be accepted in the EBU, and opened a submission period for the first edition of the event, to be held between 26 and 28 October 2023.
Lebanon. Lebanon has never participated in the Eurovision Song Contest. The country’s broadcasting organisation, Télé Liban, was set to make the country’s debut at the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with the song “Quand tout s’enfuit” performed by Aline Lahoud, but withdrew due to Lebanon’s laws banning the broadcast of Israeli content.
Liechtenstein. 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. 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. The song was supposed to be the country’s debut entry for the 1976 contest; however due to a misunderstanding by Liechtenstein’s government of the rules of participation, the entry was rejected due to a lack of national broadcaster with which to participate.
On 15 August 2008, 1 FL TV, licensed by the country’s government, became the first broadcaster based in Liechtenstein. This would allow the country to begin competing at the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time, should they decide to join the EBU, a pre-requisite for entering the contest. Shortly after its foundation however, the broadcaster announced that they were not interested in joining the EBU or Eurovision at that time because they had no budget for membership.
In July 2009, the broadcaster officially announced its intention to apply to join the EBU by the end of July, with the intention to take part in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 in Oslo. 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. In November 2009, 1FLTV decided to postpone EBU and Eurovision plans, for financial reasons, and began to search for other options for funding EBU membership in the future.
1FLTV submitted its application for EBU membership on 29 July 2010. If accepted, 1FLTV would have gained full EBU membership and would have been able to send an entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 2011. However, Liechtenstein did not appear on the official list of participants for Eurovision 2011. In late 2012, Peter Kölbel, director of 1FLTV, stated that Liechtenstein would not be able to take part until 2013 at the earliest. The broadcaster had been trying to get government subsidies since 2010 to enable participation, and participation was likely if the Government approved funding by April 2012.
On 10 September 2013, 1FLTV confirmed that Liechtenstein would not be participating at the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The broadcaster has no plans to join the EBU at the moment. This was confirmed again on 28 July 2014 in the run-up to the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 in Austria. 1FLTV did however state their interest in participating in the Eurovision Song Contest, but said that they would have to evaluate the costs of EBU membership, a necessary prelude to participation. Once again in 2016, the nation did not compete, due to lack of funds to join the EBU. 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. Yet again, on 1 September 2017 they also announced they would not debut at the 2018 contest in Lisbon.
On 4 November 2017, the broadcaster stated that it was planning to debut in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2019 and would organise a national selection to select both the singer and the song. However, on 20 July 2018, the EBU stated that 1 FL TV had not applied for membership. The broadcaster later halted its plans to apply for EBU membership when its director, Peter Kölbel, unexpectedly died. 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. The broadcaster’s intentions were reiterated the following year.
Qatar. Qatar Radio (QR) was an associate member of the EBU in 2009, but was removed sometime later. The broadcaster first revealed on 12 May 2009 that they were interested in becoming active members of the union, which would allow the nation to compete in the contest. Qatar Radio has stated that they hope to join Eurovision by 2011. Qatar first became involved in the contest at the 2009 edition, where the broadcaster sent a delegation to the contest and broadcast a weekly radio show called ’12pointsqatar’ dedicated to Eurovision, which received favourable responses and has initiated the further involvement of Qatar in Eurovision. Qatar Radio has said that they feel that they would be happy to join all other competitors in the contest, including Israel if Qatar receives a membership.
Qatar is required to have a broadcaster which has at least associate membership of the EBU in order to have a chance to take part, as Qatar Radio is only a radio station and Qatar lies outside the European Broadcasting Area and cannot apply for Council of Europe membership, with Australia being the only exception after being an associate member for over 30 years. The broadcaster would most likely be Qatar Television (QTV) also owned and run by the Qatar General Broadcasting and Television Corporation (QGBTC). If Qatar Radio gets accepted, then they would be able to air the contest alongside the television broadcast.
Scotland. On 18 December 2018, it was announced that the Scottish Gaelic branch of the BBC, BBC Alba, would debut at Eurovision Choir in 2019, which was held in Gothenburg, Sweden.[75] However, they did not progress beyond the semi-final. This was the first time Scotland had competed separately from the United Kingdom in a Eurovision event.
Soviet Union. The Soviet Union never participated in the Eurovision Song Contest, but it made several attempts in the late 1980s. In 2009, Eduard Fomin, a former employee of the Ministry of Education of the RSFSR, revealed that in 1987 George Veselov, the Minister of Education for the Soviet Union, brought forward the idea of Soviet participation in the Eurovision Song Contest due to the number of political reforms made by the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev during the late 1980s. The idea was mainly a political one, with the thought that a win in the contest for the Soviet Union would impact on the relationships between the Soviet Union and the capitalist countries of the west. Valery Leontyev was suggested as a singer for the Soviet Union’s first entry into the contest, but Veselov’s ideas were not shared by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, or by Gorbachev himself, believing it to be too radical a step to take, and so the Soviet Union never entered the contest before dissolving.
All former republics of the Soviet Union which were geographically situated in Europe (except Kazakhstan) would later compete in the contest on their own in the 1990s and 2000s: Russia, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Armenia, Georgi, and Azerbaijan, with five of the countries going on to win one of the contests: Estonia, Latvia, Ukraine, Russia, and Azerbaijan. Ukraine is the only former Soviet country to have won the contest more than once, winning in 2004, 2016 and 2022.
Tunisia. Tunisia attempted to enter the 1977 edition of the contest and was scheduled fourth in the running order; however, before selecting an act, the country withdrew for undisclosed reasons. It is believed that Tunisia’s member broadcaster, Établissement de la radiodiffusion-télévision tunisienne (ERTT), did not want to compete with Israel. In 2007, ERTT clarified that it would not participate in the contest in the foreseeable future due to government requests.
Wales. 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. However, it was decided that the BBC would continue to send one entry for the whole of the United Kingdom. Despite this, Cân i Gymru has been broadcast every year since, with the exception of 1973. The winning song takes part in the annual Pan Celtic Festival in Ireland. Wales has appeared as an independent country in another EBU production, Jeux Sans Frontières and Welsh national broadcaster S4C has been encouraged to take part in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. Wales is also eligible to take part in the minority language song contest Liet-Lávlut.
Wales participated in the inaugural Eurovision Choir in 2017, where it finished second. Wales made its debut at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2018, finishing in last place.
(it) Partecipazioni mancate all’Eurovision Song Contest. Molte nazioni hanno espresso la volontà di partecipare all’Eurovision Song Contest ma per vari fattori, politici o semplicemente geografici, non possono farlo. Questa tabella mostra tutti i Paesi che vorrebbero partecipare all’Eurovision.
Liechtenstein. Il Liechtenstein, malgrado non sia membro dell’Unione europea di radiodiffusione (UER), requisito fondamentale per partecipare, ha cercato di partecipare all’Eurofestival due volte: nel 1969 e nel 1976. Nel 1969 si pensa doveva essere rappresentato dalla canzone Un beau matin cantata da Vetty, anche se non ci sono dei riscontri ufficiali. Certo è invece che nel 1976 Biggi Bachmann dovesse cantare My Little Cowboy rappresentando il principato all’Aja, tuttavia il non appartenere all’UER non permise al principato di partecipare. Bachmann ha poi partecipato alla selezione svizzera per l’Eurovision 1979 senza però vincere.
In seguito alla creazione della televisione nazionale, 1 FL TV, è stato ufficialmente confermato l’interesse del Paese nel prendere parte alla competizione canora già a partire dall’edizione del 2010.[1] Peter Kolbel, direttore della stazione televisiva, afferma che, nell’eventualità di una partecipazione del principato all’Eurovision Song Contest, verrà organizzata una preselezione simile a quella tedesca (Deutschland sucht den Superstar).
Il Liechtenstein ha dimostrato interesse per l’edizione 2019 in occasione della ricorrenza dei trecento anni del principato, ma a causa della scomparsa del direttore Peter Kolbel, il Paese non ha partecipato.
Libano. Il Libano fu obbligato a ritirare la propria partecipazione dall’Eurovision Song Contest 2005 dopo aver annunciato che non avrebbe trasmesso la canzone di Israele cantata da Shiri Maimon sulla propria televisione nazionale legata all’UER. Un regolamento dell’Eurofestival dice che ogni Paese partecipante è obbligato a trasmettere integralmente le serate della manifestazione, mentre la legge libanese bandisce la trasmissione dei contenuti israeliani.
Il Libano doveva essere rappresentato dalla cantante Aline Lahoud con la canzone Quand tout s’enfuit. La canzone era scritta da Jad Rahbani e Romeo Lahoud.
A causa di questo ritiro fuori regolamento, è circolata la voce che il Libano fosse stato bandito dalla manifestazione per tre anni e che avrebbe riacquisito il diritto a partecipare a patto che la televisione libanese trasmettesse 2 serate del festival e desse spazio alla entry israeliana; la voce è però stata smentita dalla stessa UER.
Non ci sono stati altri tentativi di partecipazione da parte del Paese.
Tunisia. La Tunisia avrebbe già dovuto debuttare nel 1977, ma si ritirò all’ultimo momento per cause sconosciute, probabilmente perché non voleva competere con Israele.
Tuttavia quest’ultima in occasione dell’Eurovision Song Contest 2019 ha invitato a partecipare alcuni stati del Nordafrica e del Medio Oriente, tra i quali la stessa Tunisia.
Unione Sovietica. Nel 1987, George Veselov, il ministro dell’istruzione sovietico, propose di far partecipare l’Unione Sovietica all’Eurovision Song Contest, proprio nel periodo delle riforme politiche degli anni ottanta di Michail Gorbačëv. L’idea fu soprattutto di carattere politico: l’URSS, infatti, in caso di vittoria si sarebbe riavvicinata ai Paesi capitalisti dell’Europa occidentale. L’idea però fu considerata troppo radicale e l’URSS così non partecipò mai. La prima partecipazione della Russia risale al 1994.
Kosovo. Dal momento in cui ha dichiarato l’indipendenza, il Kosovo ha dimostrato interesse a prendere parte all’Eurovision, ma la televisione pubblica RTK non è accettata nell’UER, in quanto Paesi come la Spagna, la Russia e soprattutto la Serbia non riconoscono il Kosovo come nazione. Nel 2015, il ministro degli esteri kosovaro ha annunciato via Twitter la partecipazione della Nazione all’Eurovision Song Contest 2016, notizia poi smentita dall’UER.
Il Paese ha tentato di entrare nell’UER per poter debuttare all’Eurovision Song Contest 2020, tuttavia nel giugno 2019 la proposta d’adesione è stata rifiutata.
Scozia. Il Partito Nazionale Scozzese ha più volte chiesto di mandare un rappresentante all’Eurovision, ma le proposte sono state rifiutate in quanto la Scozia è già rappresentata dal cantante del Regno Unito. L’11 febbraio 2008 l’UER ha dichiarato che un’emittente scozzese potrebbe far parte dell’organismo ma non potrebbe partecipare all’Eurovision, in quanto l’esclusiva per il Regno Unito è della BBC. La Scozia potrà partecipare solo in caso di indipendenza dal Regno Unito.
Nel 2019, il Paese ha debuttato all’Eurovision Choir 2019 a Göteborg.
Galles. La televisione di lingua gallese S4C ha espresso la volontà di far partecipare il Galles all’Eurovision. Ha inoltre espresso la volontà di partecipare al Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2008; in quella occasione non c’erano problemi, poiché il Regno Unito non aveva intenzione di partecipare, ma alla fine anche il Galles si è ritirato.
Nel 2017, il Paese ha debuttato all’Eurovision Choir of the Year di Riga e nel novembre 2018 ha partecipato al Junior Eurovision Song Contest. In entrambi gli eventi, per la prima volta il Paese non partecipa sotto la bandiera del Regno Unito in una manifestazione organizzata dall’UER (S4C nei primi anni ’90 partecipò anche a Giochi senza frontiere, ma rimase indicata come GB).
Gibilterra. Dal 2006 l’ente pubblico televisivo GBC ha tentato di entrare a far parte dell’UER; tuttavia, proprio come per Galles e Scozia, non essendo un Paese indipendente ma parte del Regno Unito, non ha mai preso parte all’organizzazione né tantomeno alla manifestazione musicale.
Groenlandia. La Groenlandia ha tentato sin dal 2011 di prendere parte all’UER e ai suoi ambiziosi eventi, come l’ESC; ma proprio come per le isole Fær Øer, parte della Danimarca, l’obiettivo non è stato mai raggiunto.
Qatar. Il Qatar, mostrò interesse per l’edizione 2009, ma dato che si trova completamente fuori dall’area UER non debuttò. Il Paese non ha più Mostrato Interesse.
Kazakistan. Il Paese euroasiatico trasmette da anni l’evento, ma non ne è mai entrato a far parte. Tuttavia l’emittente nazionale kazaka, Khabar TV, è entrata a far parte dell’UER il 1º gennaio 2016; dunque si attendono ancora notizie riguardo a un possibile debutto nella manifestazione musicale.
Il Paese ha poi mostrato interesse per il Junior Eurovision Song Contest, riuscendo poi ad entrare, tramite invito poiché si tratta di un’emittente associata, nella famiglia degli eventi UER e partecipando ufficialmente al Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018.
Fær Øer. Dal 2010 l’arcipelago scandinavo ha tentato di entrare a far parte della manifestazione; tuttavia, non essendo indipendenti ma parte della Danimarca, l’UER non ha mai programmato una loro entrata in scena. Nell’edizione 2023, il faroese Reiley è stato selezionato come rappresentante della Danimarca, non superando lo scoglio delle semifinali.
Cina. Hunan Television ha mandato in onda l’Eurovision Song Contest durante l’edizione 2015 di Vienna e aveva confermato l’interessamento della partecipazione della Cina riguardo all’edizione 2016. L’UER inizialmente aveva risposto che l’entrata in scena di paesi così lontani dall’Europa (come l’Australia) poteva essere una grande possibilità di apertura per la manifestazione, sempre arricchita di nuovi elementi; tuttavia il 3 giugno 2015, l’UER ha rifiutato ogni possibilità, ma con molta probabilità il Paese potrà debuttare all’Eurovision Asia Song Contest, versione asiatica della kermesse.