Bulgaria’s participation in Eurovision has caused confusion.
Poli Genova represented Bulgaria at Eurovision in 2016. PDO
Next year’s Eurovision will be held in Liverpool, UK in May. Although the EBU, i.e. the European Broadcasting Union, has not yet published an exact list of participating countries, one country has already caused confusion.
Bulgarian broadcasting company BNT commented on Twitter on Friday that the country would not participate in the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest.
– Bulgaria will not participate in Eurovision 2023 and probably not in the future either. After analysis, it was decided that the program is no longer of interest to the channel.
However, now the situation has changed. BNT’s Twitter account has since been disabled. Later, the channel has commented on social media that they cannot comment on the matter publicly yet.
– We do not have an official position or information that we can share, BNT commented.
The Equinox group sang in the Bulgarian final in 2018. PDO
Bulgaria participated in Eurovision for the first time in 2005. The country’s best ranking in the competition is from 2017, when Kristian Kostov finished second in the final with a song Beautiful Mess.
Bulgaria last withdrew from the singing competition in 2019, but made a comeback the very next year.
Retreating countries
The number of participating countries for next spring has decreased recently. So far, Montenegro and North Macedonia have announced that they will not participate in the song contest. North Macedonia’s public broadcaster said the withdrawal was due to increased prices and a weak economic situation.
– Such a decision is in the interest of the citizens, when the increase in costs due to the energy crisis is taken into account. The participation fee was 39,143 euros last year and it is expected to be even higher next year. This decision enables the saving of funds that would have been reserved for the North Macedonian delegation’s stay in Liverpool next year, the broadcaster justified the decision.
Andrea, who represented North Macedonia, was eliminated from the final this year. PDO
Montenegro, located in the Balkans, also regrets the size of the participation fee. Broadcasting company RTCG said it will use its funds for organizational and software reforms.
This year, Montenegro was represented by singer Vladana Vučinić with a song Breathe. He also made a Finnish version of his representative song Ice. Vladana visited Finland earlier in April.
– I wanted to make a version of my song in a language I don’t know. It was a really big challenge for me. This is the first time a Montenegrin artist has released music in Finnish, the singer told Iltalehti in an interview.
Vladana’s ballad Breathe was also translated into Finnish. +AOP
Finland has announced that it will participate in next spring’s Eurovision Song Contest. The representative is selected in the New Music competition.
Sources: Wiwibloggs & Eurovoix