One month after the end of Eurovision 2021, all eyes are now looking toward the Junior Eurovision Song Contest and beyond to Eurovision 2022. With the long summer comes lots of speculation about the return of countries that have not participated in a while, and we now have our first confirmed non-participation for the main contest: Slovakia.
An RTVS spokesperson confirmed to Eurocontest.cz that Slovakia will not be returning to Eurovision 2022, also confirming their non-participation in Junior Eurovision 2021. Though no reason was given, this announcement is not surprising as Slovakia has not participated in Eurovision since 2012.
What We Know So Far About JESC 2021
After winning JESC 2020, France quickly confirmed their intention to host. It was later announced in May 2021 that the contest will take place in Paris at La Seine Musicale on December 19th.
At the time of publication, the following countries have confirmed their participation for this year’s contest:
- France – Host Nation
- Georgia
- Germany
- Ireland
- The Netherlands
- Poland
- Portugal
- Russia
Additionally, Latvia, Moldova, Denmark and Israel have all confirmed their non-participation.
What We Know About Eurovision 2022
Italy quickly confirmed their intention to host ESC 2022 after winning the 2021 contest with Maneskin’s “Zitti e Buoni”. A host city has not been confirmed yet, though several cities have expressed interest.
As of this writing, the following countries have confirmed participation:
- Italy – Host Nation
- Australia
- Bulgaria
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Israel
- Malta
- The Netherlands
- Norway
- San Marino
- Serbia
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Ukraine
Slovakia’s History at Eurovision
Slovakia has never participated in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest and last participated in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2012. Slovakia’s best result came in 1996 with Marcel Palonder’s “Kym nas mas”.
After taking an extended break from the contest in the 2000s, Slovakia returned in 2009 to less success, failing to qualify for the final for four consecutive years before withdrawing again. Their final entry in 2012 was Max Jason Mai’s “Don’t Close Your Eyes”, which finished last in its semi-final.
One of their best-remembered entries from this era is Kristina Pelakova’s “Horehronie”, which finished 16th in its semi-final in 2010 and is a regular fixture on the year-end ESC 250 chart.
Are you surprised by Slovakia’s non-participation? Would you like to see them return to the contest soon? Let us know in the comments below or on social media. Don’t forget to follow ‘THAT Eurovision Site on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
News Source: Eurocontest.cz
Photo Source: Eurovision.tv
