In sad news for Slovakia’s Eurovision fans, the country will not return to the contest in 2025. Speaking to ta3, Slovakian broadcaster RTVS states that they do not have the budget to participate in Eurovision for the foreseeable future.
From “Maybe 2025” to “Will not participate”
Slovakia last competed in Eurovision in 2012, but following budget issues and poor results RTVS withdrew from the contest. The announcement that they wouldn’t compete in 2024 however left the door open for a return in 2025 or beyond. Back then, the new Director General of RTVS, Ľuboš Machaj, said that if nothing went wrong, Slovakia would at some point return to the contest. Ľuboš Machaj went so far as to say that Slovakia also definitely should be represented in Eurovision, as it is a pan-European event.
RTVS’ Head of Communications Zuzana Vicelová has however now confirmed that a return isn’t in the cards. The reasons for Slovakia to not return to Eurovision are, as it is for so many countries, financial. Late 2023 the budget for RTVS was reduced by the government, which made Eurovision participation for 2025 to expensive in the process. Looking forward, Vicelová also said that Slovakia “will not participate in Eurovision in other periods either”.
Slovakia’s Eurovision journey
Slovakia debuted at Eurovision in 1994, and achieved their best result two years later with Marcel Palonder’s “Kym nas mas”, which placed eighteenth.
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.
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News Source: ta3
Photo Credit: EBU
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