Contrary to recent optimism, Slovakia’s public broadcaster STVR has confirmed that Slovakia will not take part in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026.
Why Slovakia is sitting out again
STVR spokesperson Filip Púchovský confirmed to Refresher that even though participation is evaluated yearly, the broadcaster is unable to commit to Eurovision under current conditions:
- Persistent leadership instability at STVR has disrupted long-term strategic planning.
- The broadcaster faces budgetary shortfalls, making the high costs of participation, licensing, staging, and production unfeasible.
Despite keeping the door open for future returns, the broadcaster isn’t ready to go forward at this stage.
Slovakia’s Eurovision journey
Slovakia last participated in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2012. Their 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.
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News Source: refresher.sk
Photo Credit: eurovision.tv
Rory Gannon 
Euan T