The leader of Hungary’s political opposition, Péter Magyar has confirmed he will bring Hungary back to Eurovision. This pledge will be fulfilled should the opposition Tisza party win the upcoming general election.
Hungary missing out on Eurovision is “wrong”
At a campaign rally, Péter Magyar was asked about the potential to return to Eurovision by a young man. The man prefaced the question by insisting that other sectors of the government should take priority, but Eurovision should also be addressed. Péter responded:
I don’t know if it’s the government’s responsibility, but if it is, we will do it.
The man then explained how Hungarian artists had been finding new ways to get involved in the Contest. He went on to cite Abor & Tynna, who hold Hungarian roots – who represented Germany at Eurovision in 2025. He also pointed to Carson Coma, a band who had attempted to represent San Marino this year, but failed to win the San Marino Song Contest.
Petér explained his position on the situation:
It’s wrong that we do not participate and we shouldn’t have withdrawn. I agree with Russia’s exclusion, we shouldn’t allow any war criminal to participate.
So this is what will happen. If it’s in the hands of the government, we will go on with it.
Eurovision dividing opinion
Hungary has been absent from the Eurovision Song Contest since 2019, after Joci Pápai failed to qualify for the final. Since then, broadcaster MTVA has withdrawn from the Contest.
Initially, MTVA explained that it wanted to support local talent using its then-national selection A Dal, using their entire budget for Eurovision to fund this. However, critics added that Hungary had pulled out of Eurovision as a result of leader Viktor Orbán’s conservative leanings. Sources from within the broadcaster revealed to local media that the Contest was deemed to be “too gay” for Hungary.
Hungary’s Eurovision journey
Hungary tried to make their debut at Eurovision in 1993, but did not make it past the qualification round, but a year later, they made their debut Friderika and the entry “Kinek mondjam el vétkeimet?”, which placed 4th. Since then, Hungary has competed on 17 occassion, 14 of which saw them qualify for the final.
The country’s recent participation was in 2019, where Joci Pápai participated with “Az én apám”, which placed 12th in the Semi-Final. Since then, Hungary has not participated in the competition.
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News Source: Tiktok / Tiszasziv
Photo Credit: Kiss Gábor / Euronews
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