Eurovision 2016: Participation Scorecard [UPDATED]

/ jadeukesc

eurovision sweden 2016Eurovision 2016 – So now Eurovision 2015 is over the broadcasters are now starting to announce their intention to participate in 2016 when the contest moves to Sweden. Rumours spread and broadcasters can change their mind but we will try and keep up with our scoreboard

Broadcasters have up until early next year (usually February) to confirm their participation in the contest and some broadcasters can change their mind (Example – Bulgaria in 2010 had announce they were returning and then withdrew for a second year).

Key:
Confirmed = Green
Likely to Return = Blue
Can go either way = Yellow
Unlikely to reurn = Purple
Not coming back = Red

Albania RTSH After qualifying in 2015 there is no reason why Albania would pull out in 2016
Andorra RTVA RTVA boss Xavier Mujal has confirmed they will not be coming back due to finance reasons 
Armenia AMPTV Armenia will most likely take part in 2016 as they always do
Australia SBS Not a member of the EBU Sweden HoD confirmed they will not be invited back
Austria ORF Despite the dreaded Nil Points in 2015, ORF have confirmed 2016 participation Link
Azerbaijan iTV Like Armenia, Azerbaijan love it too much to leave now
Belarus BTRC It’s doubtful Belarus will leave the contest in 2016
Belgium VRT VRT have confirmed participation and said they will hold a National Selection
Bosnia & Herz BHRT It has been 3 years since they last entered and BHRT haven’t shown any interest to return. [Update] News has it that BHRT are struggling so it looks even less likely of a return Link
Bulgaria BNT They’re hosting Junior Eurovision so can they afford to do the main contest too? They did broadcast the 2015 contest so they may return but you cannot tell yet
Croatia HRT Croatia haven’t expressed interest to return but Croatian references at this years event mean they may come back
Cyprus CyBC After qualifying in 2015 there is no reason why Cyprus would pull out in 2016
Czech Republic CT They failed to qualify in 2015 after years of being away. Have the Czech Republic been scared off?
Denmark DK DK have confirmed Denmark will return and they are looking into a change of format
Estonia ERR ERR have confirmed 201 participation and it is likely they will use Eesti Laul again
Finland YLE YLE have confirmed participation and it is likely they will use UMK as the means to pick their entry
France France2 France2 have confirmed they will return despite a poor result in 2015
FYR Macedonia MKRTV It is very likely that FYROM will come back on 2016. Nothing should stop them in doing so
Georgia GPB After their 2015 success Georgia should be coming back in 2016
Germany ARD ARD have confirmed they will return in 2016
Greece NERIT It’s hard to keep Greece away. They will most likely be there in 2016
Hungary MTV Hungary also likely to return and A-Dal is most likely how they will pick
Iceland RUV Despite not qualifying in 2015, Iceland should be returning
Ireland RTE RTE have confirmed they are coming back but have not confirmed how the selection will be made
Israel IBA After Nadav’s success it is unlikely Israel will withdraw and Next Star is sure to be used again to select their singer
Italy RAI After another superb result Italy are sure to return, most certainly using San Remo to select their song
Kosovo RTK RTK are not yet EBU members but a tweet from politician Petrit Selimi claims Kosovo WILL be coming to Eurovision next year. Have RTK somehow gained EBU membership?
Latvia LTV LTV have confirmed and after 2015’s success it is likely to be Supernova they will use to select
Lithuania LRT Lithuania are always game and it is doubtful they will withdraw
Luxembourg RTL They haven’t participated in years so it’s very doubtful they will come back in 2016
Malta PBS Malta have confirmed 2016 participation and may be making a change to their selection process
Moldova TRM Moldova are very likely to return in 2016 and will most likely use a National Selection to pick
Monaco TMC Very unlikely they will return in 2016
Montenegro RTCG 2015 saw their best result ever so will the withdraw in 2015? Doubtful
Morocco SNRT Very unlikely they will return in 2016
Netherlands TROS The Netherlands have confirmed that they will be returning in 2016 but their selection method is unknown
Norway NRK Norway will be taking part in 201 and their selection process will most certainly be Norsk Melodi Grand Prix
Poland TVP They have done just okay in the contest since returning but will they drop out? It amazed me that they returned in 2015 so I cannot tell
Portugal RTP Portugal failed to qualify a second year after their 2014 return. Portugal are always a mystery. Cannot tell
Romania TVR Money is always a worry for Romania when taking part but it is likely they will return. They havn’t withdrawn yet
Russia RTR After being so close to the win it is definitely likely Russia will be back
San Marino SMTV I can’t see why San Marino would not return as they’re used to not qualifying. Likely an internal selection of someone we already know (Michele Perniola anyone?)
Serbia RTSH Another country where Money is a factor but after making Top 10 in 2015 it is likely Serbia will be back
Slovakia RTVS Will the return of the Czech Republic entice them back? Doubtful
Slovenia RTVSLO Very likely to return after qualifying for the final a second year in a row
Spain RTVE As a member of the Big 5 it is very likely Spain will return despite their 2015 disappointment
Sweden SVT Well they’re hosting so they will have to take part and obviously they will again use Melodifestivalen
Switzerland   Almost certain to return
Turkey TRT TRT have said they are in talks to return but we’ve heard that before haven’t we? I still think they may not come back especially if the jury returns which was one of their complaints
Ukraine NTU For political reasons Ukraine dropped out last year. Could they return on 2016? They broadcast the 2015 show so it is possible
United Kingdom BBC The BBC never say no. It is almost definite that the United Kingdom will be back

46 thoughts on “Eurovision 2016: Participation Scorecard [UPDATED]”

  1. No Australia? I guess they’re going for bigger revenues, then. China? South Korea? USA? Anyone with enough money to buy a place in the final, I’m sure.

  5. I don’t see FYR Macedonia as certain as suggested in the article. Their qualification record has not been exactly good.
    Also please Austria will stay, they just hosted the contest for god’s sake. Poland participated again and again when it failed to qualify and now has 2 qualifications with 2 extremely sub par imo entries. They should be in.
    Bosnia is unlikely to return, Andorra said they won’t return. Ukraine and Turkey also said they will return, I don’t see a reason we should not trust them till now.
    I am mostly worried and uncertain about the Czech Republic this year. I truly hope they’ll stay. And also a return from Slovakia would be great.

    As for the usual debate going on, I would be more than glad to have another guest participant in the contest, it would definately be a step forward in a more bold direction for the contest. I guess that’s not to the liking of some people and that’s totally ok. What’s unfortunate is trying to find ghosts in “markets” and “money” and all that…
    Australia really helped this year with their genuine interest and love for the contest. And looking at how they voted, they indeed caught the pulse of the contest 11 %. Apart from themselves, they voted for every other top 10 contestant plus the 11th Georgia, so they voted for the top 10 minus themselves.

  7. AvroTros has already said that the continue the same selection method as previous three years. Intern selection and the artist can choose. Though I have a feeling they will be a little less free then in the previous years.

  8. ”Not a member of the EBU Sweden HoD confirmed they will not be invited back” Why not. Guy had a great night and and wanted to do it again…;) he sang that!

  9. ”They failed to qualify in 2015 after years of being away. Have the Czech Republic been scared off?”

    I hope the televoting result encourages them.

    • Someone at the escinsight podcast believed they will definitely skip esc next year.She said that this year they returned because it was ORF inviting them and it was close to Czech Rep.Next year with the contest held in Sweden and the rising costs it’s not very likely they’ll stay.Fingers crossed they will,though.

        • It’s true but it seems that there’s no interest in esc in Czech Rep.They should invest time and effort in order for good results and popularity to follow,imo.

  12. It is good to learn that so many countries have already confirmed participation for 2015. :)

    Off-topic: I have just had one of the most delicious dinners ever. If you visit Valletta, make sure to have dinner at the Anglo Maltese League.

    Good night!

      • Well according to Wikipedia they have and they even cite 3 seperate sources, where the head of TRT says they will be back.

        Also by that logic if you had done this article in 2014 about 2015 Australia would be red too as it was impossible for Australia to enter 2015 as they weren’t in the EBU and the rules forbid it, and there was no precedent at all of them entering.

        Morroco hasnt entered since their 1 participation in 1980 and have no expressed interest in doing so, Australia has just entered really wants to again, and has lots of support inside EBU for it, are you realy saying Morroco is more likely?

    • And Morroco have not officially said no yet so I haven’t put them in the red until they do

      I’ve done this in the form of the TV renewal scorecards. If a TV show has not yet been cancelled but is likely to be cancelled you’ll find they’re instead put into the “not likely to be renewed” category

  14. Although Albania will participate IMO, there’s real momentum gathering of switching the selection process. Although obviously “I’m Alive” wasn’t a FiK song, I think there’s a solid chance Albania could do an internal selection next year with artist and song chosen with a well known songwriter.

    Also, I agree with the earlier comment about Macedonia. I have a feeling they may withdraw given recent results.

    • FiK has always been more or less a façade anyway: with only 7 juries to chose, and all chosing the same first, it’s hard not to notice it (and suspicions about it have existed as soon as the esc fans discovered FiK back in 2003/4)

      • The music has also been quite “meh” for a very, very long time too. I’ve been watching since before the ESC-era and really it hasn’t been good since the late 90’s, save for 2012 I’d say, but that was only cause of Rona really. The juries are simply corrupt and choose artist over song every year. I really want them to go with an internal selection for one year, I think that will bring better composers and artists in.

  16. Looks like you can rule Andorra out…

    En ningún caso Andorra se esta planteando un regreso a Eurovision.
    La participación al certamen es un tema que supera el poder de decisión de la Dirección General de RTVA.
    Y en este sentido, de momento no hay ningún planteamiento de país que se encare a participar a Eurovision o Eurovision Junior por cuestiones económicas, básicamente

    That’s Xavier Mujal Director general saying they can’t afford to do Eurovision or Junior Eurovision to the Spanish Eurofestival blog

  18. Greece’s broadcaster will be ERT, not NERIT as the new government has decided to resurrect the old company starting sometime next month.

    I agree that it is hard to imagine the ESC without Greece as this remains a hugely popular event that pulls in huge ratings and definitely the most lucrative show in terms of advertising revenue for greek public tv.

    However I don’t expect smooth sailing if the current government of old school hard-left ideologues consolidates in power. Eurovision has always been the left’s favourite punching bag and the new ERT president will be a singer who made his career singing in Communist Party festivals. There is always the pretext of pulling the plug because “we can’t afford to waste money on something this frivolous in times of crisis”.

    Even if they don’t pull the plug immediately there are a lot of ways to undermine it in the immediate future, for example by purposefully sending an entry that will turn Europe off (something like Portugal’s “Homens da Luta” from 2011 perhaps?). At this point it is hard to imagine the current format of selecting an entry through the private MadTV music channel to continue. MadTV is owned by a corrupt press tycoon who owes millions in unjustified bank loans and has been sued by former employees for laying them off without compensation. All this shouldn’t make him a darling of the left, on the other hand he is using the media he controls to support the new government so you never know.

    At this point it is also obvious that the MadTV format of selection doesn’t work as record companies that are bankrupt anyway are using it to promote novices and the 2015 edition was especially dire in terms of song quality. It has managed to keep Greece afloat and in the final but its only real success has been the selection of Koza Mostra in 2013. Perhaps a return to more established artists and a more greek sound is in order. A lot of greeks were very impressed at how succesful Israel has been this year using an oriental-dance style that used to be the hallmark of Greece in the not so distant past.

    • An internal selection of a good artist is what Greece needs atm.As you have pointed out the only real success of the MAD TV format is the selection of KM but this happened at random anyway.There was no real plan behind it.Just the fact that their record company decided to add them to the line up.ERT and then NERIT just let MAD TV bear the burden of organizing and financing the whole thing while the record labels were given a carta blanche to include practically anyone in the line up.Let’s see.

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