Jon Ola Sand: “We don’t need to broaden our scope of participating countries in the Eurovision Song Contest.”

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On the last episode of Euro Trip, Jon Ola Sand, the ex-Executive Supervisor of Eurovision, talked about the possibility to see a debut of Kossovo or Kazakhstan but also for a returning country to come back any time soon.

At first, in his interview with the host of the show, he mentioned Kazakhstan and if the have chances to debut in Eurovision:

“There is a really keen interest from the broadcaster in Kazakhstan to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest. There has never been any serious discussion to bring them in.They are not a member of the EBU, and we really don’t need to broaden our scope of participating countries in the Eurovision Song Contest.”

After that he talked about Kossovo and their chances of a debut, when he mentioned:

“There has been no attempt from the EBU to bring Kosovo into the Eurovision Song Contest. There have been discussions as a broadcaster, but they  lack the status to allow them to compete.“

Australia have been an exception because the country’s public broadcaster SBS has competed in every edition of the competition since owing to its associate EBU membership.

Last but not least, he talked about the possibility to see Luxembourg, Andorra, Slovakia, Monaco or Turkey returning in Eurovision Song Contest:

“We had talks with all the broadcasters you mentioned . It hasn’t been a priority for us to bring them in. There isn’t a need to grow the number of participants. But Turkey would have a higher priority than say, Monaco for instance”

Jon Ola Sand served as Executive Supervisor between 2011 and 2020. Prior to this role he was Executive Producer for Eurovision when the contest was held in Oslo, Norway in 2010.

Stay tuned in Eurovisionfun for all the latest news of Eurovision!

Monaco 2023? Country gets a new public broadcaster

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New developments on a potential Monegasque return to Eurovision have emerged.  In 2022, Monte-Carlo Riviera will start operations as the new public broadcaster of the country.  Thanks to this new development, Monaco can apply again for a EBU membership.

Previously, Monaco’s public broadcaster was Téle-Montecarlo.  However, French TF1 bought the channel in 2016 making a return for the small nation a distant possibility.  Téle-Montecarlo was the only Monegasque broadcaster with an EBU membership.

Therefore the brand-new broadcaster can become a EBU member and path the way for a Monaco return to Eurovision.  Nevertheless, this is only the first step towards their participation.  Monte-Carlo Rivera will need to apply for a EBU membership in order to participate in 2023.  This possibility seems likely considering that Monaco allocated 100000 euros on its budget for a 2023 bid.

Monaco in Eurovision

Monaco participated in Eurovision from 1959 until 1979.  During this period they won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1971 with the song Un banc, un arbre, une rue.  They also achieved a second place and three third places in the competition.  In 2004 Monaco returned to Eurovision.  They competed for three years in a row.  Unfortunately, they failed to qualify to the Grand Final.  Monaco participated in 2006 for the last time until now.

Are you excited about a potential Monaco return to Eurovision?

Monaco: Returns in Eurovision 2023!

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A very important news saw the light of day a little while ago. According to Monaco’s largest news site, L’Observateur de Monaco, the Principality is expected to return to the Eurovision Song Contest in 2023.

Monaco has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 24 times since its debut in 1959. The country’s only win in the contest came in 1971 when Séverine performed “Un banc, un arbre, une rue”. As a result, Monaco was expected to host the contest in 1972, but declined. As of 2021, Monaco is the only microstate which has won the contest.

The news of Monaco’s return to the Eurovision Song Contest came all of a sudden, as nothing had been heard in the past. The last participation of the state in the competition was in 2006, in Athens. Monaco was represented by Séverine Ferrer with the song “La Coco-Dance”, having been left out of the final. 

According to L’Observateur de Monaco, the country’s annual budget for 2022 refers to a budget of 100,000 euros for the preparation of Monaco’s participation in the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest.

While it is not yet clear which singer could represent Monaco in 2023, several artists, more or less known, have already represented the colors of the Principality in recent decades.

In any case, this news is very pleasant, as one of the first countries to ever participate in the Eurovision Song Contest is going to return to our favorite competition after 17 years. More details are expected to be known in the near future.

Even more skeptics can see the relevant reference in the preliminary draft budget, on pages 83-84 HERE

Source: L‘Observateur de Monaco