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Liechtenstein: Not much hope for a debut in the contest!

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Voters in Liechtenstein voted in favour of privatising Radio Liechtenstein, ending hopes of a possible debut in the Eurovision Song Contest.

The initiative by the Democrats for Liechtenstein (DpL) to repeal the law governing the country’s public broadcaster was approved with 55.4% of the vote and a turnout of 59.3%. The law will take effect on December 31, 2025, making Liechtenstein the only country in Europe without a national broadcaster.

Radio Liechtenstein has received about 70% of public media funding annually, totaling around 4 million CHF. The Liechtenstein government urged voters to reject the initiative, expressing concerns that it could lead to the end of radio broadcasts in the country. Questions have also been raised about how a private broadcaster can operate with an audience of only 40,000 residents.

The privatization means that Radio Liechtenstein will no longer meet the membership criteria of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). In June 2024, the broadcaster began exploring the possibility of joining the EBU, in the hopes of Liechtenstein debuting in the competition.

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Eurovision Song Contest 2025!

Source: Εurovoix

Liechtenstein: Radio Liechtenstein will apply for EBU membership!

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Radio Liechtenstein is planning to apply for EBU membership according to Liechtensteiner Vaterland.

Liechtenstein newspaper Liechtensteiner Vaterland broke the news.  According to their sources, Radio Liechtenstein is in the process of applying for EBU membership.

In the early 2010s, Liechtenstein showed some interest in becoming a EBU member and competing in the Eurovision Song Contest.   Peter Kolbel, former director of 1 FL TV, the only television station based in the state, was very positive about Liechtenstein participating in Eurovision.  Sadly, plans for Liechtenstein’s participation were halted after Kolbel’s death four years ago.

The Managing Director of the television station 1 FL TV, Sandra Woldt did not follow the path set by her predecessor. Thus the possibility of seeing the state’s debut in the competition was suspended indefinitely.

Radio Liechtenstein was founded in 1995 and is partially funded by the government of Liechtenstein as its only public broadcaster. The radio station is one of two multimedia companies based in Liechtenstein along with 1 FL TV.

If Radio Liechtenstein becomes a member of the EBU, it will become one of thirteen other full members of the EBU that are only radio broadcasters. However, it would be highly unlikely that Radio Liechtenstein would be able to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest, as no radio broadcaster has ever taken part in the event, as the contest requires a televised broadcast in the participating countries.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the updates on Liechtenstein application to the EBU!

Source: Eurovoix

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Liechtenstein: The channel 1 FL TV rules out debuting in Eurovision 2024!

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As we can see, Liechtenstein will not be making its Eurovision Song Contest debut, not even in 2024, in Malmo, Sweden.

The country’s public broadcaster, 1 FL TV, confirmed a while ago to ESC Today, that they will not be participating this year either. Liechtenstein faces more problems than other countries in joining the Contest, as the channel must first become a member of the EBU.

The rules of the competition, as they currently stand, only allow members of the European Broadcasting Union to participate. As joining the Union would add additional costs to its participation, especially for a small country, Liechtenstein has not participated in the Contest so far.

In the early 2010s, Liechtenstein had shown interest in taking part in the Contest, as the then director of 1 FL TV, Peter Kolbel, wanted his country to join Eurovision. However, the whole process stopped when Kolbel passed away four years ago.

Managing Director of the Liechtenstein’s broadcaster Sandra Woldt has confirmed back in 2022, that they are no longer interested in joining the European Broadcasting Union and so competing in Eurovision, as one of their aims. Sandra Woldt said in a statement that:

“We are no longer pursuing this goal, we are concentrating on our reporting in and for Liechtenstein.”

This means that, based on the information we have so far, we will not see a new country making its debut in the competition this year either. The last country to debut was Australia, back in 2015.

Source: esctoday.com

Liechtenstein: 1 FL TV rejects applying for EBU membership!

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1 FL TV, Liechtenstein-based broadcaster,  has confirmed that it is no longer aiming to apply for membership of the European Broadcasting Union.

Managing Director of the Liechtenstein’s broadcaster Sandra Woldt has confirmed that they are no longer have joining the European Broadcasting Union and so competing in Eurovision, as one of their aims. Sandra Woldt said in a statement that:

“We are no longer pursuing this goal, we are concentrating on our reporting in and for Liechtenstein.”

Liechtenstein, along with the Vatican and Kosovo, remain the only internationally recognised states within Europe to have never taken part in the Eurovision Song Contest. The country’s first attempt dates back to 1976  when Biggi Bachman tried to represent her country with the song “Little Cowboy”, but she could not perform due to lack of a broadcaster.

Since 1FLTV’s formation back in 2008, Eurovision has been a long-term aim for the broadcaster. In 2009 the broadcaster announced it was working towards a debut in the 2010 contest, but was unable to secure the funding needed for an EBU membership.

In 2017 1FLTV stated that they have applied for EBU membership and were currently in the process of complying with all requirements in order for their membership to be granted. The broadcaster had proposed a selection method to select their debut entry, if EBU membership was granted. Their debut was originally expected to coincide with the 300th anniversary of the formation of the principality by the Holy Roman Emperor in 2019. Sadly however due to the death of TV channel founder Peter Kölbel, the project was scrapped.

Source: eurovoix.com