Bosnia & Herzegovina will be out of the Eurovision Song Contest and announced their “no show” at the 64th edition of competition. However, this time around we get a bit more in depth regarding what the reason behind their withdrawal is.
In a brief statement in Eurofestivales, Bosnia & Herzegovina’s head of delegation, Leila Babovic, reveals the reasons surrounding the issue. Explaining that the picturesque Balkan nation has been banned from accessing any services provided by the European Broadcasting Union.
Unfortunately, BHRT can not participate in the 2018 Junior Eurovision Song Contest or the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest, since we are under the EBU sanctions, which means that BHRT can not participate until the debts against EBU are resolved.
The European Broadcasting Union quickly followed up with a statement:
BHRT is currently denied access to all EBU services because of its high levels of debt with the EBU.
The EBU first placed the sanctions on Bosnia & Herzegovina’s National Broadcaster, BHRT, in December of 2016. Cutting them the access to the Eurovision News Exchange due to a debt that is estimated to be over three million Euros.
Déjà vu
This is not the first time that a country is not able to partake or broadcast the contest due to debt. In a similar scenario the Romanian National Broadcaster, TVR, was “uninvited” from the competition back in 2016.
Additionally, FYR Macedonia’s MRTV almost had to withdraw from this year’s contest due to an ongoing debt towards the EBU.
Bosnia & Herzegovina at Eurovision
Bosnia’s Eurovision journey begins in the distant 1993. Their entry “Sva Bol Svjeta” by Fazla managed to score 27 points and finish 16th overall.
However, Bosnia manages to rise like a phoenix in the years to come.Through the years they’ve managed to finish in the top 10 multiple times. Their best scoring entry is their 2006 effort with Hari’s “Lejla“.
Bosnia and Herzegovina’s last Eurovision attempt is probably their most disappointing one. Dalal and Dean featuring Ana Runcer & Jala were the first Bosnian act to fail to qualify for the finals, finishing 11th in the semi final back in 2016.
⇒This is what our team had to say about Bosnia’s 2016 Eurovision entry “Ljubav Je“⇐
Would you like to see Bosnia & Herzegovina make a comeback to the contest in the near future? What is your favorite Bosnian Eurvovision entry? Are you feeling hopeful for their return in 2020?
Let us know in the comments section below and on all social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter at @ESCXTRA.