The Slovak National Broadcaster, RTVS, has announced that they will not return to the Eurovision Song Contest 2019. Their last participation dates back to 2012.
Following the success of neighboring Czech Republic in the most recent edition of the contest, fans have been speculating the return of Slovakia. However, rumors were put to rest in a recent interview for Eurocontest.cz, where they confirm the fact that we will not see them back to the competition in the near future.
A spokesperson for RTVS stated that;
The long-standing RTVS standpoint remains unchanged. The Eurovision Song Contest is beyond our financial possibilities, so RTVS will not join it.
As always, we remain hopeful that RTVS find the funding to participate. Perhaps a sponsor could stand up?
Slovakia at Eurovision
The central European country has quite a poor track record when it comes to Eurovision. Slovakia debuted in 1994 and have participated on only seven occasions. Their best result to date was 18th in 1996 with Marcel Palonder and the song “Kým nás máš”. Between 1998 and 2009, Slovakia did not participate. However in 2009, they returned with Kamil Mikulčík and Nela Pocisková. They only managed to achieve 18th place in their semi final and thus failed to qualify for the final.
In 2010, one of the Slovakia’s biggest pop stars, Kristína, represented her country and despite being among the favourites, she also failed to qualify and came 16th. Despite this, she still remains a big name in Slovakia and her entry is among the most watched ever on the official Eurovision YouTube channel.
Slovakia participated on two more occasions, in 2011 and 2012 respectively, however on both occasions also failed to make the grand final. Max Jason Mai, Slovakia’s 2012 representative, came last in Baku, giving the country their worst ever result ever. In 2013, RTVS withdrew and has not returned to the contest since blaming financial difficulties.
Are you disappointed Slovakia is not returning? What was your favorite Slovak entry? Do you think they will ever return to Eurovision?
Let us know in the comments section below and on all social media platforms at @ESCXTRA!
