Another day, another confirmation from RTVS confirming that Slovakia will not be returning to Eurovision. Last week, they confirmed that they would not be participating in the Eurovision Song Contest next year. Now, they have confirmed that they will not be participating in Junior Eurovision this autumn.
Last week, Erika Rusnáková, the press spokesperson for RTVS, confirmed that Slovakia would not be returning to the contest next year. For this, she cited ‘inadequate audience interest and interest rating’ for the contest.
Despite this, rumours had began to circulate that Slovakia would be debuting at this year’s Junior Eurovision. In response to these rumours, however, Rusnáková confirmed that they were false. This would have been Slovakia’s first Eurovision-adjacent event since Eurovision Young Dancers back in 2015.
Although Slovakia have never participated in the Junior contest, RTVS had previously planned to participate in the inaugural edition back in 2003. However, these plans did not come into fruition due to budgetary problems.
Junior Eurovision 2019
This year’s Junior Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Gliwice Arena, Poland, on the 24th November 2019. It marks the first time Poland will host a music-based Eurovision event!
At present, the following countries have confirmed their participation:
- Albania
- Australia
- France
- Georgia
- Ireland
- Netherlands
- North Macedonia
- Poland
- Portugal
- Russia
- Wales
Slovakia at the Eurovision Song Contest
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 “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. The national final performance has over 17 million views.
Slovakia participated on two more occasions, in 2011 and 2012 respectively. However, on both occasions, they 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 that Slovakia will not be debuting at the Junior Eurovision? Would you like to see them at Junior Eurovision in the future? Let us know! Be sure to stay updated by following @ESCXTRA on Twitter, @escxtra on Instagram and liking our Facebook page for the latest updates!
