EurovisionTel Aviv 2019

Andorra: no participation at Eurovision in sight

No comeback in RTVA’s plans

Many of us hoped that Andorra, that last participated in 2009, would soon make a return to Eurovision. However, a statement by the general director of Andorran broadcaster (RTVA) Xavier Mujal unfortunately ended the hopes for a 2019 return.
In an interview published by eurofestivales.com, Mujal stated:

We will not participate in Eurovision 2019 or in any other EBU event. This is related to the participation costs and the logistics for each contest, which are very big for a small company like ours.” 

The same source reported that due to the costs and logistics they do not expect to take part in the short and medium term. Sadly, this means we shouldn’t hope to see the country back in 2020 either.

Government needs to prioritize the contest to return

Back in November, we reported that for the country to return to the contest, the government needs to make participation a “real priority.” The country withdrew as it needed to restructure the television and radio services that were struggling with growing debts. There is still interest in the contest in Andorra, however, the poor qualification record and high costs (around €300,000) do not make a return a top priority.

Andorra in the Eurovision Song Contest

The micro-state participated in six contests, every year from 2004 and 2009. It is the only country that never qualified for a grand final, having debuted the year the semi-finals were introduced. Their first entrant was Marta Roure with “Jugarem a estimar-nos“, who came 18th in the semi-final with 12 points. They achieved their best results in Helsinki in 2007, when the band Anonymous placed 12th in the semi-final with “Salven el mon“, just 11 points shy of qualification. The last Andorran representative, in 2009, was Danish-born Susanne Giorgi with “La teva decisió (Get a life)“. She placed 15th in the first semi-final with 8 points.

What do you think of Andorra’s continued non-participation? Would you like to see them participate again in the near future? What do you think is the way forward for micro-states at the contest? 

Let us know in the comments section below and on all social media platforms at @ESCXTRA.

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