#ESC19: One Non-Debutant & One Non-Returnee

By escppeurovision on July 24, 2018 • ( Leave a comment )

Within the last week, we have seen news that confirms at least one non-debutant and one non-returnee.

A few week ago, we looked at the possible debutants at the Eurovision Song Contest in Israel next year. We can now confirm that Liechtenstein are very unlikely to be there as it seems they have not applied for full membership. ESCXTRA reached out to the European Broadcasting Union and received the following quote:

“The EBU has not received an application for Membership from 1FLTV, Liechtenstein.”

One of the countries featured in our #MondayMemories series, Luxembourg will not be returning to the contest in Israel next year. Back in 2017, Mr Schmit, the Director of Programming, RTL Tele Letzebuerg, explained the reasons against participation and their limited chances of success:

“For participation it’s simple, we could call upon the sponsor and there were openings at this stage, a few years ago. But the big risk, and it is shared by public bodies is that we can not bear the costs related to the organisation of Eurovision next year. I believe that (with) the enlargement of Eurovision, the days (of victory) are gone. With the new voting system, it is very unlikely that Luxembourg is successful. Small countries are somewhat more troubled now.”

Luxembourg last participated in the Contest back in 1993. Modern Times performed “Donne-moi une chance” – finishing in 20th place with 11 points.