ESC’16: Croatia & Bulgaria Return

A joint record of 43 countries will be competing in the 61st Eurovision Song Contest in Stockholm, Sweden.

Croatia and Bulgaria have this morning been confirmed as returning to the contest alongside Ukraine and Bosnia & Herzegovina. 43 countries have participated in the contest only on two previous occasions in 2011 and 2008. Jon Ola Sand said that:

We are proud to see broadcasters from 43 countries sign up for the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest. We have put a lot of effort into bringing together as many countries as possible and this number reflects that. To see all these different countries and cultures come together, despite the challenges Europe and the world faces today, shows the power of music and the enduring appeal of the Eurovision Song Contest.

The full list of participating countries is as follows:

• Albania (RTSH)
• Armenia (AMPTV)
• Australia (SBS)
• Austria (ORF)
• Azerbaijan (İTV)
• Belarus (BTRC)
• Belgium (VRT)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina (BHRT)
• Bulgaria (BNT)
• Croatia (HRT)
• Cyprus (CyBC)
• Czech Republic (ČT)
• Denmark (DR)
• Estonia (ERR)
• Finland (YLE)
• France (France Télévisions)
• FYR Macedonia (MKRTV)
• Georgia (GPB)
• Germany (NDR)
• Greece (ERT)
• Hungary (MTVA)
• Iceland (RÚV)
• Ireland (RTÉ)
• Israel (IBA)
• Italy (RAI)
• Latvia (LTV)
• Lithuania (LRT)
• Malta (PBS)
• Moldova (TRM)
• Montenegro (RTCG)
• The Netherlands (AVROTROS)
• Norway (NRK)
• Poland (TVP)
• Romania (TVR)
• Russia (RTR)
• San Marino (SMRTV)
• Serbia (RTS)
• Slovenia (RTVSLO)
• Spain (TVE)
• Sweden (SVT)
• Switzerland (SRG SSR)
• Ukraine (NTU)
• United Kingdom (BBC)

Source: Eurovision.tv