Ľuboš Machaj the Director General of RTVS has spoken further regarding a potential return of Slovakia to the Eurovision Song Contest.
In an interview with Aktuality.sk, Mr Machaj the Director General of the Slovak public broadcaster has spoken in detail regarding the Eurovision Song Contest. Slovakia has not participated in the Eurovision Song Contest since 2012, however, Mr Machaj is actively looking at bringing the country back to the competition.
Mr Machaj confirmed that RTVS will not be competing in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2024. He told the outlet that:
We are indeed one of the few countries that does not broadcast Eurovision. Finances are very demanding and so is preparation. In 2024, we will declare that in another year – if everything goes without problems – we will enter Eurovision. We received relatively good offers for entry. It wasn’t something that would put us off, but it wasn’t small money either.
In addition, Mr Machaj said that RTVS was considering how it wants to select its entry for the competition. In 2009 and 2010 Slovakia held a televised selection process, while in 2011 and 2012 their entry was internally selected.
We also have to decide in what form we will select the Slovak participant. In 2011, Miro Šmajda represented us, saying that he came on television with the proposal that he would cover the costs because he had sponsors behind him.Eurovision is a pan-European affair and Slovakia should also be represented in it.
Slovakia last took part in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2012, when Max Jason Mai finished last in the second semi-final with “Don’t Close Your Eyes”. It is one of a number of countries currently considering a return to the competition including Monaco.
Image Source: Eurovision.tv | Source: Aktuality.sk
Since its debut in 1994, Slovakia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest a total of seven times. Slovakia’s best result was in 1996 when Marcel Palonder finished 18th with the song “Kým nás máš”. The country has a history of withdrawing and returning to the contest. They were relegated from the contest in 1995 and 1997. They then withdrew from the contest entirely between 1999 and 2008, and again from 2013 onwards. All Slovak entries between 2009 and 2012 failed to progress from the semi-finals. Their 2011 entry “I’m Still Alive” came the closest to qualifying, placing 13th in the semi-final. It was also the first Slovak entry to be entirely in English. Although it failed to qualify, their 2010 entry “Horehronie” by Kristina is one of the most viewed videos on the official Eurovision YouTube channel every month.
I miss Slovakia, and I hope they’ll realize how important the Eurovision Song Contest was to them before 2013.