The North Macedonian broadcaster is considering the withdrawal of Andrea as the nation’s Eurovision entrant after a “flag throwing” incident during the Opening Ceremony.
MRT is considering Andrea’s withdrawal following the singer throwing the nation’s flag across the floor at the 2022 Eurovision Openings Ceremony.
In the clip seen of the singer, it does not appear the singer intended any disrespect and simply wanted to move the flag out of the photoshoot with the press. MRT is now considering the possibility of having Andrea withdraw from the contest and is expecting a full apology statement from the singer.
The moment can be seen at 56:30 in the opening ceremony live stream.
The statement from MRT is as follows:
Macedonian Radio Television strongly condemns the move of our representative at Eurovision Song Contest 2022, Andrea Koevska, who threw the state flag on the ground during the photoshoot in Turin.
The public service is in no way behind this scandalous behaviour of our Eurovision representative, who with that gesture showed disrespect for the national symbol, which is punishable by law. MRT expects Andrea to apologize to the citizens for such behaviour. The public service is considering the possibility of her withdrawal from Eurovision, although care will be taken not to cause more damage to MRT. All legal possibilities for the strictest sanctioning for this scandal will be taken against those responsible in the Macedonian delegation.
Currently as stated in the statement from MRT, showing disrespect to national symbols is a crime in North Macedonia, meaning Andrea could face legal action for her actions on the red carpet.
Update: MRT has released a video with an apology from Andrea, who said she intended no offense and that she only aims to represent North Macedonia in the best light.Who is Andrea?
Andrea was selected to represent North Macedonia after winning Za Evrosong 2022, the first national final to be held in North Macedonia since 2015. As there was a tie for first place, Andrea was declared the winner as she received maximum points from the international jury.
The song that Andrea will perform in Turin is called “Circles”. It was written by Aleksandar Masevski and Andrea herself.
Image source: EBU / Nathan Reinds | Source: MRT
North Macedonia (previously competing as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1998. However, two years earlier they attempted to participate but were knocked out in the pre-qualifying round. In 2016 they were represented by Kaliopi for a second time with the song “Dona”, she missed out on the final finishing in 11th in her semi-final. North Macedonia’s best result to date is a 7th place finish in the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest represented by Tamara Todevska and the song “Proud”.
