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The EBU has finally revealed exactly who will be competing in Tel Aviv next May. This morning they announced that 42 countries will be taking part across three shows on the 14th, 16th and 18th of May 2019. As always the big five, France, Spain, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom will all be put straight through to the final, along with hosts Israel. That leaves the other 36 countries to battle it out in two semi finals for the remaining 20 spots in the final. The semi-final allocation draw is likely to take place in early 2019.
43 countries took part in the most recent edition of Eurovision which means sadly one country has withdrawn and that country is Bulgaria. Bulgaria have withdrawn sighting financial issues as their main reason but have assured fans that they will be back sooner rather than later.
There are also no new countries for next year. There had been a lot of speculation that Kosovo or Kazakhstan may be making their debut in the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest, but that doesn’t seem to be the case at the moment. There are also no returning members coming to the party next year with the likes of Andorra, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Turkey and Slovakia all staying at home for their own reasons.
This is what executive supervisor of the contest Jon Ola Sand had to say about today’s announcement: “Last year Netta dared to dream and won the contest in Lisbon, bringing it to Israel for 2019. We are thrilled that 42 countries will be represented in Tel Aviv and hope the participating broadcasters are inspired to have the same dream. The team at KAN is busy preparing to welcome the participants – and the world! – to Tel Aviv and will be putting on a show to remember.”
Eldad Koblenz, the CEO of KAN added: “We already know that dreams come true when we saw Netta Barzilai win the Eurovision Song Contest in May and bring the trophy back to Israel for a third time. Netta allowed us to dare to dream and now, as these dreams are being realised, we can’t wait to host the 42 delegations who will aspire to do the same. All of us at KAN are looking forward to welcoming everyone to an exciting and memorable Eurovision Song Contest that will be watched by millions of viewers in Israel and across the globe.”
These are the following countries (and broadcasters) who will compete for the title in May next year:
Albania (RTSH)
Armenia (AMPTV)
Australia (SBS)
Austria (ORF)
Azerbaijan (Ictimai TV)
Belarus (BTRC)
Belgium (RTBF)
Croatia (HRT)
Cyprus (CYBC)
Czech Republic (CT)
Denmark (DR)
Estonia (ERR)
Finland (YLE)
France (FT)
FYR Macedonia (MKDTV)
Germany (ARD/NDR)
Georgia (GPB)
Greece (ERT)
Hungary (MTVA)
Iceland (RUV)
Ireland (RTE)
Israel (IPBC/KAN)
Italy (RAI)
Latvia (LTV)
Lithuania (LRT)
Malta (PBS)
Moldova (TRM)
Montenegro (RTCG)
Netherlands (AVROTROS)
Norway (NRK)
Poland (TVP)
Portugal (RTP)
Romania (TVR)
Russia (RTR)
San Marino (SMRTV)
Serbia (RTS)
Slovenia (RTVSLO)
Spain (RTVE)
Sweden (SVT)
Switzerland (SRG/SSR)
Ukraine (UA:PBC)
United Kingdom (BBC)
Eurovision.TV also shared some quite interesting facts. Germany will be competing in the contest for the 63rd time, they hold the record for the most appearances in the contest, Meanwhile Switzerland and Netherlands will compete for the 60th time this year. Greece will celebrate it’s 40th appearance this year while Croatia, Slovenia and Estonia will all compete for the 25th time. Latvia and Lithuania are celebrating their twentieth anniversary of participation while San Marino will compete for the tenth time next year.
In total there are 19 countries competing who could win for the very first time.
What do #YOU think, are you happy with the amount of participants we have for Tel Aviv? Are you rooting for a new winner? Let us know by commenting below or contacting us on our forum or social media platforms!
