The 15th of September 2023 was marked as the final day, that broadcasters that are members of the EBU, could submit their interest for participating in the 2024 contest, which is set to be held in Malmö, Sweden. The day also showed us, that MRT, the broadcaster in North Macedonia, had revealed their documentation for TV programs and schedules, that is expected to be part of their calendar in 2024.
North Macedonia in Malmö?
In order to avoid confusion and any misunderstanding, this is NOT an official confirmation. Rather, the broadcaster has just “secured” their rights to broadcast the show in 2024. Within the document, we’ve managed to find the section, which roughly translates – thanks google translate – as follow:
- The program of the Macedonian Radio Television in 2024 will be also marked by the participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 where Macedonian musical values ​​will be presented through the participating song at this festival.
This would highly suggest, that the country has indeed confirmed it’s return. However, the document also states further into it, that the programs have only been “purchased”, and that a total of 1.5 million Denar (24.343,95 Euros) had been allocated into both Eurovision AND Junior Eurovision. Whether this is more than enough for participation in both shows, remains to be seen.
The document doesn’t state however, whether a national final will be held or not, nor should the country select internally, how much of their budget will be used on their representative. Further more, the following was also stated in the document – thanks again google translate – which roughly translates into the following:
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Costs for the realization of the project Selection of a song – Macedonian representative of Junior Eurosong 2024 as well as costs planned for Eurosong 2024 that would be incurred if MRT broadcasts the festival even if North Macedonia does not participates with its own representative.
For now, we can only await the confirmation from MRT, which could be at any point, or from the EBU, who is expected to reveal the full list of participants in late October, after the deadline for countries to withdraw their submission has concluded.
As a reminder, North Macedonia last participated in 2022, when Andrea almost clinched a spot into the final with her song “Circles“. Sadly, she finished just outside the qualification spot in her semi-final, finished 11th with 76 points. North Macedonia made their debut in 1998, and last year was the first time ever, that the country pulled out of the contest by themselves. Prior to 2004, North Macedonia was forced to sit out, due to poor results between 1998 and 2003, when relegations rules existed in the contest.
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Source(s): MRT.com.mk (In Macedonian)
