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Returning to 2022...

Teaisloveable

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Well! Lets start off with 2022!
With the current covid pandemic, the inevitable economic collapse to follow and the (already existing) political issues arising in many ESC participating countries, I can't help but think we could see a dip in participation in the next half decade.

Surprisingly, 2021 hasn't lost many countries (Miss you already Armenia) but I think the pandemic fallout is still raw and we could be heading into some quite dark days economically.

Unfortunately, I think this likely means a further delay of countries such as Hungary and Bosnia & Herzegovina returning to the contest.

Are there any countries that are participating in 2021, that you would not be surprised if you don't see a return in 2022?
Likewise, do you instead think that perhaps covid will trigger a wave of new participation, with countries wanting to globalise further and participate in the contest?
 

Matt

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I mean you never know for sure but looking at it objectively at the 39 countries taking part this year, I don't see any of them withdrawing in 2022. We don't know what kind of economic impact the pandemic will have one some countries so that could definitely throw a wrench into someone's plans.

But if you don't take that into consideration, I think we should be well situated for next year. Armenia will most likely return, Andorra said they might be back so I am hopeful.
 

Ezio

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I would not be suprised if Austria bows out in 2022 or 2023. We are going over an economic cliff right now, and our economic standards are soon be on par with Eastern and Southern Europe.

Maybe the pandemic is changing the map of Europe as well in the next 5 or 10 years to come. Our democracies are on the verge of becoming plutocracies and technocracies. The rulership of money and data technology companies.

I also don't expect the pandemic to be over soon neither. With all these mutants, it could even become worse and deadlier.

The eocomic fallout remains to be seen, but it could be devastating. An atomic explosion isn't over once the mushroom cloud evaporates. The actual desaster begins exactly then. So, with the virus gone, we could face an impoverished Europe.

And the superwealthy billionaires who reaped extra billions with the pandemic, are already looking for a way out into tax havens. I for one cancelled my Amazon account in disgust of Jeff Bezos.
 
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Lance Esgard

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I wouldn't be surprised at all if Belarus, which was due to participate until they were DQ'd, were to withdraw next year depending on the political and economic situation there. Or if the decision-makers think coming right back the next year could be viewed as showing weakness after what they spun as "politically motivated" action against them.

I would not be totally surprised if Armenia was still not ready to return next year. The social and political turmoil that led to Armenia withdrawing this year means that something happening in the aftermath of the July 2021 election that leads to further social and political turmoil that impacts Eurovision 2022 participation cannot be totally ruled out.

Budget cuts did historically impact Eurovision in 2010, so withdrawals due to budget cuts are not impossible. On a brighter note, as COVID-19 has had a particular impact on tourism and travel, t the tourism boost from hosting Eurovision may be seen as more desirable than usual if a normal Eurovision can be held.
 

tomos2019

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I've seen a rumour for a while saying that it might even actually get to the point that we don't have semifinals for the time being, which although not great I'm not sure would necessarily be all bad considering I have got some enjoyment out of those 1999-2003 contests and I'd rather that than it being cancelled again but given this contest we might not have to worry about that just yet!
 

JChan

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I think it's hard to say right now what the next year will look like, I could certainly see some countries withdrawing because of the pandemic and it's not a guarantee that anyone will return.

That being said, it does feel like in this horribly bleak year the general public is craving a fun distraction like Eurovision. For example, Melfest received its highest ratings in the past few years and MGP, PiS and FdC all smashed their voting records. It's possible that this years contest could do fairly well ratings wise and convince a few countries who are on the fence about participation to stick with it.

I also wouldn't be surprised if countries like Romania who had really low ratings after they NQ'd in 2019 end up taking a break in 2022 if they can't find success in this years contest.
 

ag89

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To me Romania is in a danger zone to withdraw. Firstly, the interest for Eurovision is so low (check the ratings), they failed to qualify twice in row and this year is not safe either. Otherwise, it's hard to predict. I do believe Armenia will return next year, Hungary probably not.
Montenegro will return sooner or later, they are interested anyway. Do not hope for Bosnia, the situation with national broadcaster hasn't been solved. There is enough money with private TV channels (I mean, national broadcaster doesn't even have high ratings anyway, but Eurovision was the project people really watched) so maybe they can pair with private channels and do something...But I don't really expect that.
I am not sad we are not participating (we shouldn't have returned in 2016, we destroyed our 100% qualification record) because why participating if you cannot deliver, but I am sad so many fantastic artists are wasted and they want to participate. Bosnian music scene is full of talents (it's actually quite impressive for a small country), but they don't have platform to shine.
 

anto475

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I've seen a rumour for a while saying that it might even actually get to the point that we don't have semifinals for the time being, which although not great I'm not sure would necessarily be all bad considering I have got some enjoyment out of those 1999-2003 contests and I'd rather that than it being cancelled again but given this contest we might not have to worry about that just yet!
I don't think it'll get that bad. Maybe we'll get down to 36/37 competitors but there's such work involved with organising the three nights that it would take a few years of constant low participation for the EBU to drop even one semi final, never mind both. One thing that I remember is the relative confusion among ordinary viewers of the contest when the semi final was introduced in 2004, and again when they introduced two in 2008. If they got rid of them for one year and brought them back then it would melt peoples' brains
 

GianlucaTomoe

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For the love of the almighty God, for the sake of the contest's reputation, for the utmost love that I feel towards real music, for the hope of a better future for the whole world, these countries need to withdraw from Eurovision:

Austria, Czech Republic, Georgia, Iceland, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, United Kingdom.

These other countries are on the fence, let's see what they bring in 2022, but if they fail to deliver again, they need to withdraw too:

Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland.
 
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EscUKFan

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I think in terms of the immediate future I can’t see many countries withdrawing. That I wouldn’t expect Armenia and Belarus back so soon, Hungary still doesn’t seem that bothered and god knows what Montenegro are up to.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Poland slips out over the next few years for similar reasons to Hungary, particularly if they don’t get a couple of decent results under their belt. I do think it’s likely we‘ll see another 2010-2014 run at some point soon following the economic fallout, but as long as everyone doesn’t withdraw at once it shouldn’t be that noticeable. It might also entice the EBU to let a few new countries in at least. Equally, a Balkan/Baltic/Eastern European win would probably help to keep certain countries in those areas at risk of withdrawing around.

And other than Andorra, I wouldn’t expect any of Bosnia/Turkey/Slovakia etc back soon, the latter in particular. If they didn’t make much noise about returning in 2019 after neighbouring countries had an incredibly strong year in Lisbon then I don’t know what will entice them back.
 

tomos2019

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I don't WANT any countries to withdraw, especially not like the UK or Poland lol although I do believe a split UK would be more representative of our actual landmass.
 

Lance Esgard

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I think in terms of the immediate future I can’t see many countries withdrawing. That I wouldn’t expect Armenia and Belarus back so soon, Hungary still doesn’t seem that bothered and god knows what Montenegro are up to.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Poland slips out over the next few years for similar reasons to Hungary, particularly if they don’t get a couple of decent results under their belt. I do think it’s likely we‘ll see another 2010-2014 run at some point soon following the economic fallout, but as long as everyone doesn’t withdraw at once it shouldn’t be that noticeable. It might also entice the EBU to let a few new countries in at least. Equally, a Balkan/Baltic/Eastern European win would probably help to keep certain countries in those areas at risk of withdrawing around.

And other than Andorra, I wouldn’t expect any of Bosnia/Turkey/Slovakia etc back soon, the latter in particular. If they didn’t make much noise about returning in 2019 after neighbouring countries had an incredibly strong year in Lisbon then I don’t know what will entice them back.
Yeah, it wouldn't be too surprising if Poland ended up like Hungary.
 

A-lister

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I've seen a rumour for a while saying that it might even actually get to the point that we don't have semifinals for the time being, which although not great I'm not sure would necessarily be all bad considering I have got some enjoyment out of those 1999-2003 contests and I'd rather that than it being cancelled again but given this contest we might not have to worry about that just yet!

This looks highly unlikely and certainly is just a rumor (I never seen this rumor myself anywhere tbh). Even during the ongoing pandemic, we have 39 countries entering.

Some seem to paint a very bleak and dystopian future here I see, I on the other hand stay fairly optimistic, I'm not naive to think the virus will be gone, but by the time of 2022, I'm positive the majority who will want to be vaccinated will be so (especially including the risk groups) and we can already see a correlation between vaccination and declining serious cases. I have of course little hope for anti-vaxxers, I mean you can't fix stupid, but hopefully some sort of passport or vaccine documents will be introduced so those mega-spreaders and conspiracy theorists can't join the fun.

I do think some countries will withdraw due to financial reasons in the aftermath of the pandemic, however as we've seen after the previous financial crisis, usually an economic boom follows and with people also being extra hungry to travel, leisure and entertainment post- Covid, this could help the boom and also help Eurovision as a result of it.
 

WhoKnows

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If we see yet another Western European country win again this year, I wonder if we'll start getting more Eastern European countries dropping out. We've had only 2 EE winners among the last ten, one of which was a decade ago.
 

Simon

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For the love of the almighty God, for the sake of the contest's reputation, for the utmost love that I feel towards real music, for the hope of a better future for the whole world, these countries need to withdraw from Eurovision:

Austria, Czech Republic, Georgia, Iceland, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, United Kingdom.

These other countries are on the fence, let's see what they bring in 2022, but if they fail to deliver again, they need to withdraw too:

Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland.

Damn boy or girl, you are one tough critic!

Nearly all of those countries have done something I've liked in recent years, even a lot in some cases. Granted not often, and not necessarily winning potential (though you've included reigning champion Netherlands and Duncan on the list :O), but something decent and more than worthy for inclusion nonetheless. Iceland really? They probably would've won last year, and I enjoyed Hatari too.

Isn't it kind of against the spirit of Eurovision to talk of kicking out countries just because they're a bit shit some or even most years, or don't take it as seriously as others? Sometimes they're good for a laugh, or to help make others look better. Eurovision has ever been thus. I don't want it to get too serious, and insisting on high standards could do just that.

What's funny is you haven't included what’s easily one of the worst performing countries in the past decade, and that's Ireland. You've included Sweden, Iceland and Netherlands but not Ireland? :shockedemoji: I think your country has done pretty well since its return as well.
 
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GianlucaTomoe

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Damn boy or girl, you are one tough critic!

Nearly all of those countries have done something I've liked in recent years, even a lot in some cases. Granted not often, and not necessarily winning potential (though you've even included reigning champion Netherlands and Duncan on the list :O), but something decent and more than worthy for inclusion nonetheless. Iceland really? They probably would've won last year, and I enjoyed Hatari too.

Isn't it kind of against the spirit of Eurovision to talk of kicking out countries just because they're a bit shit some or even most years, or don't take it as seriously as others? Sometimes they're good for a laugh, or to help make others look better. Eurovision has ever been thus. I don't want it to get too serious, and insisting on high standards could make it so.

What's funny is you haven't included what I think is one of the worst performing countries in the past decade and that's Ireland. You've included Sweden, Iceland and Netherlands but not Ireland? :shockedemoji: I think your country has done okay since its return as well.

You're right, Ireland has been good the past 2 years but if there's one country that has the most potential of sending a shitty song again (seeing what they sent between 2011 and 2013 and between 2016 and 2018), it's that one. So, I'm gonna include it among the "on the fence" countries.
 

EscUKFan

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I said this last year but I really hope we get Lebanon back at some point, albeit after the events in Beirut last August it won’t come close to happening any time soon.

That said their 2005 entry was gorgeous and they have a very interesting music scene that would hopefully be represented brilliantly in the contest.
 
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aef

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I think :hu: might do a :tr: and withdraw for a longer period. :by: might not return due to political circumstances, I also have doubts about :am:. :me: seems to have no big interest into returning again. :ba: is still having financial problems right? I think :ad: could really return, maybe we see a surprise :mc: return due to :it: hosting but I don't really expect that.

New withdrawers? Maybe really :ro: due to bad results and poor viewer interest in the contest. Maybe :mk: due to constant bad results beside 2019 but they are rather in. I don't have any other possible withdrawing countries in mind right now.
 
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rasmuslights

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I think :hu: might do a :tr: and withdraw for a longer period. :by: might not return due to political circumstances, I also have doubts about :am:. :me: seems to have no big interest into returning again. ::bi is still having financial problems right? I think :ad: could really return, maybe we see a surprise :mc: return due to :it: hosting but I don't really expect that.

New withdrawers? Maybe really :ro: due to bad results and poor viewer interest in the contest. Maybe :mk: due to constant bad results beside 2019 but they are rather in. I don't have any other possible withdrawing countries in mind right now.

same opinions about everything...

I see Armenia returning tho, I think they take great pride in Eurovision...

Andorra will most likely return.. I'm interested in Monaco tho..

Macedonia will participate, VERY scared about Romania tho... they'll probably continue with Global Records since it's possible that they helped them out financially in 2021..
 
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