Georgian broadcaster GTVR decided not to participate in the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest, which will take place in Athens. Esckaz.com wrote that. According to managing director Vano Tarhnishvili, GTVR is not able to find the necessary budget to participate.

To participate, the Georgian national public broadcaster would have to pay EUR 50,000 to the European Broadcasting Union, a relatively small fee compared to other countries. A national selection, promotion of the winner and releasing a single and a video would cost about EUR 450,000 more, which means GTVR would need about EUR 500,000 to participate. Potential sponsors are, overall, not interested to support a Georgian Eurovision Song Contest entry.

Although GTVR admits to be interested to join in 2007, it might be too early to rule out Georgia's participation for the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest entirely. In case the European Broadcasting Union is eager to see Georgia joining the family, negotiations might lead to participation after all. Time will tell!

Georgian broadcaster GTVR is an Active Member of the EBU since early summer 2005.