'No Czech Republic in Athens'

by Sietse Bakker 3,374 views

The Czech Republic will not participate in the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest in Athens. Eurovision Song Contest fanclub OGAE Germany wrote that on its website. Earlier this week, Georgian broadcaster GTVR admitted the necessary budget could not be found.

Last year, the Czech broadcaster had the intention to enter the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest. At the end, CT decided not to come to Kyiv. The Czech public broadcaster considers it as a significant disadvantage that a Czech representative would have to enter the semifinal, without having the assurance of an attractive Saturday night programme.

Georgia
Earlier this week, esckaz.com reported that Georgia cannot find the necessary sponsor budget to make a debute in Athens. Only a day after stating “it might be too early to rule out Georgia's participation for the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest entirely”, which also counts for the Czech decision to stay home in 2006, sources claim that Georgian television actually found the necessary sponsors, but that the broadcaster does not want to make any decisions before the funds actually arrived.

Armenia, Bulgaria and Austria
Armenia is eager to join the Eurovision Song Contest family in 2006. For the moment, their entrance depends on the decision of the European Broadcasting Union whether they agree or not. In Bulgaria, the public broadcaster openly doubts if another Eurovision Song Contest participation would make sense. In Kyiv, Kaffe's Lorraine didn't manage to qualify for the final. Earlier this summer, Austrian broadcaster ORF announced to turn its back to the Eurovision Song Contest and not to subscribe for Athens 2006.