Will Slovakia return to the Eurovision Song Contest next year? RTVS, the Slovakian national broadcaster has confirmed to ESCToday that Slovakia is yet to make a decision regarding its participation at the forthcoming Eurovision edition in Ukraine.

RTVS neither denies or confirms a possible return to the contest next year. The landlocked country debuted at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994 with Martin Durinda and Tublatanka. The country withdrew from the competition in 2013 and has not returned since. The country  has never qualified to the Grand Final since the semifinals were introduced in the competition.

So far 21 countries have confirmed their intention to participate at the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest.

The final and confirmed list of the ESC 2017 participating countries is expected to be released by the EBU by late December/early January.

The period for countries to apply for participation at the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest concludes on 15 September. Hereafter applicant countries have a grace period until 10 October to decide if they are to stay or not in the competition without facing a financial penalty.

The 2017 Eurovision Song Contest is scheduled to be held in Ukraine, whilst the host city is yet to be determined. The preliminary dates for the 2017 ESC have been set on 9, 11 and 13 May.