RTVS, the Slovak national broadcaster has confirmed to ESCToday that Slovakia will not participate at the forthcoming 2018 Eurovision Song Contest in Lisbon.

We will not see Slovakia return to Eurovision next year either. The country joins Andorra, Luxembourg, Monaco and Turkey all of whom have confirmed their non participation in Lisbon.

Slovakia in Eurovision

Slovakia debuted at the Eurovision in 199 with Martin Durinda & Tublatanka and is yet to win the event. The landlocked country attempted to debut in 1993 but didn’t pass the prelimary semifinal and had to wait until 1994. The country’s best result is a 18th place in the Grand Final 1996 with Marcel Palonder‘s Kým nás máš.

 A rocky road and withdrawals

Slovakia has participated a total of 7 times in Eurovision and has had quite a rocky road in the contest. In 1999 the central European country withdrew from the competition and returned after a 11 year hiatus in 2009.

The Slovaks withdrew from the competiton again in 2013 and have not returned since due to bad results, poor viewing figures and lack of interest. The country has never qualified to the Grand Final since the introduction of the semifinals in 2004.

Eurovision 2018

The 2018 Eurovision Song Contest is scheduled to be held on 8, 10 and 12 May in Lisbon, Portugal.

The deadline for broadcasters to officially apply for Eurovision 2018 concludes by mid September. Hereafter, countries have a grace period to confirm their participation or withdraw their application without a penalty.

The final list of the 2018 Eurovision participating countries is expected to be released by the EBU later during the year.