1 FL TV, the national broadcaster of the Principality of Liechtenstein has confirmed to ESCToday that Liechtenstein will not debut at the upcoming Eurovision edition in Lisbon.

Liechtenstein is a small landlocked country nestled between Switzerland and Austria and is amongst the smallest countries in Europe along with Andorra, San Marino, Monaco and Vatican City.

Unfortunately we will not see Liechtenstein debut at the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest in Portugal next year. The country is very keen to partake in the competition but due to the high costs we will not see the principality debut next year.

Not eligible to participate

The Liechtensteiner broadcaster is not an active member of the EBU, hence it is not eligible to participate in the contest currently.

Hurdles and obstacles

The broadcaster faces 2 major challenges in order to fulfill its wish to participate at the Eurovision Song Contest in the future; it requires the support from the government and to solve the financial constraint an EBU membership entails, not forgetting the costs of a Eurovision participation. Once it overcomes these hurdles and it becomes an active member of the EBU we will possibly see Liechtenstein join the Eurovision family!

The landlocked country has a rich musical heritage and has many talented singers, musicians, choirs and orchestras.

2 years ago, 1 FL TV told ESCToday  that Liechtenstein was interested in participating in the contest but had to evaluate the financial costs an EBU membership entails.

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.