Hungary withdrew from the Eurovision Song Contest this year and would have been absent in Rotterdam, but is the country planning to stay out of the competition next year too?

Hungarian national broadcaster, MTVA, published the rules and regulations for A Dal 2021 and has opened the song submission window for the competition, but with no link or mention to the Eurovision Song Contest. Does this mean that Hungary will be absent from the competition for a second consecutive year? Or will it be back in the competition with an internal selection?

Hungary’s return to Eurovision next year remains grim, MTVA has not made any official announcement regarding Hungary’s Eurovision 2021 participation yet. We gather that the country will more than likely stay out of the competition for a second consecutive year.

We must note that MTVA did not broadcast the special Eurovision show, Eurovision:Shine A light, last May either. The show was broadcast by RTCG, BHRT, RTK and Khabar Agency (non participating broadcasters at ESC 2020).

A Dal- the Hungarian national selection was introduced in Hungary 2012 as the mechanism to select the Hungarian Eurovision entry and act. MTVA held the competition in 2020 with no link to the Eurovision Song Contest.

In 2020 Gergő Rácz & Reni Orsovai were declared the winners of A Dal 2020 but didn’t get the golden ticket to Eurovision 2020 as the Hungary withdrew from the competition.

Eurovision 2021

So far a total of 38 countries have confirmed their participation at the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest, with Poland, UK and Belarus yet to make an official announcement regarding their participation in the event next year.

The deadline forparticipating countries to withdraw their application for Eurovision 2021 without a financial penalty concluded on 10 October.

The EBU is expected to release the official list of the 2021 Eurovision participating countries next month.

Hungary in Eurovision

The Hungarians attempted to join the Eurovision Song Contest in 1993 when they competed in the special prelimary semi-final in Ljubiana with Andrea Szulak‘s Arva reggel, but failed to qualify to Millstreet and win one of the three available golden tickets to Eurovision. The country had to wait one more year to enter the competition.

Hungary debuted at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994 with Friderika Bayer and her entry Kinek mondjam el vetkeimet achieving a 4th place in Dublin, namely the country’s best placing in the competition till date.

The central European nation has participated 17 times in Europe’s favourite show and is yet to win the competition. The Hungarians withdrew from the competition in 1999 and returned to the contest in 2005 after a 6 year absence.

Hungary has only placed six times in the top 10 of the Eurovision scoreboard since its debut ;  4th (1994), 5th (2014), 8th (2017) and 9th ( 2007) and 10th (2013).

In 2019 Hungary selected its Eurovision act and entry via its traditional national selection A Dal. Joci Papai won the golden ticket to Tel Aviv with his entry Az en Apam. Despite a magnificent performance the country failed to qualify to the Grand Final for the first time in 10 years.