1 FL TV, the national broadcaster of the Principality of Liechtenstein has confirmed to ESCToday that Liechtenstein will not debut at the upcoming 2022 Eurovision Song Contest in Italy.
Eurovision fans have been fervently awaiting to see a new country debut in the Eurovision Song Contest, the last time we saw a new nation debut in our beloved contest was in 2015 when Australia joined the Eurovision family.
The Liechtensteiner broadcaster told ESCToday that it will not debut at the 2022 Eurovision edition next year due to the high costs involved in partaking in the competition.
Liechtenstein’s Eurovision dream
The broadcaster was vying to become an EBU member and compete in the Eurovision Song Contest, but its plans were suddenly halted due to Mr. Peter Kolbel ‘s (1 FLT TV director) untimely demise two years ago. Mr. Kolbel was working earnestly in order to bring the landlocked country to the Eurovision Song Contest.
The Liechtensteiner broadcaster is NOT AN ACTIVE MEMBER of the EBU, thus it is NOT ELIGIBLE to participate in the contest currently. Therefore it has to become a full EBU Member in order to partake in the competition.
Financial hurdles
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.
Five 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.
The 2022 Eurovision Song Contest is scheduled to be held in Italy next May.
Source: ESCToday
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