The recently published rules of Eurovision 2008 state that a maximum of 45 countries can take part – meaning a maximum of 20 countries in each semi final, plus the 5 prequalified countries (Serbia, France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom). With Azerbaijan preparing to debut, Slovakia looking to return and the possible withdrawal of Montenegro, esctoday.com looks at the possible final entrants.
With the deadline for broadcasters to apply to take part in Belgrade, the question is how close to this limit will we get?
Azeri EBU member ITV has already begun its search for the first ever Eurovision entry from Azerbaijan, and Slovakian television STV has once again stated that it is interested to return to the contest in 2008, finances pending. But what about the other active EBU members?
Montenegro has yet to confirm that it will participate in 2008. After failing to win a place in the final inHelsinki with their debut entry as an independent country, the national broadcaster has not made any plans public to participate again.
Tunisia has already stated that due to governmental requests it will not take part in the forseeable future, and Lebanon is still serving the final year of their ban after withdrawing after the deadline in 2005. With no change in policy by the government, Lebanon would not be able to enter unless Israel withdraws, something which the Israeli broadcaster, IBA, has said is not an option.
Libyan television LJBC has also now confirmed that the country will not be entering any time soon, claiming that the Eurovision does not fit into their typical programming.
San Marino showed interest earlier this year, but it seems likely that the fact that Italian broadcaster RAI owns nearly half the company will hinder their chances to enter this year.
RAI are reported to have been very close to a return to the Eurovision Song Contest in 2007. There was a strong movement within the national broadcaster to bring Italy back, however the decision was vetoed at the eleventh hour, it is believed, by the senior management of the company. Whether that was the height of their interest or whether they will return in 2008 will be known in a few short days.
Monaco is a possibility to return, after skipping Helsinki claiming that the one semi final format put them at a disadvantage. Now that the EBU has done what they suggested and changed the format, could we see Eurovision's smallest country back in Belgrade?
The local Eurovision fan club in Luxembourg, OGAE Luxembourg, have been making a big effort to try and rally the local media around a return to the contest in 2008 for one of the Song Contest's most successful countries, with 5 wins, but it remains to be seen how successful this could be, after the broadcaster RTL stated in 2005 that it will "never" return to the competition.
Other active EBU members include Jordan, Egypt, Morocco and Algeria, but it seems quite unlikely that any of these countries will participate in 2008. The Vatican City has also stated on several previous occasions that it will never enter the competition, as they broadcast only religious services. The remaining country in Europe, the microstate of Liechtenstein, is not an EBU member, as they don't have a television station at all!
esctoday.com will bring you the full list of participating countries in 2008 as soon as the EBU announces them.
