You might have a wrong photo of a Slovak guy there in the segment 😂. This one doesn´t have a wife and will likely never have one either....if you know what I mean 😂🏳🌈
As a Czech I need Slovakia to come back. For my country it's sort of a tradition to cheer for Slovakia in sports tournaments when we don't qualify. I need to be able to do it in Eurovision. Come back, bratia.
@@koriolakorni5041 Poland is also good. At least someone from the V4 ;) there's just something about the 70 years of being in the same country to bond two nations.
what makes turkey's situation especially unique imo is that if we ever manage to get rid of our terrible right-wing government, i can assure you that returning to eurovision will be one of the first things the new government does. by most of us, our departure from eurovision is seen as the start of our forced cultural departure from european and left-wing values. so symbolically, eurovision is surprisingly important in the cultural politics of this mess of a country
and yet , much like the USA just 12 days ago, a stunning horrific result of your last election left you trapped in a nightmare.. I think something similar must have happened with your population for so many to have insanely, self-harmigly voted for Erdogan again.
It was also a horrible surprise to find out the leader of 'maNga" was/is a very vocal Erdogan stooge. Right up there with dinding out Sergewy Lazarev refused to do anything opposing the Putin nightmare, and Polina 2015 apparently being a "True Believer" in the greatness of neo-Hitler. Sometimes its just better to be ignorant of some things.. Sigh.
Aside from the interesting and high-quality commentary, the one thing I've noticed in your videos is that you seem to pay a lot of attention to pronouncing foreign names and words correctly. Unfortunate how rare it seems to be, but you definitely deserve praise for that. It's a simple gesture of respect to at least attempt it like you do.
I feel bad for these micro states and how much it costs for them to participate. Given the sponsorships the Eurovision have, you would think the same could be provided to these micro states to allow for an online nf allowing other countries to help them pick contestants similarly to san marino. More countries equals more opportunities, diversity in songs, languages, cultures and genres.
@@BiteBolt_77 Liechtenstein's BDP per capita is the second highest in the world. Liechtenstein's BDP is surpassed only by Monaco. They have zero national debt, so I wouldn't really feel sorry for them. Unlike my over-indebted Montenegro. 🤣
im monkeydonian and i dont get why they do jesc… i never hear anyone talk about it ..whilst even tho we are out for several years now, theres still a lot of chatting about the adult show during may ..
@@henningniehues8023 Catalan is so heavily suppressed by the Spanish state that it's an official language in Catalonia thanks to the Spanish Constitution and it's the co-official lenguage with more entries in Benidorm Fest so far with 2. Sure it's heavily suppressed.
14:53 I'm not from Europe. I'm from Southeast Asia. The thing is, people who always try to show other people how religious they are either using religion to suppress other people or trying to hide something (like their sexuality for example) because, from my experience, actual religious people don't like to show other people how religious they are, and if they don't like something, they just avoid it. Not sure of it's the same in Europe though.
You are correct. People who want their religious practices to apply to everyone else as well are either seeking power or suppressing something, if not both.
Studies suggest that the people who show the most vocal disgust regarding gay people actually feel same-sex attraction lmao So you are correct, most of them are just coping and trying to cover up their own situation. Just look at the US, the "conservative" party is led by a man who got a divorce and married a prostitute and his best buddy, Elon Musk, had "demonic sex parties" cause he is an edgelord atheist, who actually mocked religious people for most of his career and was very Pro-Gay before his kid came out as trans.
At least in post soviet Europe, where I live, most genuinely devout people push religion unto their family and no one else (at least in my experience as someone who used to be a significant part of my local catholic church community). They tend to be pretty hateful on the inside but they rarely express their views outside of their religious safe spaces. However, there's still a social expectation of perticipating in major religious rituals (celebrating religious holidays, getting married in the church, baptising the kids, praying for dead family members, etc) and openly calling oneself an atheist is still extremely taboo (and the judgement for not pretending to be religious comes from absolutely everyone, including some atheists)
if it was solely for EBU to decide Russia wouldn't have been kicked out, but they got kicked out because good part of participants were threatening to boycott ESC if Russia was allowed. Isreal didn't get same threats so they stayed
And why Israel didn't get the same threats? Right because European (EU) governments are being told to support Israel and condemn Russia for their actions. Europe is the continent of hypocrisy.
at 13:15 that is not Prime Minister Fico, who I'm guessing is the guy you were referring to. That's the picture of Peter Pellegrini, the President of Slovakia (granted, a very close ally to Fico to the point that he's considered to be nothing but his puppet). Another reason why we won't return to Eurovision anytime soon is because the national broadcaster, STVR, was last year rebranded from the old broadcaster, RTVS. The thing is, STVR is de facto state controlled, specifically because the board of the broadcaster consists of people picked by the Ministry of Culture, which is led by a far-right, anti-lgbt, pro-russian and conspiratoral minister. Because Eurovision is very lgbt-welcoming, that minister considers it to be liberal lgbt propaganda.
ikr, when ESC Gabe said how he cheated on his wife... i was like wife?! i thought he was suspiciously single (and probably low key gay). then i realised he probably meant Fico and not Pellegrini...
Didn't knew Slovakia had a PM of Italian origins. We (Italy) currently have a Minister that is named Fico. And a Pellegrini too, but she's an olympic athlete, winner of swimming challenges. Giving the fact we finally had our first woman PM, I can't wait to see our first PM of foreign origins. 😉👍
It's sad that so many nations can't participate because of the lack of funding, while a random Premier League player could pay for those nations in just 2 weeks. The financial pyramid is getting extreme.
You really did your research when it comes to Morocco. Honestly, I don't think we ever belonged here. But at least you got to enjoy our presence while it lasted.
This year could also become critical. This far Israel is still in despite all rules speaking for them to be thrown out... I fear this could escalate even more this year as last year...
This is Europe bro. The media will tolerate *any* atrocity if it's committed by Israel. And since the contestants are the state broadcasters and not the artists competing, the only hope for protest and boycott comes from the artists themselves (big up Bambie Thug and Eric Saade
@@thesnesgeek The problem is not the delegation alone. Even UN now uses the wording genozid. (finally) The people will not accept Israel performing even if they sing a non political song this time. This will be a horrible year if Israel not has a sudden revolution.
@@mrcaos999 Those who won't accept Israel's performance are the only ones being brainwashed by the american media. Capable thinking and educated Europeans will vote for the Israelis.
Romania's interest in the show peaked in the mid 2000's - 3rd place in 2005 and 4th place in 2006. Any nation would be amazed and interested in the show in that context. Sadly though, our ESC music is completely outdated and unoriginal, the TVR is treating the contest like a total joke, spent 300k euros for the participation in 2023 despite throwing Theodor Andrei under the bus, and nowadays the general consensus is that we don't belong there. Cause we have no talent or money. And everyone likes to vote politically anyway. Not to mention, the contest this year was won by Nemo. A number of public personalities, including radio hosts, decided it would be fun to just show their homophobia and stupidity by making all sorts of crappy jokes about how they're actually a boy dressed like a girl.
The problem of romania is, that they send the most time more or less garbage songs... they have good musicians, but the assosiation think that every romanian artist should be like a clone of a western european singer. they believe its a too big risk to send balkan folk or manele singers or balkan dance related stuff, but the opposite is true.
@@stahlgewitter69 Romania's never gonna send manele to ESC, no matter how much I would think it would bring the house down. We take ourselves way too seriously and our ESC music has stayed firmly in the early 2000's or 2010's, under the "care" of some expired music "celebrities". No room for young people or for thinking outside the box at TVR...
Oh yeah I remember the mid 2000s quite well, when Eurovision was 100% televoting and we (Spain) always gave Romania our 12 points. Not that they weren't earned. In fact after that it seems you guys missed our 12 points, seeing the entries you sent in 2012 and 2022.
Just binging your videos for the last few days. Vast majority of your takes I agree with (but not quite all, I think Subwoolfer slaps), and you've quickly become my favourite ESC-related creator. Also I'm happy that you enjoyed your time in my very dear homeland :) With thanks from Finland!
I'd love Slovakia, Turkey and Bosnia and Herzegovina to return and maybe Hungary. I believe the most robbed song in Eurovision history is Horhronie so Slovakia is top of my list of countries I'd like to come back and they can produce wonderful songs like Horhronie.
i miss hungary so bad, they were one of my favourite countries at the contest along with ukraine, portugal and italy in terms of consistent bops imo. i NEED to see papai joci on the eurovision stage again 😭
I didn't knew about any of the reasons expect for Russia. Thanks so much for this video, it's a super interesting topic I learned. Really enjoy your content and happy you're uploading all throughout the year even tho it's not "Eurovision season"
I loved Slovakia's 'Don't Close Your Eyes' by Max Jason Mai. It was the first Eurovision song I loved enough to download it and I still listen to it regularly. I'm always sad it didn't qualify.
1:58 Thanks for the clarification cause most people insist they actually left when they are "only" suspended. 6:02 I think he offered to produce a song, not sing.
In Bulgaria's case there's more than meets the eye - there are far bigger issues there than whether we'll be in Eurovision or not. One example is that we can't form a stable government for 3-4 years as the parties within the parlaiment bicker between each other and in late October we've had elections which some parties do not accept the results as legitimate and will challenge them in court which will take months for the verdict to come out. It also appears that we're headed towards the voting pools in March-May 2025, but the public interest is about as big as the interest in Eurovision to be frank (the turnaround for the last elections was 30-35%). And there's one thing that I think you forgot to mention - Bulgaria's attitude towards the LGBTQ+ community. Much like Hungary, Türkiye and Slovakia, one of the resons Bulgaria doesn't wish to participate is the contest's LGBTQ+ engagement. In fact, in August a law proposed by yet another right wing nutjob (who also dislikes Ukraine and the EU at large) regarding LGBTQ+ propaganda was passed (which was even supported by GERB, which had painted itself for its entire existence as pro-EU; the only parties against it were the pro-Western PP-DB and the Turkish-centric DPS just as that party split into two factions) and this will make is difficult for Bulgaria to justify competing in something that has been labeled as 'glorified gay propaganda'. A similar law was passed by the ruling party (deeply pro-Russian mind you) in Georgia and they've just won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. This should be fun.
As a Bulgarian, thank you for bringing this up! Because of these issues the broadcaster doesn't want to fund anything Eurovision related - which is why the last two participations were self-funded. In my opinion, it's not the money thats the issue - it's the Homophobic agenda in the government as a whole.
Btw about Macedonia, probably the unluckiest country of all the participants. They were 11th in their semis (or even 10th) a few times and didn't qualify. So unfair.
Same as israel, its part of the english communication something, so hong kong would make sense to be added, but neither of the nations you mentioned check that box. I dont think aus or isr should be in the comp, if theyre not in europe, but having a worldwide comp for a big anniversary sounds really interesting.
@@janaradic1026 what does the English language have to do with anything? Portugal, Spain, France and Italy almost always send songs in their own languages.
When I first started watching Eurovision in 2006, Finland won it for the first time. From 2001-2008, there was a first-time winner every year. After that, it was either a first win in a long time or another first-time winner. More recently, it has been the same countries winning every year.
the sad thing about Hungary is (with me knowing about the country’s musical scene mostly through musical theatre) that they have so much musical talent in the country and also so much culture of their they could be bringing to the contest. Shame about all the politicians deciding they don’t want to and instead are set on hating gay people
It seems you are doing the hating, not the Hungarians. I am happy we do not participate in this madness anymore and no one hates gays in Hungary, they are there, part of the society and live their life peacefully. It is their private life, it is not my, or anyone's business. But I do not want to exclude anyone, so if you like it, then good for you (see I am not a hater, like you)
This is a really interesting video! It's incredible to see how much research you put into this. I would caution against singling out Morocco a "deeply conservative country" when there are deeply conservative countries all over Europe. There are deeply-held Christian values all over Europe that would also not be compatible with Eurovision's aesthetics and practices. Considering their lack of participation due to Israel, it's notable that Israel does not have laws protecting queer people and could also be considered "deeply conservative."
I mean the Israeli song this year was just as political as Belarus…. But as usual Israeli can get away with everything from war crimes to being political at the contest.
Blame it on Isaac Herzog, who insisted that KAN send in any song no matter what. If i recall correctly, the broadcaster would've withdrawn if their two initial songs weren't allowed.
@@MewDenise The difference was. Stefania send there song before Russia attacked. It was a coicedence that this song turned out to become a political hymne. Before it was against the NS regime.
18:19 I guess Turkey has invented a time machine since Eurovision song contest should start at 11 pm in Turkish timezone. Weird time for kids to be awake.
@@religiouslyfacts You're the ignorant one here. You're blatantly ignoring, practically supporting the revolting homophobia in the statement OP was criticizing.
@@koguma8823 my point was simply the fact that for Turks, it was a contest that was also relevant for EVERYBODY, including kids. But currently, no one could say it is the case. Stop with this lame woke narrative as I didn't even mention anything related to Homophobia.
@@koguma8823 You are just spreading random words for sake of getting likes. What I am talking about is over-sexualization and objectification of queer bodies on TV. Yet we all agree that today's ESC is all about Grindr notification jokes, which by the way is basically a hookup application, no class at all. And yes, I perfectly respect families who would want to keep their kids away from that. An 8-year-old does NOT have to know about it all really. On a side note, Turkey has had drag performers on TV, without sexualization!
Hey Gabe! I'm a huge fan from Basel, thanks for the great videos. I was at the ESC live for the very first time this year and saw Nemo win live and now the ESC is taking place in Basel... I can hardly wait. If you need any tips for Basel, feel free to get in touch. I would be happy to get to know you 🎉
Before watching I'll try and see if I know some that quit: The Netherlands Morocco Russia Belarus Bonus: Lebanon, they tried in 2005, selected a song but weren't let in. I've heard the song, its quite good so I don't know why they weren't allow to enter. Edit: I looked on The Netherlands in Eurovision Wikipedia article and it shows that The Netherlands have confirmed intention to participate in 2025 which I love as they have quit The Voice and Voice Kids, so I'm glad they are still doing this big song contest.
Fun Fact: And this is a fact, because I heard it from a Eurovision flunkey - UK will definitely quit if we don't win next year. A fact, not speculation.
Lebanon in 2005 WERE let in, they just were disqualified at the very last minute because the Lebanese broadcaster clearly admitted they would go on an ad break during the 3 minutes the Israeli act was, so they wouldn't broadcast the Israeli entry. EBU tried to threaten them with disqualifying, but they seemed really hellbent on not showing the Israeli entry on air, so that's why they were disqualified.
Bit of a click bait title, sparked me to do a quick google search since I was left a tad flabbergasted at the idea of 2025 being so empty. Other than that it was a brilliantly researched video and a good watch, would appreciate you taking the time to add chapters into your videos in the future though.
It has always surprised me there's not more self-funded projects. There's gotta be plenty of little known artists with wealthy parents out there who're eager for a 100+ million audience, right? I bet if the broadcasters that don't participate for financial reasons played their card rights and were open to foreigners, they could all get self funded entries every year.
14:13 My father is Hungarian and I've often visited my family there... While my father loves Viktor Orbán, I have to say he's just not it, in general the government is not it. I just hope that Hungary finally changes it's beliefs when it comes to basic human rights... I have not visited Hungary, nor my Hungarian part of the family, since I found out the truth about the country (Since 9 years). I just want Hungary to come back, happy, fresh and accepting, but that's not going to happen anytime soon...
Ok I have some thoughts here: - As an eternal and quite radical optimist, I refuse to believe the days of 42/43 participants are permanently over. I hope and believe we can be there again, but maybe with different participants (or rather... most likely, different participants). - Ok I know this one is sometimes controversial among ESC fans, depending on what u want from the contest. But I at least really feel like the contest can be scaled back a few steps. Like, I love a big show. But right now, it is excluding a lot of countries, cause a HUGE show of course cost a whole lot more. ESC should be unifying, and I think the shows can be downsized a bit, resulting in cheaper competition and more reasonable pricing. Like, I don't - of course - want it to be of ESCZ 24-standard, but it can definitely be a bit smaller than it is now. Right now, it just seems like it is an evil spiral. Where countries can't afford participating, leading it to be more expensive for the remaining countries... and then more of them drop out. - I believe North Macedonia, Monaco, Bulgaria and Romania are all coming back in near future. Slovakia and Hungary could in the longer run, but it requires more of a change in the government. Same with Turkey (they had an election in 2023, where the losing candidate in the second round - Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu - actually vocally supported a Eurovision return. He did lose the election, but it was a close margin). Bosnia will probably participate right when they can! I hope they try everything... contact sponsors? Gofundme or something? I want them back. - Andorra is always among the first to confirm the non-participation (often right after the just concluded Eurovision in May), so it looks bleak. But I would love them to return and have some success. I'll never forget when San Marino, Montenegro and Czechia first qualified to the finale. The emotions! Everyone deserves that feeling! - Russia and Belarus... maaaaaaaaajor political changes are needed here. Way more than Hungary or Slovakia. But as an optimist, I don't seal the door shut compeletely. But it's probably more about decades than years for these countries. - Morocco? I just don't care. I don't see them as a part of ESC-family anyway. Not because of geography (Australia is there) but they just appeared once, and I wasn't there for it. New influences are always welcome, but it's not the return that would make me the happiest. - Lastly, it's such a weird priority for North Macedonia to participate in JESC, but not ESC. I guess it is cheaper... but it still costs money that absolutely could be a part of the ESC budget instead. Much bigger window out into the world there. New subscriber here, Gabe. I'm already a fan! :)
The reason North Macedonia is in the JESC is because no one watches it. The reason we aren't in ESC isn't about money, it's because the major voting blocks (old people) look down on any spending that doesn't directly benefit them. To be clear, the broadcasting rights cost much more than participation funding, but it doesn't attract attention like an entry does, so it is overlooked.
The situation in Hungary is more complex you would imagine at first glance. Since our wtihdrawal, I tried to study everything in connection with it, and although there are a huge amount of "anti-gay"-ness and "anti-EU" in the story, on the other hand - which makes it even more political - the public broadcaster is in the hands of the Fidesz-government, and they are not functioning as a free, independent media. Btw, A Dal is still taking place every year, and almost 0 people care about it. It is like an n+1st idol show, with newcomer garage bands and music in every genre but pop. MTVA tries to sell it, that it is a good platform, and the winner will get "infinite love from the viewers" XD No one from the country knows the last winners, or even their songs. How amazing it is compared to the ESC-prize. 😂😂 Such a ridiculous country and such ridiculous times. Long story short, until Orbán stays in power, we won't come back, and now I know it is for the best, because with this current attitude, they won't be able to send a good or just an okay song to the contest. First we need to get rid of Orbán and his gang, and then a new public media will see the benefits of participating again. I really really hope it will happen in 2026, so in ESC 2027 we might come back. Great video! 😉
Once again, great work Gabe👍. Bosnia's story is so depressing. Andrea's Circle was so good in 2022, but I guess it's the year of strong female 'singer/ songwriter' ballads. Too much competition. You totally left out on Turkiye's attempt at making their own Eurovision.
The Netherlands is on the edge of quiting and has been for a few years. We hadn't won in a long time and people started to see it as a waste of time. But suddenly we won that year but it was in the middle of the pandemic. But with the disqualification of last year we are back at calling it quits.
@@gordonwilkinson5041yeah, if we (Spain) had the same attitude we'd probably have been out of Eurovision for decades already (our last win was in freaking 1969) and even North Korea or Afghanistan would be closer to joining Eurovision than us lmao
Actually Israel missed a few countries after 1980. In 1984 they withdrew for the same reason in 1980. They were also relegated in 1994, didn't qualify in 1996 and withdrew from the 1997 contest.
I enjoy your videos a lot but some screens are there for a fraction of a second. Anyone who wants to see anything needs to pause and search for it. Consider showing stuff next to you in a smaller window or keeping it on for longer. You may need to narrate slower too for this lol
I hope that soon people will start to see through the Hungarian political leaders, and I hope that we will be able to replace our leader. A significant part of Hungarian TV broadcasts nonsense, which unfortunately many people here believe.
I hope that soon people will start to see through the mass media propaganda in Europe and will be able to replace their leaders. (Actually it is happening already, hahahaha.) A significant part of European TV broadcasts nonsense, which unfortunately many people (like you) believe.
Imo, Slovakia and Czech Republic were following similar trajectories in late 00's / early 10's - both were just hanging out in the bottom. Recently, Czech Republic has done significantly better and I think Slovakia should also try again as well. I really do believe these two countries should be having similar success.
Correction: Peter Pellegrini hasn't been unfaithful, as he is in fact unmarried and single. There are of course rumours about his sexuality. Did you mean the Slovak PM Robert Fico?
I'm from the UK and not a fan of Russia at all but I didn't really agree with the EBU banning Russia when Azerbaijan was allowed to compete despite the Armenian incidents in their history which Azerbaijan utterly refuse to acknowledge. You either do it for every country with these histories or none of them. This is supposed to be a singing competition and should remain neutral. I do not agree with the exclusion of Isreal either, recent events should not be allowed to dictate the competition that was founded in the spirit of stopping conflicts.
Please do a video about underrated eurovision songs and include tix- fallen angel I think the song is very important to anyone out there who feels unloved or unwanted. Especially if that's due to a disability, and I think the song should be highlighted
I actually fell in love with Fallen Angel at first for this very reason, as I am autistic and growing up I frequently felt misunderstood and unfairly judged for it. But in the years since that contest, I've come to understand that the song itself barely qualified for the Grand Final because it's so generically-composed. When you look at everything about the song, not just the lyrics, it's underwhelming.
Sounds like participation in Eurovision is going the way of hosting the Olympics. Too much cost for little return domestically. And to participate some must qualify. At least in the Olympics, if the country can afford to send even a token team, in many sports a qualification threshold can be more objectively set in terms of elapsed time, distance jumped, distance thrown, and even scoring of gymnastic routines. So it is possible for exceptional performers to participate. Add in there’s a “Big 5” who dominate. EBU sounds anything but unified.
Nah I dont care bout no politics just let mfs sing the artist isnt committing war crimes, the leader ship of that country is (my family has serious beef with Russia because of some shit that happened 80 years ago)
As a Romanian I'm saddened but not surprised to hear Romania's out. I feel like Romania was always a very reserved country, even kinda anti social at times and so of course they don't show interest in entertainment outside of their own creation. I'm sure they'll continue to dig themselves deeper into that hole. As if we weren't already forgotten enough lol.
In the last decade or so we haven't had any type of drive in the contest. We've only sent joke and non-serious entries. The only time there was a sliver of hope was in 2020 with all the Roxen project, which was completely refreshing coming from the mess that Selectia Nationala had been going through for some years. Only for then, in 2022 and 2023, to have the absolute worst Selectia Nationalas ever in the history of the national selection. There was already dissatisfaction coming from 2016, after we got disqualified. Afterwards it was the joke entries, the non-qualifications, the awful quality of our national selection and its songs; no wonder Romanians lost complete interest in the contest. I always put this as an example, but its actually insane that Chile, a country in Latin America, had more Eurovision viewership and engagement than Romania in 2023 (and the contry has less people than ours).
@@alexandru4193 the best thing TVR can do is work with Global Records or borrow people from ProTV who work in music so that competent people can actually do the job that needs to be done. trusting a bunch of dusty TVR execs with a big platform like Eurovision is just not going to work
@@alexandru4193 there is not such a low esc viewership in Romania, rather than it s about viewership for TVR . Many people just choose to watch it thru other means, and even when it was broadcasted the marketing was defectuos and a lot of people werent even aware if or when the contests was happening. This year we were part of the countries which voted the most in the rest of the world votes, so the fandom is still alive
@@dariuscoroian2237 I wouldn't say ROTW votes can say much about it, I mean yeah, it makes complete sense that Romania is going to be amongst the highest voter countries because it's a country located in Europe and used to participate in the contest. Apart from us, what other ROTW countries are left? Canada? New Zealand? Those countries are also amongst the highest voters yet the amount of people from those countries watching the show is still minuscule compared to the viewership of active participating countries. It was obvious that Romania had to been amongst the highest ROTW voters because the rest are either Eastern European countries that mostly have a much lower population than ours (except Russia) and non-European countries whose population barely know about the contest.
The 2007 entry for Andorra wasn't a standard rock song it was pretty damn good and it came closer to Qing for the final from that semi than anyone else from western Europe did. I wouldn't mind having Susanna Georgi back either. Also the singer of Boom Badabooom was actually from Monaco even if the song was written by Serge Gainsborough who is French.
The singer of Boum Badaboum got Monegasque citizenship in 2004, almost 40 years after representing Monaco at Eurovision. It's a big stretch to say that she was from Monaco.
I like how a Brit is talking about how he wouldn't feel comfortable with a Russian singer in the Eurovision because of the war. A Brit. From a country invading countries left and right.
I don’t know if I’m overthinking but I feel if more countries will withdraw, Eurovision will go back to relegations or maybe a single semi final with top 10 from previous year automatically qualifying for next years final. Personally that will just ruin the competition even more than it is.
Tbh it sounds a little xenophobic saying that “I won’t be personally comfortable with a Russian entry even after the invasion”, when Israel (war in Gaza) and France (constant interference in the Sahel) are still participating, and nothing was said about Morocco (Oppressing the Sahrawi people in Western Sahara) coming back making people uncomfortable
The strong point of Eurovision is the political aspect; the defense of the values of openness, respect and tolerance (with the Israeli anomaly that spoils it a little). The weak point of Eurovision remains the musical aspect. It is something that surprises and amazes me every time, the fact that the songs of Eurovision don't correspond at all to the great successes and great trends of the world of music outside of Eurovision. This "niche" side impermeable to the rest of the world of music is quite fascinating.
I'm kind of sad about Hungary's non-participation; when I look at their entries, they looked like they're going for a win soon. I hope they manage a change to a more progressive government and that they could do just that! Also sad for Bosnia and Herzegovnia; I keep wondering if anybody wants to start a GoFundMe to eliminate their debts. But with what you said, it seems like there's a deeper issue at hand in terms of Bosnian politics to have a sustainable presence. They sent two of my top ten entries ever (Lejla and Bistra Voda), and I want to see more gems from them. Considering that most Eastern European withdrawals are because of funds or lack of interest, what would be pull factors to get them back? Also, are we better off with 42-43 country contests, or fewer songs but higher quality ones?
Hungary could never win as Hungary always walks its own way, she is non-conformists ever, and this is not something that people can swallow. If you fall in line, you are liked. We Hungarians will never fall in line.
Just want to add two bits on countries that withdrew historically: Yugoslavia - in 1992 the EBU member broadcaster for Yugoslavia, JRT, was dissolved. As a result, no EBU member for Yugoslavia remained. Yugoslavia were also sports sanctioned by the UN the same year, meaning they could not have participated in a team effort. During the 1992-1995 period, only individuals could represent Yugoslavia as they represented themselves, not the nation. As you represent a nation in Eurovision, it would not have been possible to rejoin until 1996 but by that time they were financially ruined and wounds were very open. Yugoslavia reentered as Serbia & Montenegro in 2004. Luxembourg: people tend to miss that in 1995, Luxembourg did not decline participation; CLT were no longer EBU members. From what I can only assume, as it’s hard to find a lot of conclusive reporting on it nowadays, this may have been due to their restructuring as a private broadcaster. They would not rejoin the EBU until 1998, meaning their first chance to return was in 1999. They eventually returned in 2024, after years of financial issues due to their EBU affiliate being the relatively underfunded Luxembourgish-language service.
The double standards in the way Russia was banned and isolated vs Israel's treatment is plain European hypocrisy. This, plus the prevailing mediocre music, made me decide to finally stop watching Eurovision. It was a dear family event that got ruined over the years.
Bulgaria's problem is more due to funding problems than interest. While it was They usually need a sponsor in order to fund their participation in Eurovision. Sure, they phoned it in at the 2022 contest, it was more due to the horrible treatment of their sponsor (an oligarch), who wrote the song. Their Eurovision BG Twitter account was the best, but they're sadly gone now. As for Romania, I think the lack of interest is more due to the people's disdain for TVR than Eurovision itself. Also, TVR and the Romanian delegation's treatment of Roxen & Theodore in the past couple of years has not helped the network's popularity. TVR doesn't want to give up EBU/Eurovision rights, as it's the only thing that's keeping them (somewhat) relevant. Slovakia is just sad. They're up for the running of being the most screwed over country in Eurovision along with N. Macedonia. They just missed out of debuting in the 1993 contest, got relegated in 1995, 1997, and then got absolutely robbed in 2010. They phoned it in the following two years, and then gave up. I think if "Horehronie" qualified, it would have given RTVS enough confidence to stick with it for a little while longer. They could have participated in 2015 as the host city was literally an hour away from Bratislava. I would love a Czech-Slovak participation, but with the current government, that ain't happening.
With North Macedonia something else to consider that may not have fully caused their departure but definitely contributed was how awfully they treated Andrea. They publicly and degradingly threw a tantrum because she lightly tossed a flag off to the side at the request of a photographer. It wasn't a political statement or a protest and had she had someone to hand it to she would have. They made her post a video of her apologising and sobbing. And even then they still threatened to withdraw and THROW HER IN JAIL. Over a non incident. Then they didn't do anything with the staging. If they had they would have qualified for sure and if Azerbaijan hadn't cheated they likely would have. If you're a singer who could represent North Macedonia you'd be terrified to represent them in case they sail you down the river too.
🤦🏻♀️ Threw her in jail!? I'm Macedonian and I can tell you she would not have been arrested. We aren't dictatorship country. But someone should have told her to respect national symbols. To Tamara Todevska was given the honour to perform the anthem on national holiday. She decided to skip some verses . That cost her music career in Makedonija, she cancelled her concerts. Btw popular singers don't want to participate, not worth wasting time and money. Most of them already participated in the past.
@@hipotenuza5663 That's what they threatened. They literally said that. And she did respect it. She was holding a flag , a photographer asked her to get rid of it so she delicately tossed it out of view. She didn't desecrate it. Also I think because Covid was so recent I don't think they had full privileges yet which is why she had no one to give it to.
@@myjunkdrawer8014 She was anonymous before ESC, first time we heard about her. And I don't have a clue who chose her to represent the country. Someone payed the expenses for her trip. To toss a flag because a photographer told her, it's unacceptable in any country in the world.
Well, he can play a piano,also he composed few pieces. Sadly, he's a terrible singer. With his beautiful face , quality back up singers and Ferrari fans, he will score points. The only problem will be how to hide the huge neck.
Wales would be very happy to take up a place if it's available! It's an annual discussion in Wales, especially Welsh speaking Wales, on the wish for a Welsh representative - preferably singing in Welsh. Last year there was a song recorded in case, 'Anfonaf Angel' (I send an angel) by Sara Davies who won our own 'Cân i Gymru' (Song for Wales) compeition: ua-cam.com/video/XZgcdH4elW0/v-deo.html In fact, 'Cân i Gymru' was set up in 1969 with a hope of a Welsh seat for the Eurovision. Wales, is represented on the Youth Eurovision competition.
Going back and watching the old eurovision’s I feel bad for Andorra because imo almost all their entries were better than Spain’s during that period yet they never made a final which personally I believe had to be due to it being a microstate.
I wanna see you do a similar video but with countries that have planned to participate but in the end didn't do so, likw Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Liechtenstein, Tunisia, Lebanon, New Zealand and China
You might have a wrong photo of a Slovak guy there in the segment 😂. This one doesn´t have a wife and will likely never have one either....if you know what I mean 😂🏳🌈
oh damn there was meant to be a photo of fico there 😭😭
@@escgabe That would have been a jumpscare of a different level 😅 but yeah, it was supposed to be him.
@@martinpavlak7052 him or pellegrini or simkovicova, all nightmare fuel
@@viktoriakubisova They always jumpscare me, fr fr
Who is that guy ?
As a Czech I need Slovakia to come back. For my country it's sort of a tradition to cheer for Slovakia in sports tournaments when we don't qualify. I need to be able to do it in Eurovision. Come back, bratia.
Heeeeey, there's Poland 😉 though it's not doing much better
@@koriolakorni5041 Poland is also good. At least someone from the V4 ;) there's just something about the 70 years of being in the same country to bond two nations.
If Babiš becomes PM again, Czechia will likely withdraw permanently just like Slovakia.
@@sunoolee9467 we returned under babiš tbf but slovakia is not returning under fico ever
They are Russian enthusiasts tho, so idk.
what makes turkey's situation especially unique imo is that if we ever manage to get rid of our terrible right-wing government, i can assure you that returning to eurovision will be one of the first things the new government does. by most of us, our departure from eurovision is seen as the start of our forced cultural departure from european and left-wing values. so symbolically, eurovision is surprisingly important in the cultural politics of this mess of a country
I really miss Turkey in the competition
@@nygrasshopper9171 I do as well. Some of the Turkish entries were really great.
and yet , much like the USA just 12 days ago, a stunning horrific result of your last election left you trapped in a nightmare.. I think something similar must have happened with your population for so many to have insanely, self-harmigly voted for Erdogan again.
@@Spermwhales93 I actually hunted online for and downlaoded multiple albums by Sertab and Hadise. That's how much I enjoy the music.
It was also a horrible surprise to find out the leader of 'maNga" was/is a very vocal Erdogan stooge. Right up there with dinding out Sergewy Lazarev refused to do anything opposing the Putin nightmare, and Polina 2015 apparently being a "True Believer" in the greatness of neo-Hitler. Sometimes its just better to be ignorant of some things.. Sigh.
Aside from the interesting and high-quality commentary, the one thing I've noticed in your videos is that you seem to pay a lot of attention to pronouncing foreign names and words correctly. Unfortunate how rare it seems to be, but you definitely deserve praise for that. It's a simple gesture of respect to at least attempt it like you do.
thank you!! if it’s something particularly difficult i do my best to speak to native speakers in advance which helps a lot
@@escgabe👏🏼👏🏼
@@escgabe Icelandic enters the chat
@@InfiniteWasp360 I checked how to pronounce “Um allan alheiminn” before I said it!!
Pyutin 🤣
I feel bad for these micro states and how much it costs for them to participate. Given the sponsorships the Eurovision have, you would think the same could be provided to these micro states to allow for an online nf allowing other countries to help them pick contestants similarly to san marino. More countries equals more opportunities, diversity in songs, languages, cultures and genres.
Do you know how much it costs them? Or are you just assuming?
Monaco is rich as f. Don't feel bad. The only country you can feel bad for is Andorra
@@BiteBolt_77 Liechtenstein's BDP per capita is the second highest in the world. Liechtenstein's BDP is surpassed only by Monaco. They have zero national debt, so I wouldn't really feel sorry for them. Unlike my over-indebted Montenegro. 🤣
@mrs.woland yeah you're right that's why I said maybe. Wasn't really bothered to look it up lol
To add to North Macedonia
They still participate in JESC, despite the results
im monkeydonian and i dont get why they do jesc… i never hear anyone talk about it ..whilst even tho we are out for several years now, theres still a lot of chatting about the adult show during may ..
It's far cheaper to compete in JESC than ESC
@@dirtylittlesecretman28 yeah, JESC is just a footnote here. Last time it was even mentioned was when Dajte Muzika was there.
@@dirtylittlesecretman28 Хаха, поне си честен.
@@Rabid_Nationalist Признаваш ли се за българин?
It was nice to see Catalan represented in Eurovision through Andorra. I hope they return one day
Spanish entry could’ve had song in Catalan as well, technically, cuz it’s one of official languages in there 🤷🏼♂️
@@MaxMax-lv6ib the Spanish state heavily suppresses the use of Catalan so it won't happen
@@henningniehues8023 Catalan is so heavily suppressed by the Spanish state that it's an official language in Catalonia thanks to the Spanish Constitution and it's the co-official lenguage with more entries in Benidorm Fest so far with 2. Sure it's heavily suppressed.
13:51 Gabe has officially mastered all Uralic languages, everybody run he's too powerful
14:53 I'm not from Europe. I'm from Southeast Asia. The thing is, people who always try to show other people how religious they are either using religion to suppress other people or trying to hide something (like their sexuality for example) because, from my experience, actual religious people don't like to show other people how religious they are, and if they don't like something, they just avoid it. Not sure of it's the same in Europe though.
You are correct. People who want their religious practices to apply to everyone else as well are either seeking power or suppressing something, if not both.
Studies suggest that the people who show the most vocal disgust regarding gay people actually feel same-sex attraction lmao
So you are correct, most of them are just coping and trying to cover up their own situation. Just look at the US, the "conservative" party is led by a man who got a divorce and married a prostitute and his best buddy, Elon Musk, had "demonic sex parties" cause he is an edgelord atheist, who actually mocked religious people for most of his career and was very Pro-Gay before his kid came out as trans.
At least in post soviet Europe, where I live, most genuinely devout people push religion unto their family and no one else (at least in my experience as someone who used to be a significant part of my local catholic church community). They tend to be pretty hateful on the inside but they rarely express their views outside of their religious safe spaces. However, there's still a social expectation of perticipating in major religious rituals (celebrating religious holidays, getting married in the church, baptising the kids, praying for dead family members, etc) and openly calling oneself an atheist is still extremely taboo (and the judgement for not pretending to be religious comes from absolutely everyone, including some atheists)
if it was solely for EBU to decide Russia wouldn't have been kicked out, but they got kicked out because good part of participants were threatening to boycott ESC if Russia was allowed. Isreal didn't get same threats so they stayed
And why Israel didn't get the same threats? Right because European (EU) governments are being told to support Israel and condemn Russia for their actions. Europe is the continent of hypocrisy.
Sad that only Iceland made serious threats, just for not even applying them
A big difference between Russia and Israel: Russia got sanctions by the European Union while Israel so far hasn't.
at 13:15 that is not Prime Minister Fico, who I'm guessing is the guy you were referring to. That's the picture of Peter Pellegrini, the President of Slovakia (granted, a very close ally to Fico to the point that he's considered to be nothing but his puppet).
Another reason why we won't return to Eurovision anytime soon is because the national broadcaster, STVR, was last year rebranded from the old broadcaster, RTVS. The thing is, STVR is de facto state controlled, specifically because the board of the broadcaster consists of people picked by the Ministry of Culture, which is led by a far-right, anti-lgbt, pro-russian and conspiratoral minister. Because Eurovision is very lgbt-welcoming, that minister considers it to be liberal lgbt propaganda.
also the president is gay
ikr, when ESC Gabe said how he cheated on his wife... i was like wife?! i thought he was suspiciously single (and probably low key gay). then i realised he probably meant Fico and not Pellegrini...
@@franbalcalyeah it's an open secret, he's a closeted gay. Unironic that he was a member of a homophobic party for almost 20 years.
Didn't knew Slovakia had a PM of Italian origins.
We (Italy) currently have a Minister that is named Fico. And a Pellegrini too, but she's an olympic athlete, winner of swimming challenges.
Giving the fact we finally had our first woman PM, I can't wait to see our first PM of foreign origins. 😉👍
Luxembourg managed to come back after 31 years absence in 2024 so all the withdrawn countries should take advice from Luxembourg.
Montenegro is coming back for 2025...
that wasnt luxembourg, that was your brother nigel using a fake dutch flag and everybody knows it.
It's sad that so many nations can't participate because of the lack of funding, while a random Premier League player could pay for those nations in just 2 weeks. The financial pyramid is getting extreme.
You really did your research when it comes to Morocco. Honestly, I don't think we ever belonged here. But at least you got to enjoy our presence while it lasted.
Please come back!!
@escgabe one can dream. Actually, two can dream.
i wish yall came back, i fear Morocco has too bad of a reputation in Europe and maybe it would be a chance to show the idiots over here talent there 🩵
Come back Morocco
@Lawrence.Laurentius it might happen if our society stops being more conservative than every other country on this list
This year could also become critical. This far Israel is still in despite all rules speaking for them to be thrown out... I fear this could escalate even more this year as last year...
This is Europe bro. The media will tolerate *any* atrocity if it's committed by Israel. And since the contestants are the state broadcasters and not the artists competing, the only hope for protest and boycott comes from the artists themselves (big up Bambie Thug and Eric Saade
It won’t. A new rule forces filming to be allowed if the delegation let’s it happen. Just can no longer film without permission.
@@thesnesgeek The problem is not the delegation alone. Even UN now uses the wording genozid. (finally) The people will not accept Israel performing even if they sing a non political song this time. This will be a horrible year if Israel not has a sudden revolution.
@ I’m not so sure about that.
@@mrcaos999 Those who won't accept Israel's performance are the only ones being brainwashed by the american media. Capable thinking and educated Europeans will vote for the Israelis.
Romania's interest in the show peaked in the mid 2000's - 3rd place in 2005 and 4th place in 2006. Any nation would be amazed and interested in the show in that context.
Sadly though, our ESC music is completely outdated and unoriginal, the TVR is treating the contest like a total joke, spent 300k euros for the participation in 2023 despite throwing Theodor Andrei under the bus, and nowadays the general consensus is that we don't belong there. Cause we have no talent or money. And everyone likes to vote politically anyway.
Not to mention, the contest this year was won by Nemo. A number of public personalities, including radio hosts, decided it would be fun to just show their homophobia and stupidity by making all sorts of crappy jokes about how they're actually a boy dressed like a girl.
The problem of romania is, that they send the most time more or less garbage songs... they have good musicians, but the assosiation think that every romanian artist should be like a clone of a western european singer. they believe its a too big risk to send balkan folk or manele singers or balkan dance related stuff, but the opposite is true.
@@stahlgewitter69 Romania's never gonna send manele to ESC, no matter how much I would think it would bring the house down. We take ourselves way too seriously and our ESC music has stayed firmly in the early 2000's or 2010's, under the "care" of some expired music "celebrities". No room for young people or for thinking outside the box at TVR...
Oh yeah I remember the mid 2000s quite well, when Eurovision was 100% televoting and we (Spain) always gave Romania our 12 points. Not that they weren't earned. In fact after that it seems you guys missed our 12 points, seeing the entries you sent in 2012 and 2022.
Excellent coverage mate. ❤ from Australia
Just binging your videos for the last few days. Vast majority of your takes I agree with (but not quite all, I think Subwoolfer slaps), and you've quickly become my favourite ESC-related creator. Also I'm happy that you enjoyed your time in my very dear homeland :)
With thanks from Finland!
Good job Gabe in the pronunciation of Médiaszolgáltatás-támogató és Vagyonkezelő Alap :D
thanks for writing it out so i can translate *that* into english
Don't do it, even in Hungarian it sounds like something that could summon an otherworldly demon if read outloud 3 times in a row. @@wibbliams
I'd love Slovakia, Turkey and Bosnia and Herzegovina to return and maybe Hungary. I believe the most robbed song in Eurovision history is Horhronie so Slovakia is top of my list of countries I'd like to come back and they can produce wonderful songs like Horhronie.
I agree Horehronie was robbed.
hungary was a very succesful country in ESC, wish they come back
i miss hungary so bad, they were one of my favourite countries at the contest along with ukraine, portugal and italy in terms of consistent bops imo. i NEED to see papai joci on the eurovision stage again 😭
I didn't knew about any of the reasons expect for Russia. Thanks so much for this video, it's a super interesting topic I learned. Really enjoy your content and happy you're uploading all throughout the year even tho it's not "Eurovision season"
I loved Slovakia's 'Don't Close Your Eyes' by Max Jason Mai. It was the first Eurovision song I loved enough to download it and I still listen to it regularly. I'm always sad it didn't qualify.
It definetly deserved to qualify that year
Katarína Hasprová in 1998 for Slovakia is top 10 all-time Eurovision for me.
There so many artists from these countries that quit Eurovision that i want to see return one day
1:58 Thanks for the clarification cause most people insist they actually left when they are "only" suspended.
6:02 I think he offered to produce a song, not sing.
In Bulgaria's case there's more than meets the eye - there are far bigger issues there than whether we'll be in Eurovision or not. One example is that we can't form a stable government for 3-4 years as the parties within the parlaiment bicker between each other and in late October we've had elections which some parties do not accept the results as legitimate and will challenge them in court which will take months for the verdict to come out. It also appears that we're headed towards the voting pools in March-May 2025, but the public interest is about as big as the interest in Eurovision to be frank (the turnaround for the last elections was 30-35%). And there's one thing that I think you forgot to mention - Bulgaria's attitude towards the LGBTQ+ community. Much like Hungary, Türkiye and Slovakia, one of the resons Bulgaria doesn't wish to participate is the contest's LGBTQ+ engagement. In fact, in August a law proposed by yet another right wing nutjob (who also dislikes Ukraine and the EU at large) regarding LGBTQ+ propaganda was passed (which was even supported by GERB, which had painted itself for its entire existence as pro-EU; the only parties against it were the pro-Western PP-DB and the Turkish-centric DPS just as that party split into two factions) and this will make is difficult for Bulgaria to justify competing in something that has been labeled as 'glorified gay propaganda'. A similar law was passed by the ruling party (deeply pro-Russian mind you) in Georgia and they've just won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. This should be fun.
As a Bulgarian, thank you for bringing this up! Because of these issues the broadcaster doesn't want to fund anything Eurovision related - which is why the last two participations were self-funded. In my opinion, it's not the money thats the issue - it's the Homophobic agenda in the government as a whole.
Btw about Macedonia, probably the unluckiest country of all the participants. They were 11th in their semis (or even 10th) a few times and didn't qualify. So unfair.
Yes they were 10th in semifinal every single participation from 2004 to 2009
To be fair we did send a lot of very very bad entries.
@@zesky6654 Or when they do send good entries, they couldn't stage them. (at least in the 2010s)
*coughs in slovenian*
also Tose Proeski died
North Macedonia still competes in Junior Eurovision ever since their withdrawal from the senior contest in 2022
Although Bosnia and Herzegovina isn't in Eurovison, it is getting street view in the near future.
Girl, if Australia competes why can't Vietnam or Peru?
It would be fun if for some anniversary year Eurovision gets opened to the whole world.
Maybe for their 70th edition (2026)?
pd:So amusing to me that you mentioned the cuntry where I live, Peru. 😅😅😊😊
we are now able to vote so we are slowly getting there 😅
IMO every 5 to 10 years any country with enough public interest in the contest should get to join
Same as israel, its part of the english communication something, so hong kong would make sense to be added, but neither of the nations you mentioned check that box.
I dont think aus or isr should be in the comp, if theyre not in europe, but having a worldwide comp for a big anniversary sounds really interesting.
@@janaradic1026 what does the English language have to do with anything? Portugal, Spain, France and Italy almost always send songs in their own languages.
They all seem to fit into at least one of the Following Categories. Corrupt, Balkan, Arab, Microstate, Broke
When I first started watching Eurovision in 2006, Finland won it for the first time. From 2001-2008, there was a first-time winner every year. After that, it was either a first win in a long time or another first-time winner. More recently, it has been the same countries winning every year.
This is what good, thorough, unbiased research looks like kids. Excellent.
the sad thing about Hungary is (with me knowing about the country’s musical scene mostly through musical theatre) that they have so much musical talent in the country and also so much culture of their they could be bringing to the contest. Shame about all the politicians deciding they don’t want to and instead are set on hating gay people
It seems you are doing the hating, not the Hungarians. I am happy we do not participate in this madness anymore and no one hates gays in Hungary, they are there, part of the society and live their life peacefully. It is their private life, it is not my, or anyone's business. But I do not want to exclude anyone, so if you like it, then good for you (see I am not a hater, like you)
Our government dont accept even us just as people, so i dont expect that accept others. So we only can return if they will lost in future (Turkiye)
when i tell you as a catalan-speaking person i did NOT know about the catalan songs in eurovision??? please i need to see more representation 🙏🏼
This is a really interesting video! It's incredible to see how much research you put into this. I would caution against singling out Morocco a "deeply conservative country" when there are deeply conservative countries all over Europe. There are deeply-held Christian values all over Europe that would also not be compatible with Eurovision's aesthetics and practices. Considering their lack of participation due to Israel, it's notable that Israel does not have laws protecting queer people and could also be considered "deeply conservative."
Israel’s entry with transgender woman literally won in 1999 👀
Well said!
I mean the Israeli song this year was just as political as Belarus…. But as usual Israeli can get away with everything from war crimes to being political at the contest.
Blame it on Isaac Herzog, who insisted that KAN send in any song no matter what. If i recall correctly, the broadcaster would've withdrawn if their two initial songs weren't allowed.
Morrocan oil
I mean... Ukraine won with a political song also
@ explain to me how Stefania is political?
@@MewDenise The difference was. Stefania send there song before Russia attacked. It was a coicedence that this song turned out to become a political hymne. Before it was against the NS regime.
18:19 I guess Turkey has invented a time machine since Eurovision song contest should start at 11 pm in Turkish timezone. Weird time for kids to be awake.
That just acknowledges your ignorance about how it was a big deal for Turks from every age, from 1975 to 2012. 🥰🫠👍🏻
@@religiouslyfacts You're the ignorant one here. You're blatantly ignoring, practically supporting the revolting homophobia in the statement OP was criticizing.
@@koguma8823 my point was simply the fact that for Turks, it was a contest that was also relevant for EVERYBODY, including kids. But currently, no one could say it is the case. Stop with this lame woke narrative as I didn't even mention anything related to Homophobia.
@@religiouslyfacts Seeing queer people is not a danger for kids. Implying so is homophobic and ignorant
@@koguma8823 You are just spreading random words for sake of getting likes. What I am talking about is over-sexualization and objectification of queer bodies on TV. Yet we all agree that today's ESC is all about Grindr notification jokes, which by the way is basically a hookup application, no class at all. And yes, I perfectly respect families who would want to keep their kids away from that. An 8-year-old does NOT have to know about it all really.
On a side note, Turkey has had drag performers on TV, without sexualization!
Slovakia ain’t coming back if we being fr
Maaaaaybe, if Czechia wins one day...
Hey Gabe! I'm a huge fan from Basel, thanks for the great videos. I was at the ESC live for the very first time this year and saw Nemo win live and now the ESC is taking place in Basel... I can hardly wait. If you need any tips for Basel, feel free to get in touch. I would be happy to get to know you 🎉
Thank you and hopefully see you there!!!
I want to see Bulgaria, Montenegro, Romania and North Macedonia come back in Eurovision 2025. And I want to see Israel get disqualified too.
Montenegro is already returning in 2025 + national final called "Montesong"
Why israel loooooool they didnt do anything wrong 😂
@@Igurekkwar crimes
Literally did non stop things wrong. From harrasing participants to being an invasive country. @@Igurekk
@@Igurekkthe whole war in Gaza where they killed over 20k women and children?
Before watching I'll try and see if I know some that quit:
The Netherlands
Morocco
Russia
Belarus
Bonus: Lebanon, they tried in 2005, selected a song but weren't let in. I've heard the song, its quite good so I don't know why they weren't allow to enter.
Edit: I looked on The Netherlands in Eurovision Wikipedia article and it shows that The Netherlands have confirmed intention to participate in 2025 which I love as they have quit The Voice and Voice Kids, so I'm glad they are still doing this big song contest.
Fun Fact: And this is a fact, because I heard it from a Eurovision flunkey - UK will definitely quit if we don't win next year. A fact, not speculation.
we just need joost back
@@robertwilloughby8050 They weren't in Junior Eurovision this year. I'm from the UK
Lebanon in 2005 WERE let in, they just were disqualified at the very last minute because the Lebanese broadcaster clearly admitted they would go on an ad break during the 3 minutes the Israeli act was, so they wouldn't broadcast the Israeli entry. EBU tried to threaten them with disqualifying, but they seemed really hellbent on not showing the Israeli entry on air, so that's why they were disqualified.
As a slovak, i didnt know that it is because of our president that we dont participate
Bit of a click bait title, sparked me to do a quick google search since I was left a tad flabbergasted at the idea of 2025 being so empty. Other than that it was a brilliantly researched video and a good watch, would appreciate you taking the time to add chapters into your videos in the future though.
I admire how informed, well spoken and objective you are Gabe!
I think part of the reason for Andorra and maybe Monaco not qualifying was the semi final format at the time.
if 2007 had 2 semis its almost guaranteed Andorra would have qualified
It has always surprised me there's not more self-funded projects. There's gotta be plenty of little known artists with wealthy parents out there who're eager for a 100+ million audience, right? I bet if the broadcasters that don't participate for financial reasons played their card rights and were open to foreigners, they could all get self funded entries every year.
14:13 My father is Hungarian and I've often visited my family there... While my father loves Viktor Orbán, I have to say he's just not it, in general the government is not it. I just hope that Hungary finally changes it's beliefs when it comes to basic human rights... I have not visited Hungary, nor my Hungarian part of the family, since I found out the truth about the country (Since 9 years). I just want Hungary to come back, happy, fresh and accepting, but that's not going to happen anytime soon...
You see what brain damage the mass media can do to you. It would be a healing for you to be in Hungary.
Ok I have some thoughts here:
- As an eternal and quite radical optimist, I refuse to believe the days of 42/43 participants are permanently over. I hope and believe we can be there again, but maybe with different participants (or rather... most likely, different participants).
- Ok I know this one is sometimes controversial among ESC fans, depending on what u want from the contest. But I at least really feel like the contest can be scaled back a few steps. Like, I love a big show. But right now, it is excluding a lot of countries, cause a HUGE show of course cost a whole lot more. ESC should be unifying, and I think the shows can be downsized a bit, resulting in cheaper competition and more reasonable pricing. Like, I don't - of course - want it to be of ESCZ 24-standard, but it can definitely be a bit smaller than it is now. Right now, it just seems like it is an evil spiral. Where countries can't afford participating, leading it to be more expensive for the remaining countries... and then more of them drop out.
- I believe North Macedonia, Monaco, Bulgaria and Romania are all coming back in near future. Slovakia and Hungary could in the longer run, but it requires more of a change in the government. Same with Turkey (they had an election in 2023, where the losing candidate in the second round - Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu - actually vocally supported a Eurovision return. He did lose the election, but it was a close margin). Bosnia will probably participate right when they can! I hope they try everything... contact sponsors? Gofundme or something? I want them back.
- Andorra is always among the first to confirm the non-participation (often right after the just concluded Eurovision in May), so it looks bleak. But I would love them to return and have some success. I'll never forget when San Marino, Montenegro and Czechia first qualified to the finale. The emotions! Everyone deserves that feeling!
- Russia and Belarus... maaaaaaaaajor political changes are needed here. Way more than Hungary or Slovakia. But as an optimist, I don't seal the door shut compeletely. But it's probably more about decades than years for these countries.
- Morocco? I just don't care. I don't see them as a part of ESC-family anyway. Not because of geography (Australia is there) but they just appeared once, and I wasn't there for it. New influences are always welcome, but it's not the return that would make me the happiest.
- Lastly, it's such a weird priority for North Macedonia to participate in JESC, but not ESC. I guess it is cheaper... but it still costs money that absolutely could be a part of the ESC budget instead. Much bigger window out into the world there.
New subscriber here, Gabe. I'm already a fan! :)
The reason North Macedonia is in the JESC is because no one watches it. The reason we aren't in ESC isn't about money, it's because the major voting blocks (old people) look down on any spending that doesn't directly benefit them. To be clear, the broadcasting rights cost much more than participation funding, but it doesn't attract attention like an entry does, so it is overlooked.
it is just a phase, i think, most of these countries will return in the future, ESC was always a very dynamic show
@@Lawrence.LaurentiusThat’s also what I hope and believe
The situation in Hungary is more complex you would imagine at first glance. Since our wtihdrawal, I tried to study everything in connection with it, and although there are a huge amount of "anti-gay"-ness and "anti-EU" in the story, on the other hand - which makes it even more political - the public broadcaster is in the hands of the Fidesz-government, and they are not functioning as a free, independent media.
Btw, A Dal is still taking place every year, and almost 0 people care about it. It is like an n+1st idol show, with newcomer garage bands and music in every genre but pop. MTVA tries to sell it, that it is a good platform, and the winner will get "infinite love from the viewers" XD No one from the country knows the last winners, or even their songs. How amazing it is compared to the ESC-prize. 😂😂 Such a ridiculous country and such ridiculous times.
Long story short, until Orbán stays in power, we won't come back, and now I know it is for the best, because with this current attitude, they won't be able to send a good or just an okay song to the contest. First we need to get rid of Orbán and his gang, and then a new public media will see the benefits of participating again. I really really hope it will happen in 2026, so in ESC 2027 we might come back.
Great video! 😉
i genuinely thought (still think) all hungarians are bisexual
bring back bulgaria in eurovision‼️
Once again, great work Gabe👍. Bosnia's story is so depressing. Andrea's Circle was so good in 2022, but I guess it's the year of strong female 'singer/ songwriter' ballads. Too much competition. You totally left out on Turkiye's attempt at making their own Eurovision.
Turkvision could be a video all by itself!!
The Netherlands is on the edge of quiting and has been for a few years. We hadn't won in a long time and people started to see it as a waste of time. But suddenly we won that year but it was in the middle of the pandemic. But with the disqualification of last year we are back at calling it quits.
I thought you guys had finally confirmed you were back..
That disqualification was unfair. Those “journalists” were lucky they didn’t get knocked out by every team.
Netherlands will continue to participate lol. Very high viewership so idk what u mean
in other words you are like spoilt children who won't participate if you don't win
@@gordonwilkinson5041yeah, if we (Spain) had the same attitude we'd probably have been out of Eurovision for decades already (our last win was in freaking 1969) and even North Korea or Afghanistan would be closer to joining Eurovision than us lmao
Can you make a video on why Italy’s been so strong in Eurovision since their last return?
Sanremo festival. Much better than ESC. With live orchestra. That's why Italy is successful.
The last normal Eurovision contest was in 1990.
The obvious elephant in the room here is Israel, not Russia.
Wrong pic of Slovak politician chosen :) You meant to show a pic of PM, not the president. Nevertheless, very insightful video.
Kind of unrelated but I would love it if you made a Junior Eurovision video! It was surprisingly dramatic and many songs were amazing!
Actually Israel missed a few countries after 1980. In 1984 they withdrew for the same reason in 1980. They were also relegated in 1994, didn't qualify in 1996 and withdrew from the 1997 contest.
In 1980 it's because Israel was going through a financial crisis and was unable to host it again.
I enjoy your videos a lot but some screens are there for a fraction of a second. Anyone who wants to see anything needs to pause and search for it. Consider showing stuff next to you in a smaller window or keeping it on for longer. You may need to narrate slower too for this lol
I hope that soon people will start to see through the Hungarian political leaders, and I hope that we will be able to replace our leader. A significant part of Hungarian TV broadcasts nonsense, which unfortunately many people here believe.
I hope that soon people will start to see through the mass media propaganda in Europe and will be able to replace their leaders. (Actually it is happening already, hahahaha.) A significant part of European TV broadcasts nonsense, which unfortunately many people (like you) believe.
Imo, Slovakia and Czech Republic were following similar trajectories in late 00's / early 10's - both were just hanging out in the bottom. Recently, Czech Republic has done significantly better and I think Slovakia should also try again as well. I really do believe these two countries should be having similar success.
Correction: Peter Pellegrini hasn't been unfaithful, as he is in fact unmarried and single. There are of course rumours about his sexuality.
Did you mean the Slovak PM Robert Fico?
Yes, I meant Fico! 🫣
I'm from the UK and not a fan of Russia at all but I didn't really agree with the EBU banning Russia when Azerbaijan was allowed to compete despite the Armenian incidents in their history which Azerbaijan utterly refuse to acknowledge. You either do it for every country with these histories or none of them. This is supposed to be a singing competition and should remain neutral. I do not agree with the exclusion of Isreal either, recent events should not be allowed to dictate the competition that was founded in the spirit of stopping conflicts.
read the title as “why did 80 countries quit eurovision”
Please do a video about underrated eurovision songs and include tix- fallen angel
I think the song is very important to anyone out there who feels unloved or unwanted. Especially if that's due to a disability, and I think the song should be highlighted
I actually fell in love with Fallen Angel at first for this very reason, as I am autistic and growing up I frequently felt misunderstood and unfairly judged for it.
But in the years since that contest, I've come to understand that the song itself barely qualified for the Grand Final because it's so generically-composed. When you look at everything about the song, not just the lyrics, it's underwhelming.
Sounds like participation in Eurovision is going the way of hosting the Olympics. Too much cost for little return domestically. And to participate some must qualify. At least in the Olympics, if the country can afford to send even a token team, in many sports a qualification threshold can be more objectively set in terms of elapsed time, distance jumped, distance thrown, and even scoring of gymnastic routines. So it is possible for exceptional performers to participate.
Add in there’s a “Big 5” who dominate.
EBU sounds anything but unified.
Nah I dont care bout no politics just let mfs sing the artist isnt committing war crimes, the leader ship of that country is (my family has serious beef with Russia because of some shit that happened 80 years ago)
0:24 canada aswell
As a Romanian I'm saddened but not surprised to hear Romania's out. I feel like Romania was always a very reserved country, even kinda anti social at times and so of course they don't show interest in entertainment outside of their own creation. I'm sure they'll continue to dig themselves deeper into that hole. As if we weren't already forgotten enough lol.
In the last decade or so we haven't had any type of drive in the contest. We've only sent joke and non-serious entries. The only time there was a sliver of hope was in 2020 with all the Roxen project, which was completely refreshing coming from the mess that Selectia Nationala had been going through for some years. Only for then, in 2022 and 2023, to have the absolute worst Selectia Nationalas ever in the history of the national selection. There was already dissatisfaction coming from 2016, after we got disqualified. Afterwards it was the joke entries, the non-qualifications, the awful quality of our national selection and its songs; no wonder Romanians lost complete interest in the contest. I always put this as an example, but its actually insane that Chile, a country in Latin America, had more Eurovision viewership and engagement than Romania in 2023 (and the contry has less people than ours).
@@alexandru4193 the best thing TVR can do is work with Global Records or borrow people from ProTV who work in music so that competent people can actually do the job that needs to be done. trusting a bunch of dusty TVR execs with a big platform like Eurovision is just not going to work
@@alexandru4193 there is not such a low esc viewership in Romania, rather than it s about viewership for TVR . Many people just choose to watch it thru other means, and even when it was broadcasted the marketing was defectuos and a lot of people werent even aware if or when the contests was happening. This year we were part of the countries which voted the most in the rest of the world votes, so the fandom is still alive
@@dariuscoroian2237 I wouldn't say ROTW votes can say much about it, I mean yeah, it makes complete sense that Romania is going to be amongst the highest voter countries because it's a country located in Europe and used to participate in the contest. Apart from us, what other ROTW countries are left? Canada? New Zealand? Those countries are also amongst the highest voters yet the amount of people from those countries watching the show is still minuscule compared to the viewership of active participating countries. It was obvious that Romania had to been amongst the highest ROTW voters because the rest are either Eastern European countries that mostly have a much lower population than ours (except Russia) and non-European countries whose population barely know about the contest.
I really loved "Llámame" and "Amnesia" and I warmed up to "DGT" too so I hope your broadcaster gets its act together someday and returns
Google who owns Maroccan Oil, sponsor of the 2024 Eurovision.
The 2007 entry for Andorra wasn't a standard rock song it was pretty damn good and it came closer to Qing for the final from that semi than anyone else from western Europe did. I wouldn't mind having Susanna Georgi back either.
Also the singer of Boom Badabooom was actually from Monaco even if the song was written by Serge Gainsborough who is French.
The singer of Boum Badaboum got Monegasque citizenship in 2004, almost 40 years after representing Monaco at Eurovision. It's a big stretch to say that she was from Monaco.
@famicom_guy Fair enough, I stand corrected but at least she did that.
10 more robbed songs should include telemóveis, which is an excellent song.
That song is so incredible and ahead of its time! Justice for Conan Osiris
@@Kiwimitemaybe if he didn’t ruin the song with that god awful staging (artistic doesn’t always mean good)
@@josephnewsome2935 I liked it :(
@@Kiwimite yeah it was really cool :c
Great video!
13:54 good thing you managed to delete the 36 other takes 😂
14:22 I'M SORRY!? WHAT!? that will forever be the only thing i associate with Hungary from now on
Very good, as a Hungarian I am very pleased.
I like how a Brit is talking about how he wouldn't feel comfortable with a Russian singer in the Eurovision because of the war. A Brit. From a country invading countries left and right.
I don’t know if I’m overthinking but I feel if more countries will withdraw, Eurovision will go back to relegations or maybe a single semi final with top 10 from previous year automatically qualifying for next years final. Personally that will just ruin the competition even more than it is.
Tbh it sounds a little xenophobic saying that “I won’t be personally comfortable with a Russian entry even after the invasion”, when Israel (war in Gaza) and France (constant interference in the Sahel) are still participating, and nothing was said about Morocco (Oppressing the Sahrawi people in Western Sahara) coming back making people uncomfortable
Thank you, was waiting for someone to say this
you forgot to mention Britain's illegal invasion of Iraq
@@low_key_f_key3237 he forgot to mention bRITAIN'S ILLEGAL INVASION OF iRAQ
@ yeah I wanted to mention it, but since the Uk wasn’t in any big conflicts as of recently, I decided not to
Yeah, imagine if other countries (France, Belgium, Netherlands, the UK) had the same attitude about Germany joining Eurovision in the 1950s.
Can't take anyone serious who says Pewtin. Imagine people saying Wiston Chiuchill, Woosvelt, 'itler. 😆
The strong point of Eurovision is the political aspect; the defense of the values of openness, respect and tolerance (with the Israeli anomaly that spoils it a little).
The weak point of Eurovision remains the musical aspect. It is something that surprises and amazes me every time, the fact that the songs of Eurovision don't correspond at all to the great successes and great trends of the world of music outside of Eurovision. This "niche" side impermeable to the rest of the world of music is quite fascinating.
Israel is still in Eurovision, which is absolutely farcical.
I'm kind of sad about Hungary's non-participation; when I look at their entries, they looked like they're going for a win soon. I hope they manage a change to a more progressive government and that they could do just that!
Also sad for Bosnia and Herzegovnia; I keep wondering if anybody wants to start a GoFundMe to eliminate their debts. But with what you said, it seems like there's a deeper issue at hand in terms of Bosnian politics to have a sustainable presence. They sent two of my top ten entries ever (Lejla and Bistra Voda), and I want to see more gems from them.
Considering that most Eastern European withdrawals are because of funds or lack of interest, what would be pull factors to get them back?
Also, are we better off with 42-43 country contests, or fewer songs but higher quality ones?
Hungary could never win as Hungary always walks its own way, she is non-conformists ever, and this is not something that people can swallow. If you fall in line, you are liked. We Hungarians will never fall in line.
Man, I kinda wanna go deeper into these countries' participation...
Just want to add two bits on countries that withdrew historically:
Yugoslavia - in 1992 the EBU member broadcaster for Yugoslavia, JRT, was dissolved. As a result, no EBU member for Yugoslavia remained. Yugoslavia were also sports sanctioned by the UN the same year, meaning they could not have participated in a team effort. During the 1992-1995 period, only individuals could represent Yugoslavia as they represented themselves, not the nation. As you represent a nation in Eurovision, it would not have been possible to rejoin until 1996 but by that time they were financially ruined and wounds were very open. Yugoslavia reentered as Serbia & Montenegro in 2004.
Luxembourg: people tend to miss that in 1995, Luxembourg did not decline participation; CLT were no longer EBU members. From what I can only assume, as it’s hard to find a lot of conclusive reporting on it nowadays, this may have been due to their restructuring as a private broadcaster. They would not rejoin the EBU until 1998, meaning their first chance to return was in 1999. They eventually returned in 2024, after years of financial issues due to their EBU affiliate being the relatively underfunded Luxembourgish-language service.
If the same 10+ countries that decide to leave eurovision if russia participate then they would’ve done the same for azerbaijan or israel ?
The double standards in the way Russia was banned and isolated vs Israel's treatment is plain European hypocrisy. This, plus the prevailing mediocre music, made me decide to finally stop watching Eurovision. It was a dear family event that got ruined over the years.
Bulgaria's problem is more due to funding problems than interest. While it was They usually need a sponsor in order to fund their participation in Eurovision. Sure, they phoned it in at the 2022 contest, it was more due to the horrible treatment of their sponsor (an oligarch), who wrote the song. Their Eurovision BG Twitter account was the best, but they're sadly gone now.
As for Romania, I think the lack of interest is more due to the people's disdain for TVR than Eurovision itself. Also, TVR and the Romanian delegation's treatment of Roxen & Theodore in the past couple of years has not helped the network's popularity. TVR doesn't want to give up EBU/Eurovision rights, as it's the only thing that's keeping them (somewhat) relevant.
Slovakia is just sad. They're up for the running of being the most screwed over country in Eurovision along with N. Macedonia. They just missed out of debuting in the 1993 contest, got relegated in 1995, 1997, and then got absolutely robbed in 2010. They phoned it in the following two years, and then gave up. I think if "Horehronie" qualified, it would have given RTVS enough confidence to stick with it for a little while longer. They could have participated in 2015 as the host city was literally an hour away from Bratislava. I would love a Czech-Slovak participation, but with the current government, that ain't happening.
With North Macedonia something else to consider that may not have fully caused their departure but definitely contributed was how awfully they treated Andrea. They publicly and degradingly threw a tantrum because she lightly tossed a flag off to the side at the request of a photographer. It wasn't a political statement or a protest and had she had someone to hand it to she would have. They made her post a video of her apologising and sobbing. And even then they still threatened to withdraw and THROW HER IN JAIL. Over a non incident. Then they didn't do anything with the staging. If they had they would have qualified for sure and if Azerbaijan hadn't cheated they likely would have. If you're a singer who could represent North Macedonia you'd be terrified to represent them in case they sail you down the river too.
🤦🏻♀️ Threw her in jail!? I'm Macedonian and I can tell you she would not have been arrested. We aren't dictatorship country. But someone should have told her to respect national symbols. To Tamara Todevska was given the honour to perform the anthem on national holiday. She decided to skip some verses . That cost her music career in Makedonija, she cancelled her concerts. Btw popular singers don't want to participate, not worth wasting time and money. Most of them already participated in the past.
@@hipotenuza5663 That's what they threatened. They literally said that. And she did respect it. She was holding a flag , a photographer asked her to get rid of it so she delicately tossed it out of view. She didn't desecrate it. Also I think because Covid was so recent I don't think they had full privileges yet which is why she had no one to give it to.
@@myjunkdrawer8014 She was anonymous before ESC, first time we heard about her. And I don't have a clue who chose her to represent the country. Someone payed the expenses for her trip. To toss a flag because a photographer told her, it's unacceptable in any country in the world.
For a few of these countries that aren't missed at all, Australia is a fine replacement.
3:05 Monaco actually had an entry from their own country (Maryon in 2004).
Finland the MVP in 1980 making sure the the first timer Morocco didn't finish last.
you’re my favorite esc creator ever, how you explain every little detail just makes me so so so happy and you’re so informative, thank you gabe 💗
That leclerc joke absolutely killed me the second time round
Well, he can play a piano,also he composed few pieces. Sadly, he's a terrible singer. With his beautiful face , quality back up singers and Ferrari fans, he will score points. The only problem will be how to hide the huge neck.
Just a tip for Romanians: Bring INNA and/or Sickotoy to Eurovision, and it's gonna be a win. ^^
Wales would be very happy to take up a place if it's available! It's an annual discussion in Wales, especially Welsh speaking Wales, on the wish for a Welsh representative - preferably singing in Welsh. Last year there was a song recorded in case, 'Anfonaf Angel' (I send an angel) by Sara Davies who won our own 'Cân i Gymru' (Song for Wales) compeition: ua-cam.com/video/XZgcdH4elW0/v-deo.html In fact, 'Cân i Gymru' was set up in 1969 with a hope of a Welsh seat for the Eurovision. Wales, is represented on the Youth Eurovision competition.
Going back and watching the old eurovision’s I feel bad for Andorra because imo almost all their entries were better than Spain’s during that period yet they never made a final which personally I believe had to be due to it being a microstate.
Dude, even Liechtenstein's entries in the mid 2000s were better than Spain's. That's a pretty low benchmark you chose.
I wanna see you do a similar video but with countries that have planned to participate but in the end didn't do so, likw Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Liechtenstein, Tunisia, Lebanon, New Zealand and China
aint gonna lie the moment you said when your budget is 10p and a curlywurly i spat out my drink and started laughing ngl