Broadcasters from Bulgaria, North Macedonia, and Montenegro have announced that they will not participate in the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest due to increased entry fees.
The European Broadcasters Association (EBU), which organizes the song contest, published the list of 37 participants of the contest on Thursday. They did not say how much each country’s broadcasters are paying for the entry. However, according to the BBC News report, the costs of all participants usually amount to around five million pounds (2.3 billion forints), and the host country also has additional costs.
The previous song festival was won by Ukraine; Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Montenegro did not make it past the semi-finals of the competition. Due to the war in Ukraine, runner-up Great Britain took over the role of host, and Liverpool was chosen to host the song festival in part because it made Ukraine the focus of its bid.
Russia used to be a major financier of the event but was excluded from the song festival due to the war against Ukraine. However, this has increased the costs of the participants. The organizers emphasized to BBC News that the EBU tries to keep the costs of the participants at an affordable level.
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