Bulgaria, Montenegro and North Macedonia will not participate in the Eurovision Song Contest next year. The event, which will take place in Liverpool, therefore has only 37 participating countries. This is the lowest number since 2014, when the festival was held in Copenhagen.
This year forty countries participated in the Eurovision Song Contest, organized by Italy in Turin. Next year there will be three fewer.
Today the organizers announced that Bulgaria, Montenegro and North Macedonia will not participate in 2023. The latter two will miss the event due to high costs. Bulgaria did not provide an official reason.
North Macedonia will not participate for the first time since 2003. Montenegro returned last year after a year of absence. Bulgaria was last absent in 2019.
Ukrainian winners in 2022: Kalush Orchestra.
Ukrainian winners in 2022: Kalush Orchestra. Photo: EPA
Six countries secured a place in the final
Of the 37 nations, 31 nations, including the Netherlands, will play in the semi-finals. Four of the so-called Big 5 (France, Germany, Italy and Spain) and host nations UK and Ukraine have already secured a place in the final.
The United Kingdom, normally one of the 5 Big countries, will organize the event in 2023 together with Ukraine, winner of the previous edition. Due to the war with Russia, a Eurovision Song Contest is currently not possible in Ukraine. The Eurovision Song Contest will take place next year from 9 to 13 May in Liverpool.
