Several countries refuse to compete in Eurovision 2023

Several countries have decided to refuse to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 to be held in Liverpool.

Among them: Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Bulgaria, Report informs, citing Eurovisionworld.com.

The first country to quit the competition was Montenegro. The local broadcaster RTCG justified this decision by saying that the country simply does not have enough budget to participate.

"In addition to the significant costs of the registration fee, as well as staying in the UK, we were faced with a lack of interest from sponsors," the statement said.

According to North Macedonian broadcaster MRT, the country will also not be sending a contestant to England due to the high costs caused by the economic and energy crises. At the same time, North Macedonia did not refuse to participate in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest.

Following this, the broadcaster BHRT from Bosnia and Herzegovina declared non-participation. The country has not competed in the competition since 2017 due to financial problems, and there are no "chances of returning" this year or next either.

OGAE Greece broadcaster from Bulgaria stressed that the country will not be participating this year. He added that "this program is no longer of interest to him", so he will probably withdraw from the competition for good.

In addition, the upcoming performance of the participant from Slovenia is in doubt. Sasho Gribar, a member of the board of local broadcaster RTVSLO, recently said that the country should not participate in the contest due to low ratings. However, there was no official statement of refusal.

On October 7, it became known that Eurovision 2023 will be held in Liverpool at the M&S Bank Arena. The first semi-final will take place on 9 May 2023, the second semi-final on 11 May and the final on 13 May.