RTVSLO, the Slovenian public broadcaster, has confirmed to Evrovizija.com that it did not ask the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) for additional time to decide whether to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2027.
Evrovizija.com, a Slovenian Eurovision website, has reported that RTVSLO did not ask the EBU for additional time to make their final decision on Eurovision Song Contest 2027 participation. In our previous article, it was mistakenly assumed that no decision taken by RTVSLO meant they were given additional time to consider a return by the European Broadcasting Union.
RTVSLO has now clarified that this was not the case. In a statement to Evrovizija.com, the Slovenian broadcaster said:
“As we have already explained, RTV Slovenia did not send its intention to participate in the 2027 Eurovision Song Contest to the EBU. Regarding the potential participation, only informative conversations are currently taking place, with the public broadcaster’s financial capabilities remaining a significant limitation. The EBU and RTV Slovenia will hold talks regarding the 2027 Eurovision Song Contest.”
RTVSLO also made clear that it did not receive an extension from the EBU, as it had never requested one:
“RTV Slovenia didn’t request an extension of the deadline for the final decision on participation and therefore did not receive one from the EBU.”
The broadcaster explained that the final decision on its potential return to Eurovision will depend on the preparation and adoption of RTV Slovenia’s Programming and Production Plan for 2027.
RTVSLO did not attend EBU Eurovision Workshop
RTVSLO also clarified whether it participated in the EBU’s Eurovision Workshop, which took place last week in Tivat, Montenegro. The broadcaster confirmed that it did not attend the event:
“We deny that any representative of RTV Slovenia attended the mentioned workshop in Montenegro.”
The Eurovision Workshop is an annual EBU event that brings together national broadcasters to discuss details of the following year’s Eurovision Song Contest and other relevant topics.
This year, the event was hosted by RTCG, the Montenegrin public broadcaster. According to Eurovision’s Director Martin Green, representatives from 37 countries participated in the workshop. However, there is no official list of participating broadcasters publicly available.
Current Situation of the Other Four 2026 Boycott Broadcasters
Of the five broadcasters that boycotted the Eurovision Song Contest in 2026, AVROTROS (Netherlands) and RTÉ (Ireland) have confirmed that they will not compete in the 2027 contest.
Meanwhile, RTVE (Spain) and RĂšV (Iceland) have yet to make a final decision on whether they will take part in Eurovision 2027, which will be held in Burgas, Bulgaria, next May.
🇪🇸 RTVE (Spain)
The Spanish national broadcaster has not yet made an official decision regarding its participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2027.
Earlier this month, RAC 1 reported that the Board of Directors of RTVE would meet on September 16 to discuss the broadcaster’s potential return to the contest in 2027. However, on the scheduled day, the Board postponed the decision to a later date, which remains unknown. RTVE was also reported to have requested an extension from the EBU to make its decision.
Today, the Chair of RTVE, José Pablo López, announced that he will propose to the Board of Directors that Spain boycott the Eurovision Song Contest 2027. Speaking before the parliamentary committee overseeing RTVE, López said that while he recognised that some progress had been made, he saw “a clear ethical shortcoming”. He will therefore propose to the Board that RTVE’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest remain suspended.
🇮🇪 RTÉ (Ireland)
RTÉ, the Irish public broadcaster, confirmed on September 17 that Ireland will not take part in the Eurovision Song Contest 2027 and will not broadcast the competition.
The broadcaster stated that their position on participation remains unchanged due to the ongoing loss of life in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there. RTÉ also added that it remains concerned by the continued denial of independent access to international journalists to the territory.
🇮🇸 RÚV (Iceland)
RĂšV, the Icelandic public broadcaster, has yet to decide whether it will compete in the Eurovision Song Contest 2027 in Burgas, Bulgaria.
On August 24, the Chair of the Board of RÚV confirmed that no decision had yet been made by the Icelandic broadcaster regarding its participation in 2027. Stefán Jón Hafstein also confirmed that there had been “very little” discussion among the board about a potential return.
The broadcaster’s Board is set to meet again at the end of September. However, it is not yet clear whether participation in the Eurovision Song Contest will be discussed at that meeting.
🇳🇱 AVROTROS (Netherlands)
It is currently unclear whether the Netherlands will compete in the Eurovision Song Contest 2027. In the Netherlands several broadcasters hold EBU membership and therefore are eligible to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest. They include: AVROTROS, KRO-NCRV, NTR, NOS, NPO, Omroep MAX, BNN-VARA, VPRO, and EO.
AVROTROS, which has historically been responsible for the country’s participation, announced in August that it would not return to the contest due to continued concerns regarding the neutrality of the competition.
AVROTROS informed NPO, the governing body for Dutch public broadcasting, about its decision and transferred the responsibility of Eurovision participation to them. This means that another Dutch broadcaster that holds EBU membership could potentially take over responsibility for participation.
Omroep MAX, KRO-NCRV and BNNVARA have already confirmed that they will not take over the participation duties. This leaves NPO and its EBU member broadcasters to discuss and determine whether another channel will take over responsibility.
On September 14, it was reported that NPO had been given an extension by the EBU to determine whether the Netherlands would compete in Eurovision 2027. An NPO spokesperson told AD: “We hope to provide more clarity regarding the Eurovision Song Contest before the end of the month.”
Source: Evrovizija.com
Slovenia was one of three countries to join the Eurovision Song Contest in 1993. The country qualified through a specially organised selection round called “Kvalifikacija za Millstreet” which was hosted in Slovenia, seven countries competed for three spots in Eurovision 1993. The country has participated in 22 editions of the Eurovision Song Contest. Their best result came in 1995 when Darja Švajger finished 7th scoring a total of 84 points. She is closely followed by Nuša Derenda who finished 7th in the 2001 contest with 70 points.