National selections for the Eurovision Song Contest
National selections refer to the processes in which the broadcasters of the countries participating in the annual Eurovision Song Contest select the artist and song that will represent them in the contest.[1]
The two principal ways for broadcasters to select their entries are open selections (national finals) and closed selections (internal selections).[1] Since the introduction of semi-finals in the 2004 contest – due to the extensive amount of participating countries – and the rule of the "Big Five" countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom),[2][3] a wide range of countries have often alternated between national finals and internal selections based on final placing at the contest.
National finals

National finals are the process in which the public of a country can choose the artist with their song, often combining public televoting with the vote of an expert jury.[1]
Organised by the broadcaster, these national finals (consisting of one or more shows) can be televised or non-televised, however, most of the time they are televised as prime-time television shows.[1] On several occasions, the artist is selected internally and the public of the country chooses a song for them through a national final. Alternatively, the broadcaster can select a song and make the public choose the artist that will perform the song through a national final.[1]
Among the most well-known national finals is Melodifestivalen in Sweden, which features six live shows (four heats, a "Second Chance" show and a final in Stockholm) in different cities across the country.[5] In 2012, over an estimated four million people in Sweden watched the final, almost half of the Swedish population.[6][7]

Another example of a long-running national final format is Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK) in Finland; in 2018 and 2019, each participant wanting to represent Finland sent three songs to the Finnish public broadcaster Yle, which would select the entrant, and the public of the country would then choose one song among the three that the selected entrant had presented to the broadcaster previously, through a televised final.[9][10][11][12] In 2020, this format was abandoned in favour of a return to the open format seen between 2012 and 2017.[13][14]
Note that Albania, Denmark, Estonia and Finland are the only countries that have always selected their entries via the national final. Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro also selected all of its entries via the national final during their existence.
Internal selections

Internal selections are the process in which the broadcaster of a country appoints a committee or expert panel to select both the artist and the song, without holding a public vote.[1]
Even though the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) "strongly" encourages countries to hold their own national finals,[1] several countries such as Russia,[16] Azerbaijan[17] and Bulgaria[18] are among those that have opted for internal selections for most of their entries in the contest. Choosing this method is also a common strategy for countries after having failed to qualify for the final on several occasions.[19][20]
Participants
As of 2021, 52 countries have participated among the potential list of 56 active members (plus one associate member) of the EBU,[21] and a record 43 countries participated in 2008, 2011 and 2018.[22][23][24]
† |
Inactive – countries which participated in the past but did not appear in the most recent contest, or will not appear in the upcoming contest |
◇ |
Ineligible – countries whose broadcasters have been suspended from the European Broadcasting Union and are therefore ineligible to participate |
‡ |
Former – countries which previously participated but no longer exist |
Country | Debut year | Latest entry | National final[lower-alpha 1] | Internal selection[lower-alpha 1] | Absent years | Broadcaster(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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1956 | 2022 |
Total: 50 |
Total: 14 |
Total: 4 |
VRT (Dutch) RTBF (French)[lower-alpha 3] |
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1956 | 2022 |
Eurovision France, c'est vous qui décidez!
Total: 26 |
Total: 51 |
Total: 3 |
RTF (1956–1964) ORTF (1965–1974) TF1 (1975–1981) FT (1983–present) |
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1956 | 2022 |
Unser Lied
Germany 12 Points
Total: 55 |
Total: 12 |
Total: 2 |
HR (1956–1976) (ARD) BR (1977–1991) (ARD) MDR (1992–1995) (ARD) ARD/NDR (1996–present) |
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1956 | 2022 |
Total: 48 |
Total: 10 |
Total: 20 |
RAI |
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1956 | 1993 |
Total: 4 |
Total: 33 |
Total: 30 |
CLT |
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1956 | 2022 |
Total: 38 |
Total: 16 |
Total: 5 |
SRG SSR |
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1956 | 2022 |
Total: 50 |
Total: 13 |
Total: 5 |
NTS (1956–1969) NOS (1970–2009) TROS (2010–2013) AVROTROS (2014–present) |
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1957 | 2022 |
Total: 16 |
Total: 39 |
Total: 12 |
ORF |
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1957 | 2022 |
Total: 52 |
N/A |
Total: 16 |
DR |
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1957 | 2022 |
Festival of British Popular Songs
The Great British Song Contest
Eurovision: Making Your Mind Up
Eurovision: Your Country Needs You
Total: 57 |
Total: 8 |
Total: 2 |
BBC |
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1958 | 2022 |
Total: 61 |
Total: 1 |
Total: 4 |
Sveriges Radiotjänst (1958) SR (1959–1979) SVT (1980–present) |
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1959 | 2006 | N/A |
Total: 24 |
Total: 40 |
TMC |
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1960 | 2022 |
Total: 50 |
Total: 1 |
Total: 3 |
NRK |
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1961 | 2022 |
Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK)
Total: 46 |
Total: 2 |
Total: 7 |
YLE |
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1961 | 2022 |
Eurocanción
Operación Triunfo (OT)
Destino Eurovisión
Objetivo Eurovisión
Total: 28 |
Total: 38 |
Total: 1 |
TVE |
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1961 | 1992 |
Opatija Festival
Total: 28 |
N/A |
Total: 5
|
JRT |
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1964 | 2022 |
Total: 53 |
Total: 1 |
Total: 6 |
RTP |
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1965 | 2022 |
Eurosong
Total: 50 |
Total: 6 |
Total: 3 |
RTÉ |
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1971 | 2022 |
Malta Eurovision Song Contest
Total: 34 |
Total: 5 |
Total: 18 |
PBS |
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1973 | 2022 |
HaShir HaBa L'Eurovizion
HaShir Shelanu L'Eurovizion
Total: 34 |
Total: 19 |
Total: 6 |
IBA (1973–2017) KAN (2018–present) |
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1974 | 2022 |
Total: 22 |
Total: 22 |
Total: 7 |
ERT (1974–2013, 2016–present) NERIT (2014–2015) |
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1975 | 2012 |
Total: 29 |
Total: 8 |
Total: 14 |
TRT |
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1980 | 1980 | N/A |
Total: 1 |
Total: 42 |
SNRT |
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1981 | 2022 |
Total: 21 |
Total: 19 |
Total: 4 |
CyBC |
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1986 | 2022 |
Total: 28 |
Total: 7 |
Total: 3 |
RÚV |
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1993 | 2016 |
Total: 11 |
Total: 8 |
Total: 11 |
BHRT |
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1993 | 2022 |
Total: 23 |
Total: 5 |
Total: 3 |
HRT |
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1994[lower-alpha 7] | 2022 |
Total: 29 |
N/A |
Total: 2 |
ERR |
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1994[lower-alpha 7] | 2019 |
Total: 13 |
Total: 5 |
Total: 12 |
MTVA |
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1994[lower-alpha 7] | 2022 |
Total: 25 |
Total: 2 |
Total: 7 |
TVR |
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1993 | 2022 |
Slovenski izbor za Pesem Evrovizije
Evrovizijska Melodija (EMA)
Misija Evrovizija
Total: 26 |
Total: 2 |
Total: 3 |
RTVSLO |
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1994[lower-alpha 7] | 2012 |
Eurosong
Total: 3 |
Total: 5 |
Total: 22 |
STV (1994–2010) RTVS (2011–2012) |
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1994 | 2022 |
Lietuvos Dainų Daina
Eurovizijos atranka
Pabandom iš naujo!
Total: 22 |
Total: 1 |
Total: 7 |
LRT |
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1994 | 2022 |
Tu bije serce Europy! Wybieramy hit na Eurowizję
Total: 12 |
Total: 12 |
Total: 5 |
TVP |
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1994 | 2021 |
Total: 9 |
Total: 17 |
Total: 6 |
VGTRK (1994, 1996, 2008–2022) C1R (1995–2022)[lower-alpha 8] Channel One of Ostankino |
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1998[lower-alpha 5] | 2022 |
Za Evrosong
Total: 13 |
Total: 9 |
Total: 4 |
MKRTV |
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2000 | 2022 |
Total: 22 |
Total: 1 |
Total: 1 |
LTV |
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2003 | 2022 |
Total: 16 |
Total: 4 |
Total: 3 |
UA:PBC |
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2004 | 2022 |
Total: 19 |
N/A |
Total: |
RTSH |
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2004 | 2009 |
Total: 3 |
Total: 3 |
Total: 13 |
RTVA |
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2004 | 2019 |
Eurofest
Nationalny Otbor
Total: 15 |
Total: 3 |
Total: 3 |
BTRC |
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2004 | 2005 | Evropesma
Total: 3 |
N/A |
Total: 1
|
UJRT |
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2005 | 2022 |
Total: 9 |
Total: 6 |
Total: 4 |
BNT |
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2005 | 2022 |
O Melodie Pentru Europa
Finala națională
Total: 15 |
Total: 3 |
Total: 1 |
TRM |
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2006 | 2022 |
Total: 9 |
Total: 7 |
Total: 3 |
AMPTV |
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2007 | 2022 |
Eurosong
Eurovision Song CZ
Total: 6 |
Total: 5 |
Total: 6 |
ČT |
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2007 | 2022 |
Total: 10 |
Total: 6 |
Total: 2 |
GPB |
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2007 | 2022 |
Montevizija
Total: 4 |
Total: 8 |
Total: 4 |
RTCG |
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2007 | 2022 |
Internally selected composers
Beosong
Pesma za Evroviziju
Total: 11 |
Total: 4 |
Total: 2 |
RTS |
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2008 | 2022 |
Land of Fire
Milli Seçim Turu
Böyük Səhnə
Total: 7 |
Total: 8 |
Total: 1 |
İTV |
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2008 | 2022 |
Digital Battle
Una voce per San Marino
Total: 3 |
Total: 11 |
Total: 3 |
SMRTV |
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2015 | 2022 |
Eurovision – Australia Decides
Total: 3 |
Total: 5 |
Total: 1 |
SBS |
Unsuccessful attempts to participate
Year | Country | Selection process | Broadcaster(s) | Reason | Draw |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1974 | ![]() |
Internal selection | ORTF | Withdrew to respect the passing of the then-French president, which occurred a few days before the contest. | 14/18 |
1976 | ![]() |
National final | No EBU member | Ineligible due to the lack of an EBU member broadcaster.[26] | N/A |
1977 | ![]() |
Internal selection | ERTT | Withdrew for undisclosed reasons.[27][28] | 4/19 |
1979 | ![]() |
Şarkı Yarışması | TRT | Withdrew due to the Arab broadcasting nations' pressure to not compete in Jerusalem, the host city and were drawn to perform right before Israel, leading to their withdrawal. | 11/20 |
1982 | ![]() |
Internal selection | HRT | Withdrew due to the song being released prior. | 2/19 |
1986 | ![]() |
Internal selection | HRT | Withdrew due to the contest being held the night before Orthodox Easter, a religious Greek holiday. | 18/21 |
1988 | ![]() |
Internal selection | CyBC | Disqualified due to the song being performed prior in the 1984 Cypriot national final. | 2/22 |
1992 | ![]() |
Dora | No EBU member | Ineligible due to the lack of an EBU member broadcaster at the time. | N/A |
2003 | ![]() |
No selection method announced[lower-alpha 11] | UJRT | Was excluded due to the EBU deciding that too many countries would be relegated if it took part.[29] | |
2005 | ![]() |
Internal selection | TL | Withdrew due to Israel's ongoing participation.[30] | |
2006 | ![]() |
Evropesma | UJRT | Withdrew due to a controversial voting pattern in the national final, which led to the inability to submit an entry in time for the contest. However, they retained voting rights in the semi-final and final. | N/A (Final) |
2009 | ![]() |
National final | GBP | Withdrew due to the song having implied political lyrics about Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, the host country. They were given the option to change the lyrics to the song, to which they declined and subsequently withdrew. | N/A (SF1) |
2012 | ![]() |
Internal selection (no entry selected)[lower-alpha 11] | AMPTV | Withdrew due to security concerns and non-existing diplomatic relations with the host country Azerbaijan. | 1st half (SF2) |
2016 | ![]() |
Selecția Națională | TVR | Disqualified due to TVR's repeated non-payment of debts on 22 April 2016, which led to the inability to broadcast the contest and to perform. | 12/19 (SF2) |
2017 | ![]() |
Internal selection | C1R | Withdrew due to the artist illegally entering Crimea in 2015, a region that was annexed by Russia in 2014, leading to the ineligibility to perform in the host city Kyiv, Ukraine. | 3/19 (SF2) |
2019 | ![]() |
Vidbir | UA:PBC | Withdrew due to the winner of the national final not accepting contractual terms of not performing in Russia. Other high placing entrants were asked to participate, to which they ultimately declined. | 2nd half (SF1) |
2021 | ![]() |
No selection method announced[lower-alpha 11] | AMPTV | Withdrew due to social and political crises in the aftermath of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war. | 2nd half (SF2) |
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Internal selection | BTRC | Disqualified due to the song having implied political lyrics in opposition to the 2020–2021 Belarusian protests. They were given the option by the EBU to submit a new song, but due to it also containing political lyrics, they were subsequently disqualified. | 1st half (SF1) | |
2022 | ![]() |
No selection method announced[lower-alpha 11] | VGTRK | Was excluded due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. | 2nd half (SF1) |
Notes and references
Notes
- The list includes years in which the country planned to participate, but later withdrew.
- The 2020 contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Italic indicates the country that planned to participate.
- VRT and RTBF alternate responsibilities for the contest.
- The country initially planned to participate, but later withdrew.
- Did not qualify from the non-televised audio-only preselection round of 1996.
- Despite the fact that was an internal selection, it counts as an edition of Festival da Canção.
- Did not qualify from the preselection round of 1993.
- VGTRK and C1R alternate responsibilities for the contest since 2008.
- For that year, the second Russian broadcaster Channel One of Ostankino was to be responsible for the selection of a participant from Russia. However, due to the corporatization of Channel One, the entity was replaced with ORT (now C1R) and the new TV company agreed to cover the travel expenses of a Russian representative to the competition in Dublin and to organize a national final.[25]
- Until 2018 participated as F.Y.R. Macedonia.
- The country withdrew before selecting an entrant or entry.
References
- "National Selections - Eurovision Song Contest". eurovision.tv. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
- "In a Nutshell - Eurovision Song Contest". eurovision.tv. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
- "How it works - Eurovision Song Contest". eurovision.tv. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
- "Sweden: Loreen winner of Melodifestivalen!". Eurovision.tv. 10 March 2012. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
- Rosney, Daniel (7 March 2020). "Sweden's Melfest: Why a national Eurovision show won global fans". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
- "Månadsrapport Februari 2012" (PDF). MMS – Mediamätning i Skandinavien. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
- Lindström, Therese (12 March 2012). "Över fyra miljoner såg finalen". Aftonbladet. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
- "Saara Aalto's song for Lisbon is... Monsters! - Eurovision Song Contest". eurovision.tv. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
- "Tässä ovat euroviisuehdokkaat Monsters, Domino ja Queens - mikä lähtee Viisuihin? Edustuskappale valitaan suorassa lähetyksessä 3.3". yle.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 30 July 2019.
- Karhunen, Anna; Leskinen, Lauri (3 March 2018). "Monsters on UMK18-voittaja ja Suomen euroviisuedustaja – show nousee pimeydestä neon- ja laser-ilotulitukseksi". yle.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 27 June 2020.
- "Darude announced as Finnish entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 - watch and listen here the three competing songs". yle.fi. 29 January 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
- "Darude feat. Sebastian Rejman: Look Away on Suomen euroviisuedustaja – Ympäristöteema siivitti selvään voittoon". yle.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 30 July 2019.
- Jiandani, Sanjay (3 June 2019). "Finland: YLE confirms participation in Eurovision 2020". esctoday.
- "Finland: UMK 2020 dates announced, search for songs opens". ESCXTRA.com. 1 November 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - "Duncan Laurence wins Eurovision 2019 for the Netherlands". Eurovision.tv. 18 May 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
- "National Selections: Russia". Eurovisionworld. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
- "National Selections: Azerbaijan". Eurovisionworld. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
- "National Selections: Bulgaria". Eurovisionworld. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
- "Bulgaria's artist reveal set for November 25…suggesting plans are well underway". Wiwibloggs. 31 October 2019. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - "Switzerland will use an internal selection for Eurovision 2019". ESCXTRA.com. 19 July 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
- (EBU), European Broadcasting Union. "EBU – Members". www.ebu.ch. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
- "Belgrade 2008 - Eurovision Song Contest". Eurovision Song Contest.
- "43 nations on 2011 participants list! - Eurovision Song Test". Eurovision Song Contest. 31 December 2010.
- "NEWS: 43 Countries will participate and tickets will go on sale on 30th November! - Eurovision Song Contest". Eurovision Song Contest. 17 November 2017.
- http://tvp.netcollect.ru/tvps/xbxqehidwdhn.pdf
- "The Eurovision Song Contest 1956 – present". BBC. 26 April 2007. Retrieved 9 August 2009.
- Kuipers, Michael (20 June 2007). "Tunisia will not participate "in the forseeable future"". ESCToday.
- Cobb, Ryan (22 May 2018). "Israeli Minister "to invite" Arabic nations, including Tunisia, to take part in Eurovision 2019". ESCXtra.
- Bakker, Sietse (27 November 2002). "No new countries at next Eurovision Song Contest". ESCToday. Retrieved 23 July 2009.
- Bakker, Sietse (18 March 2005). "BREAKING NEWS: LEBANON WITHDRAWS". Esctoday.com. Retrieved 9 August 2008.
External links
Media related to Eurovision Song Contest selection events at Wikimedia Commons