2014: Which countries have confirmed participation?

The 2013 Eurovision Song Contest eason ended three days ago and the focus immediately shifted to 2014. Since Denmark won the contest we will be heading to Copenhagen, Herning or any Danish city that will join the bidding war to host the most popular music event in the world. While several countries left Malmo disappointed with the outcome, a lot of other nations are eager to return after a good showing this year.

Let’s have a look at the countries that already confirmed participation:

1.  DENMARK
A no-brainer. Denmark won the 2013 contest and will host next year’s contest; on top of that they’re pre-qualified and don’t have to battle for a Final spot. We expect a lot of interest by the Danish artists and Media for the NF.

2. THE NETHERLANDS
It took them nine years but the Dutch finally managed to qualify for the Finals bringing home their best result since 1999 so their participation and revived interest doesn’t come as a suprise. As a matter of fact, the Netherlands confirmed their 2014 particiipation in early May so even before they knew they made the cut.

3. NORWAY
As previously reported HERE Norway announced changes to their NF system for 2014 therefore confirming participation. After finishing 4th in this year we expecte a lot of interest by fans and artists alike.

4. SAN MARINO
Even though Valentina failed to qualify for a second year in a row, San Marino already announced that they’ll be back next year. The small country just missed qualification ending up in 11th place with the song “Crisalide”. In addition, there is a chance Valentina Monetta could return for a third time however nothing has been confirmed and we’ll have to wait and expect updates later this year.

5. GERMANY
Thomas Schreiber from NDR gave an interview several months ago advising that their goal is to make the German National Final bigger and even more elaborate than the 2013 pre-selection. Therefore we can expect Deutschland to take part in next year’s contest despite Cascada’s disappointing showing in Malmo.

6. FINLAND
The day after the Final show submissions for UMK, the Finnish seleciton show, were opened making it obvious that Finland will return in 2014 which was expected after Krista Siegfrids managed to qualify from the Semis.

7. LATVIA
Latvia’s most recent track record has been more than just poor. Since 2009 they ended up in the Bottom 3 in the Semi they participated in. Despite all of that LTV said that Eurovision is a priority to them and that they will be most likely back in 2014. While this is techncially not an official confirmation we feel comfortable adding it to our list.

In addition Lithuania, Belgium and Hungary indicated that they’ll be back as well but we are still waiting for further communication.

The EBU Executive Supervisor Jon Ola Sand said to the press on May 10th 2013 that they’re already in contact with Bosnia & Herzegovina, Turkey and Slovakia regarding their 2014 participation. Those countries chose to withdraw from the 2013 contest for different reasons.

By November we should have a list of all participating countries so be sure to check back on a regular basis as countries announce their partication as well as their selection format.