It’s a highly contentious issue and one of the major talking points in British politics and current affairs. In just over two months Scotland will take to the polls and vote on a referendum to decide on secession from the United Kingdom. Should Scotland become the world’s youngest country there would be a lot of issues that need ironing out for both the British and Scottish governments. Of course, some issues such as currency, national identity and division of the economy will be at the forefront – but as you readers are Eurovision fans, you probably only have one thing in mind!
Scotland would become an independent country on March 24th 2016 in the event of a ‘yes’ vote. Believe it or not, Scottish representation in the Eurovision Song Contest has been covered in the Scottish government’s 670 page “white paper” which outlines everything relating to the potential new country’s independence. Should the polls bring up a ‘yes’ result in September then motions will be put into place to set up SBS (Scottish Broadcasting Service) which will begin broadcasting at the end of the BBC’s current charter on January 1st 2017. This isn’t to say EBU membership will automatically arrive of course, and so if we were to see a Scottish Eurovision entry it would be either in 2017 or 2018 as an estimate, so there are at least a few more guaranteed United Kingdom entries representing the whole nation.
What would Eurovision mean for Scotland though? It’d be a way to strike up a national identity on the European stage much like their separation in football tournaments, but it seems likely the country would need to qualify from the semi-finals first. Depending on how much funding the BBC could continue to provide this could also spell the end of the UK’s Big 5 status. Scotland hasn’t had an entry in Eurovision since 1988 when Scott Fitzgerald almost won for the UK and so it would be a great opportunity to promote the abundant Scottish music scene abroad.
Either way, we will find out in a few months whether Europe is about to get a new country – but it may be at least a few years until we finally saw another debuting country in Eurovision!
Source: BBC, Scottish Government
Which Scottish artists would you like to see in Eurovision, either for Scotland or the UK? Let us know below!
