At Junior Eurovision, Azerbaijan is almost always the last party to turn in their RSVP and decide whether or not to participate, and according to Azerbaijani outlet 12xal, 2023 will be no different.
12xal reached out to Azerbaijani broadcaster Ictimai, and received neither a confirmation nor a denial in response.
Historically, Azerbaijan has one of the patchiest attendance records for any Junior Eurovision participant nation, with only 2012 and 2013 being consecutive appearances in the four times they’ve appeared since their debut in 2012. As such, Ictimai’s response to 12xal that the delegation is undecided should be seen as a genuine sentiment that they’re not shutting the door on partipation and still exploring options.
Azerbaijan last participated in 2021 with Sona Azizova’s “One of Those Days” coming in 5th in Paris, France. This is also the nation’s best performance to date, having placed 11th in 2012, 7th in 2013 and 16th in 2018.
There was hope that Azerbaijan would have returned last year in Yerevan, Armenia in what would have been a gesture in the spirit of peace and reconciliation of the original Eurovision Song Contest.
And for a while Eldar Rasulov, a member of the Azerbaijani delegation, told international media that the country had kept the door open for participation, though they ultimately withdrew due to a struggle to find a participating artist after the broadcaster did not host a version of The Voice Kids of Azerbaijan in 2022.
To date 14 countries have agreed to participate at Junior Eurovision 2023 in Nice, France on November 26, 2023.
Kazakhstan are a notable withdrawal, and Germany a notable returnee. Two artists have been named, with Anastasia Vasadze winning Georgia’s 6th season of Ranina and North Macedonia’s Tamara Grujeska being internally selected by broadcaster MRT.
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