Following Australia’s surprise participation at Eurovision 2015, the list of countries who aspire to participate is now longer than one of Rona Nishliu’s dreadlocks. China sent a delegation to Vienna to explore the possibilties, and at least one politician in Kosovo has already claimed his country will be there soon (the European Broadcasting Union denies it).

Today Portal, a Faroese news publication, has revealed that the Faroe Islands has previously declared its formal interest in participating too. The paper reports that in 2010 the tiny archipeligo, situated north of Scotland, and halfway between Iceland and Norway, filed an application for membership with the EBU — a prerequisite to participating.

They were turned away because the Faroe Islands isn’t fully independent. Officially it’s a self-governing country within the realm of Denmark. While it has control over most domestic matters, Denmark retains control over matters like currency, policing, justice, and foreign policy.

But hopes of joining the EBU and singing at Eurovision aren’t dead yet, according to Bjørn Kalsø, the Faroese Minister of Education.

The justification so far has been that the countries have to be acknowledged by the United Nations as independent in order to participate. But there is no doubt that we could easily overstep those barriers, if we’re absolutely determined to reach this goal.

We suspect the songs on his iPhone include Ace Wilder’s “Riot” and Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät’s “Aina mun pitää”. This man is a rebel!

Kalsø fully supports the national broadcaster’s application to the EBU, but says his opinion isn’t the most important.

It is not the Ministry of Education that is the sole decision-maker in this matter. The EBU is a union of European broadcasters, just as the name states. So it is completely up to Kringvarpið, our local national broadcaster, to renew the application regularly, and show the EBU that the Faroe Islands are an equal match to other countries when it comes to participation in the Eurovision Song Contest.

Um, what’s their music like?

Cast your stereotypes aside: Music on the islands does not consist of blowing on oversized seashells or mimicking the sound of the many sheep on the islands. The islands are packed with talent and have loads of potential representatives, should they one day be allowed to participate. Here’s the duet Byrta, and their song “Minnist tú”, which translates as “Do you remember?” This slays. And there’s more where this came from. Just Google Eivør, Anna Katrin Egilstrøð, Lena, Høgni Reistrup, Høgni Lisberg, HEIÐRIK, Guðrið Hansdóttir and Brandur Enni.

They also love a good festival. In mid-July the progressive G! Festival takes place in the small village of Sydrugota. Five concert stages spread out over the beaches, many adjacent to Finnish saunas and hot pools. Yes, these are people we can party with!

What are your thoughts about the possible future participation of the Faroe Islands? Let us know below.