They’re the Balkan country known for their sometimes quirky Eurovision entries. But Montenegro will no longer be part of Eurovision 2020. Broadcaster RTCG has confirmed that Montenegro will NOT be participating at Eurovision 2020.

Update: The broadcaster has now confirmed to Eurovision news site ESCToday that they have withdrawn their application for Eurovision 2020.

The EBU reportedly gave RTCG an extension to finalise its participation, but it was unable to to “meet the requirements” and so withdrew. ESCToday reports that RTCG “tried its very best to compete in Rotterdam but things didn’t materialise in the end.”

The claim was earlier made both by the Greek Eurovision fan blog Eurovision Fun and the Eurovision gossip blog HOD45.

Wiwibloggs has also heard the same claim from a source close to Montenegro.

Both blog sites claim that the Montenegrin broadcaster RTCG is withdrawing for financial reasons, with the broadcaster reportedly unable to afford the participation fee. While the fee is variable depending on the size of the broadcaster, it can still be costly for some.

In September, RTCG confirmed its provisional participation to reputable fan site ESCToday. However, ESCToday was clear to note that the broadcaster had not yet made a final decision regarding its participation in Eurovision 2020.

Broadcasters had to confirm their intended participation to the EBU by 16 September but had until 10 October to withdraw from Eurovision 2020 without penalty.

The EBU is expected to release the list of confirmed acts for Eurovision 2020 sometime in the next few weeks.

The news follows the earlier announcement from Hungarian broadcaster MTVA that strongly suggests Hungary won’t participate in Eurovision 2020. The broadcaster confirmed that its national song contest A Dal will no longer be used as the national final for its Eurovision entry.

While the Hungarian broadcaster has not explicitly confirmed their withdrawal from Eurovision 2020, it did release a statement saying, “Instead of taking part in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2020, we will support the valuable productions created by the talents of Hungarian pop music directly.”

Montenegro at Eurovision

This won’t be the first occasion Montenegro has taken time off from the song contest.

After debuting as an independent nation in 2007 and competing three times, Montenegro didn’t participate in 2010 and 2011, also for financial reasons.

However, Montenegro was back in 2012 and has participated every year since.

Montenegro’s best years at Eurovision were 2014 and 2015, where Sergej Ćetković and Knez each made it to the grand final with emotional ballads in the Montenegrin language. Knez’s song “Adio” finished in 13th place in the grand final, giving Montenegro its best-ever result.

Montenegro is also known for its quirky entries, including jazz poet Rambo Amadeus, rapping astronauts Who See, and the intergalactic diva Slavko Kalezić.

What do you think? Are you sad that Montenegro won’t be in Rotterdam? Tell us your thoughts below!