Monaco to skip 2017 Eurovision

1971 Eurovision Song Contest winner, Severine with “Un banc, un arbre, une rue”. Image: YouTube
1971 Eurovision Song Contest winner, Severine with “Un banc, un arbre, une rue”. Image: YouTube

TMC, the Monegasque national broadcaster, has confirmed to ESCToday that Monaco will not participate at the forthcoming 2017 Eurovision Song Contest in Ukraine.

Monaco will not return to the competition next year, joining Andorra, which has also opted to abstain from the contest for one more year.

Monaco debuted at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1959 and won the contest once, in 1971 with Severine’s “Un banc, un arbre, une rue”. Even though the tiny Principality won the competition it didn’t host the event the following year.

Monaco competed in every single edition of the contest from 1959-1979, but withdrew from the competition in 1980 and didn’t return to the contest until 2004, when the semi-final system was introduced. The country competed in the event in 2005 and 2006, the last time it was on the Eurovision stage when Severine Ferrer brought us the sights and sounds from the Pacific with La coco dance. Monaco failed to qualify to the grand final on all three occasions and withdrew from the contest in 2007 and has not returned since.