The Czech Republic is expected to miss the Eurovision 2027 song contest due to significant budget cuts affecting Czech Television (ČT), Eurovisionfun reports, citing Czech media outlet Aktuálně.cz.
Czech Television intends to not participate in the Eurovision 2027 as part of its broader cost-cutting strategy. The decision regarding the Eurovision is part of a larger savings plan for Czech Television, which envisages cutting costs by 350 million Czech crowns (14.3 million euros) by 2027.
The cuts are expected to affect both the media's staff and its programming schedule. The media's director general, Hynek Hudarek, has already hinted at serious staff cuts, and the new plan includes budget cuts in various departments of the public broadcaster. According to information from Aktuálně.cz, Czech Television has decided not to participate in the next edition of the contest, with the withdrawal from “Eurovision“ being part of its savings plan.
This development comes after the Czech Republic until recently left the possibility of participating in “Eurovision 2027“ open. However, Czech Television has not yet officially announced its withdrawal from “Eurovision 2027“. Aktuálně.cz notes that the final form of cost-cutting measures is still being finalized, and Czech Television has not officially confirmed its departure from the contest.
If the decision is officially finalized, the Czech Republic will miss “Eurovision 2027“, after taking part in the previous edition of the contest in Vienna. The Czech Republic debuted at “Eurovision“ in 2007 and has participated in the contest several times since then. The country's best result was achieved by Mikolas Josef. He represented the Czech Republic at “Eurovision 2018“ in Lisbon, Portugal, with the song Lie to Me, reaching sixth place.
“Eurovision 2027“ will be held in Burgas, after the Bulgarian representative in the song contest -DARA- brought Bulgaria victory at the 70th edition of the contest in Vienna. The possible absence of the Czech Republic would mark another change in the list of participating countries for the contest next year, notes Eurovisionfun.