Credit: Charlotte Jensen / EuroVisionary
Today, September 8 is Andorra’s National Day. This day holds historical significance as it commemorates both Lady of Meritxell, the country’s patron saint, and the establishment of the principality (which is in the Pyrenees Mountains between France and Spain) in 1278.
To mark this special day, we look back at Andorra’s history with Eurovision and explore whether they will be returning to the Eurovision family in the foreseeable future?
A brief history of Andorra at Eurovision (2004-2009)
Andorra has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest a total of six times, with their debut being in 2004 in Istanbul, Turkey.
Andorra remains the only nation to have never competed in a Grand Final at Eurovision with its best result being a 12th place finish in the 2007 contest in Helsinki, Finland.
We have not seen Andorra appear at the Eurovision Song Contest since the 2009 edition held in Moscow, Russia.
Susanne Georgi was selected in 2009 to represent Andorra by their local broadcaster Ràdio i Televisió d’Andorra (RTVA) by winning their national final Passaport a Moscou with her song La teva decisió (Get a Life).
She unfortunately did not qualify, placing 15th out of the 18 participating countries in the semi-final with 8 points.
Andorra withdrew from the Eurovision Song Contest following its 2009 appearance, with RTVA citing financial difficulties as the reason for its withdrawal.
The country has not entered the contest again since. Interest in the contest has however remained high in the country.
Will Andorra return to Eurovision in 2025?
Their 2009 artist Susanne Georgi had been campaigning to get Andorra back to Eurovision.
As recently as 2022 she reported that she had received a verbal confirmation from the Andorran government about returning after she had secured a private sponsor.
However, the Eurovision return did not come to fruition.
In 2023, Susanne Georgi told local Andorran news publication Diari dÁndorra that she had not stopped fighting for Andorra to return to Eurovision.
“So far it has not been possible due to several decisions made by the television [RTVA]. I have been with this project for six years and the excuse has always been money. I found the money and they didn’t want it, [RTVA] didn’t want it,” She said.
“[RTVA] has now changed direction and I see it more possible, but we are still in the fight. It is very clear to me that we will be back. Maybe in five years?”
Andorran Radio and Television (RTVA) however has recently confirmed that Andorra won’t be returning to the Eurovision stage in 2025.
Will Andorra ever return to Eurovision?
At the recent 2024 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, Luxembourg made a comeback after an absence of 31 years, so anything is possible with Andorra returning in the future.
Costs continue to be an issue for smaller nations, something the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is consistently looking at. Montenegro is returning to Eurovision in 2025 after an absence due to budget concerns.
Hopefully, the Andorran government and RTVA will be inspired by this and with further ongoing campaigning by Susanne Georgi, fingers crossed, we can see Andorra performing again on the Eurovision stage.
The 70th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2026 would be a fitting year for a possible return.