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Summary for: Czechia drops out of 2027 Eurovision contest due to budget cutsThe Czech Republic will not participate in next year’s Eurovision Song Context, Czech Television (ČT) announced today on X, citing budget restrictions as the main reason.
With a reduced 2027 budget and uncertainty about future funding, Czech Television confirmed previous information that it will have to cancel entire programs.
Czech Television withdraws from Eurovision
“Some messages are not easy to write. We know that Eurovision means a lot to all of us… We will not see the Czech flag on the [Eurovision] stage in 2027,” ČT said in a statement, adding that it will also not broadcast the competition in its regular program. “But we will cheer for others, and we believe that we will meet again at Eurovision.”
The Czech public broadcaster insists the withdrawal only applies for 2027 – when it will be held in the Bulgarian city of Burgas – and doesn’t rule out joining back the international song and dance contest in the following years.
“We assess each year of the competition separately, and therefore we do not want to anticipate when Czech Television will participate in the Eurovision Song Contest again.”
NÄ›které zprávy se nepÃÅ¡ou snadno. VÃme, že pro nás vÅ¡echny Eurovize znamená hodnÄ›. I proto dÄ›kujeme vÅ¡em Äeským reprezentantům a pÅ™edevÅ¡Ãm vám, fanouÅ¡kům, za každý hlas, každý komentář, každé fandÄ›nà a za to, že jste byli u toho. V roce 2027 Äeskou vlajku na pódiu neuvidÃme. Budeme ale spoleÄnÄ› fandit ostatnÃm a věřÃme, že se na Eurovizi zase nÄ›kdy potkáme.
— ÄŒeská televize (@CzechTV) October 6, 2026
Budget cuts
Czech news website Aktuálně.cz had already started to report last week on rumors Eurovision – along with a number of other popular shows – will be cancelled from next year’s program as the government’s budget cuts force Czech Television to save up to CZK 350 million next year.
The three-party ruling coalition of ANO, the SPD and the Motorists has vowed to cancel license fees currently funding both Czech Television and Czech Radio, and instead fund the two public broadcasters directly from the state budget – but it’s unlikely the government will be able to implement the full reform by January 2027.
Arguably the most watched and popular pop music TV show in Europe, Eurovision has been held for the past seven decades, with Czechia joining for the first time in 2007. It has since participated a total of 14 times and finished in the top ten just twice: Mikolas Josef took 6th place in 2018 and Vesna reached 10th place in 2023.
This year’s Czech participant Daniel Žižka finished in 16th place in Vienna, with Bulgaria’s Bangaranga song by Dara taking first place.
