Editing Eurovision Song Contest (section)

== Participation ==
{{Further|List of countries in the Eurovision Song Contest}}
[[File:European Broadcasting Area.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|alt=Map of countries in Europe, North Africa and Western Asia in grey, with the boundaries of the European Broadcasting Area superimposed in red|The European Broadcasting Area (EBA), shown in red]]
[[File:EurovisionParticipants.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|alt=Map of countries in Europe, North Africa and Western Asia, with a cut-out of Australia in top-right corner; countries are coloured to indicate contest participation and eligibility: countries which have entered at least once are coloured in green; countries which have never entered but eligible to do so are coloured in yellow; countries which intended to enter but later withdrew are coloured in red; and countries which competed as a part of another country but never as a sovereign country are coloured in light green.|right|Participation since 1956: {{legend|#22b14c|Entered at least once}} {{legend|#ffc20e|Never entered, although eligible to do so}} {{legend|#d40000|Entry intended, but later withdrew}} {{legend|#00ff00|Competed as a part of another country, but never as a [[sovereign state|sovereign country]]}}]]
[[File:Eurovision participation map.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|alt=Map of countries in Europe, North Africa and Western Asia, with Australia as an insert in the top-right corner, coloured to indicate the decade in which they first participated in the contest: 1950s in red, 1960s in orange, 1970s in yellow, 1980s in green; 1990s in sky blue; 2000s in blue; and 2010s in purple|Participants in the Eurovision Song Contest, coloured by decade of debut]]
Active members (as opposed to associate members) of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) are eligible to participate; active members are those who are located in states that fall within the [[European Broadcasting Area]] (EBA), or are [[member states of the Council of Europe]].<ref name="EBUmembership">{{Cite web |date=27 April 2018 |title=EBU – Admission |url=https://www.ebu.ch/about/members/admission |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190913022313/https://www.ebu.ch/about/members/admission |archive-date=13 September 2019 |access-date=28 June 2020 |publisher=[[European Broadcasting Union]]}}</ref> Active members include media organisations whose broadcasts are often made available to at least 98% of households in their own country which are equipped to receive such transmissions.<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 2013 |title=Regulation on Detailed Membership Criteria under Article 3.6 of the EBU Statutes |url=https://www.ebu.ch/files/live/sites/ebu/files/About/Governance/Regulation%202013_EN.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190516221310/https://www.ebu.ch/files/live/sites/ebu/files/About/Governance/Regulation%202013_EN.pdf |archive-date=16 May 2019 |access-date=28 June 2020 |publisher=[[European Broadcasting Union]]}}</ref> Associate member broadcasters may be eligible to compete, dependent on approval by the contest's reference group.<ref name="Who can take part">{{Cite web |title=Which countries can take part? |url=https://eurovision.tv/page/about/which-countries-can-take-part#Which%20countries? |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170317083448/https://eurovision.tv/page/about/which-countries-can-take-part#Which%20countries? |archive-date=17 March 2017 |access-date=28 June 2020 |publisher=Eurovision Song Contest}}</ref>

The European Broadcasting Area is defined by the [[International Telecommunication Union]] as encompassing the geographical area between the boundary of [[International Telecommunication Union region|ITU Region 1]] in the west, the [[meridian 40° East]] of [[Greenwich meridian|Greenwich]] in the east, and [[parallel 30° North]] in the south. Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and the parts of Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, and Ukraine lying outside these limits are also included in the EBA.<ref name="ITU-R Radio Regulation 2012">{{Cite web |year=2012 |title=ITU-R Radio Regulations 2012–15 |url=http://www.sma.gov.jm/sites/default/files/publication_files/ITU-R_Radio_Regulations_2012_%202015_%20Article_5_Table%20of%20Frequencies.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130816092114/http://sma.gov.jm/sites/default/files/publication_files/ITU-R_Radio_Regulations_2012_%202015_%20Article_5_Table%20of%20Frequencies.pdf |archive-date=16 August 2013 |access-date=28 June 2019 |publisher=[[International Telecommunication Union]], available from the Spectrum Management Authority of Jamaica}}</ref><ref name="ITU-R Radio Regulation 2004">{{Cite web |year=2004 |title=ITU-R Radio Regulations – Articles edition of 2004 (valid in 2004–07) |url=http://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-s/oth/02/02/S020200001A4501PDFE.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010235726/https://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-s/oth/02/02/S020200001A4501PDFE.pdf |archive-date=10 October 2017 |access-date=28 June 2020 |publisher=[[International Telecommunication Union]]}}</ref>

Eligibility to participate in the contest is therefore not limited to broadcasters from countries in Europe, as several states geographically outside the boundaries of the continent or which span [[List of transcontinental countries|more than one continent]] are included in the EBA.<ref name="Who can take part" /> Broadcasters from countries in these groups have taken part in past editions, including countries in Western Asia such as Israel and Cyprus, countries which span Europe and Asia like Russia and Turkey, and North African countries such as Morocco.<ref name="ESC History" />

{{Esccnty|Australia}} became the first country without an EBU active member broadcaster to compete following an invitation by the contest's reference group to the Australian EBU associate member [[Special Broadcasting Service]] (SBS) ahead of the contest's {{Escyr|2015||60th edition}} in 2015;<ref name="Australia">{{Cite web |date=10 February 2015 |title=Australia to compete in the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest |url=https://eurovision.tv/story/australia-to-compete-in-the-2015-eurovision-song-contest |access-date=27 June 2020 |publisher=Eurovision Song Contest}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Kemp |first1=Stuart |last2=Plunkett |first2=John |date=10 February 2015 |title=Eurovision Song Contest invites Australia to join 'world's biggest party' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/feb/10/eurovision-song-contest-invites-australia-to-join-worlds-biggest-party |access-date=27 June 2020 |website=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> initially announced as a "one-off" for the anniversary edition, they were invited back the following year and have subsequently participated every year since.<ref>{{Cite web |date=17 November 2015 |title=Australia to return to the Eurovision Song Contest! |url=https://eurovision.tv/story/australia-to-return-to-the-eurovision-song-contest |access-date=27 June 2020 |publisher=Eurovision Song Contest}}</ref><ref name="Australia 2023">{{Cite web |date=12 February 2019 |title=Australia secures spot in Eurovision for the next five years |url=https://eurovision.tv/story/australia-secures-spot-in-eurovision-until-2023 |access-date=27 June 2020 |publisher=Eurovision Song Contest}}</ref><ref name="Participants">{{cite web |date=5 December 2023 |title=Eurovision 2024: 37 broadcasters head to Malmö |url=https://eurovision.tv/story/eurovision-2024-37-broadcasters-head-malmo |access-date=5 December 2023 |website= |publisher=Eurovision Song Contest}}</ref> Australia is also the only country from outside the EBA to ever participate.<ref name="Australia" />

EBU members who wish to participate must fulfil conditions as laid down in the rules of the contest, a separate copy of which is drafted annually. A maximum of 44 countries can take part in any one contest.<ref name="Rules">{{Cite web |date=12 January 2017 |title=Eurovision Song Contest: Rules |url=https://eurovision.tv/about/rules/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220826013327/https://eurovision.tv/about/rules |archive-date=26 August 2022 |access-date=28 June 2020 |publisher=[[European Broadcasting Union]]}}</ref> Broadcasters must have paid the EBU a participation fee in advance of the deadline specified in the rules for the year in which they wish to participate; this fee is different for each country based on its size and viewership.<ref name="FAQ">{{Cite web |date=12 January 2017 |title=FAQ – Eurovision Song Contest |url=https://eurovision.tv/about/faq/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200623153206/https://eurovision.tv/about/faq/ |archive-date=23 June 2020 |access-date=28 June 2020 |publisher=Eurovision Song Contest}}</ref>

Broadcasters from fifty-two countries have participated at least once.<ref name="ESC History" /> These countries are listed here alongside the year in which they made their debut:

{|
|- style="vertical-align:top"
|
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:94%"
|-
! scope="col"| Year
! scope="col"| Country making its debut entry
|-
! scope="row" style="vertical-align:top center;" rowspan="7"| {{ESCYr|1956}}
| {{esc|Belgium}}
|-
| {{esc|France}}
|-
| {{esc|Germany}}{{efn-lr|Represented [[West Germany]] until 1990; [[East Germany]] never competed. Presented on all occasions as 'Germany', except in 1967 as 'Federal Republic of Germany', in 1970 and 1976 as 'West Germany', and in 1990 as 'F.R. Germany'.}}
|-
| {{esc|Italy}}
|-
| {{esc|Luxembourg}}
|-
| {{esc|Netherlands}}
|-
| {{esc|Switzerland}}
|-
! scope="row" style="vertical-align:top center;" rowspan="3"| {{ESCYr|1957}}
| {{esc|Austria}}
|-
| {{esc|Denmark}}
|-
| {{esc|United Kingdom}}
|-
! scope="row" style="vertical-align:top;" rowspan="1"| {{ESCYr|1958}}
| {{esc|Sweden}}
|-
! scope="row" style="vertical-align:top;" rowspan="1"| {{ESCYr|1959}}
| {{esc|Monaco}}
|-
! scope="row" style="vertical-align:top;" rowspan="1"| {{ESCYr|1960}}
| {{esc|Norway}}
|-
! scope="row" style="vertical-align:top center;" rowspan="3"| {{ESCYr|1961}}
| {{esc|Finland}}
|-
| {{esc|Spain}}
|-
| {{esc|Yugoslavia}}{{efn-lr|Represented the [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]] until 1991, and the [[Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]] in 1992.}}
|-
! scope="row" style="vertical-align:top;" rowspan="1"| {{ESCYr|1964}}
| {{esc|Portugal}}
|-
! scope="row" style="vertical-align:top;" rowspan="1"| {{ESCYr|1965}}
| {{esc|Ireland}}
|}
|
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:94%"
|-
! scope="col"| Year
! scope="col"| Country making its debut entry
|-
! scope="row" style="vertical-align:top;" rowspan="1"| {{ESCYr|1971}}
| {{esc|Malta}}
|-
! scope="row" style="vertical-align:top;" rowspan="1"| {{ESCYr|1973}}
| {{esc|Israel}}
|-
! scope="row" style="vertical-align:top;" rowspan="1"| {{ESCYr|1974}}
| {{esc|Greece}}
|-
! scope="row" style="vertical-align:top;" rowspan="1"| {{ESCYr|1975}}
| {{esc|Turkey}}
|-
! scope="row" style="vertical-align:top center;" rowspan="1"| {{ESCYr|1980}}
| {{esc|Morocco}}
|-
! scope="row" style="vertical-align:top;" rowspan="1"| {{ESCYr|1981}}
| {{esc|Cyprus}}
|-
! scope="row" style="vertical-align:top;" rowspan="1"| {{ESCYr|1986}}
| {{esc|Iceland}}
|-
! scope="row" style="vertical-align:top center;" rowspan="3"| {{ESCYr|1993}}
| {{esc|Bosnia and Herzegovina}}
|-
| {{esc|Croatia}}
|-
| {{esc|Slovenia}}
|-
! scope="row" style="vertical-align:top center;" rowspan="7"| {{ESCYr|1994}}
| {{esc|Estonia}}
|-
| {{esc|Hungary}}
|-
| {{esc|Lithuania}}
|-
| {{esc|Poland}}
|-
| {{esc|Romania}}
|-
| {{esc|Russia}}
|-
| {{esc|Slovakia}}
|-
! scope="row" style="vertical-align:top center;" rowspan="1"| {{ESCYr|1998}}
| {{esc|North Macedonia}}{{efn-lr|Presented as the '[[Macedonia naming dispute|Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia]]' before 2019.}}
|}
|
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:94%"
|-
! scope="col"| Year
! scope="col"| Country making its debut entry
|-
! scope="row" style="vertical-align:top;" rowspan="1"| {{ESCYr|2000}}
| {{esc|Latvia}}
|-
! scope="row" style="vertical-align:top;" rowspan="1"| {{ESCYr|2003}}
| {{esc|Ukraine}}
|-
! scope="row" style="vertical-align:top center;" rowspan="4"| {{ESCYr|2004}}
| {{esc|Albania}}
|-
| {{esc|Andorra}}
|-
| {{esc|Belarus}}
|-
| {{esc|Serbia and Montenegro}}
|-
! scope="row" style="vertical-align:top center;" rowspan="2"| {{ESCYr|2005}}
| {{esc|Bulgaria}}
|-
| {{esc|Moldova}}
|-
! scope="row" style="vertical-align:top;" rowspan="1"| {{ESCYr|2006}}
| {{esc|Armenia}}
|-
! scope="row" style="vertical-align:top center;" rowspan="4"| {{ESCYr|2007}}
| {{esc|Czech Republic}}{{efn-lr|Presented as '[[Name of the Czech Republic|Czechia]]' since 2023.}}
|-
| {{esc|Georgia}}
|-
| {{esc|Montenegro}}
|-
| {{esc|Serbia}}
|-
! scope="row" style="vertical-align:top center;" rowspan="2"| {{ESCYr|2008}}
| {{esc|Azerbaijan}}
|-
| {{esc|San Marino}}
|-
! scope="row" style="vertical-align:top center;" rowspan="1"| {{ESCYr|2015}}
| {{esc|Australia}}{{efn-lr|Represented by an EBU associate member broadcaster; initially announced as a one-off participant to commemorate the contest's 60th anniversary, has subsequently participated every year since.<ref name="Australia 2023" /><ref name="Participants" />}}
|-
|}
|}

{{notelist-lr}}