Eurovision 2024: Participation Fee On The Rise Again

On the 15th of September 2023, the EBU held the annual head of delegation meeting. This year the meeting was held in Berlin, Germany

One of the discussed topics was the participation fee for Eurovision 2024.
Since 2022, there has been an ongoing increase in participation fees. It is partly related to the fact that several countries no longer participate in the contest.
For example, Russia: one of the countries with the highest participation fee, doesn’t take part anymore.
This has already impacted the list of participating countries in 2023, as countries like North Macedonia, Bulgaria, and Montenegro have to withdraw due to financial issues.

While listening to the Irish Eirevision Podcast, further details were revealed:

Michael Kealy, the Head of the Irish Delegation For Eurovision, gave an interview on a recent episode of the podcast.
According to him, the participation fee for Eurovision 2024 is predicted to go even higher.
One of the main reasons is global inflation.
He has mentioned that Ireland has to pay €92,588 for Eurovision 2022 participation, while the fee for Eurovision 2023 was €105,099. That number will be even higher for Eurovision 2024.

Even though an additional country joined the contest (Luxembrourg), no change is predicted regarding lowering the participation fee.
This might have a direct impact on the list of participating countries at Eurovision 2024.
For example, it is still unknown whether North Macedonia will return to the contest.
If a country chooses not to participate, other countries will have to pay more.

Eurovision 2024 will be held in Malmö, Sweden.
The semi-finals will be held on the 7th and 9th of May 2024, and the grand final will be held on the 11th of May 2024