Turkey ‘may return to Eurovision in 2022’ after years of absence

ISTANBUL

A prospect of Turkey participating in the Eurovision Song Contest next year has stirred excitement among Turkish fans after a senior official of the state-run broadcaster TRT announced that the country could return to the competition.

Since the country decided to withdraw from the contest in 2013 on the ground that changes in the voting system are unfair, Turkish fans have missed out on feeling the Eurovision spirit in the last eight editions but always kept their hopes alive for the next show.

Every year rumors used to surface regarding Turkey’s Eurovision comeback but eventually, those rumors were put to rest as officials always refuted them and continued to stick to its decision of not returning to the highly beloved contest.

However, a brief statement from a TRT official was enough to excite Eurovision fans.

TRT General Manager İbrahim Eren announced that they took action regarding Turkey’s participation in Eurovision.

“A very good person from northern Europe came to the management of Eurovision. I think [organization] this year was very successful. Our friends started meeting with the newcomer,” Eren said, adding that he doesn’t know what the talks would lead to.

The statement of Eren went viral on social media, causing great excitement, especially among young people.

Many social media users agreed that Edis or Mabel Matiz, the two most powerful names of Turkish pop music who have achieved success in recent years, should represent Turkey in the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest that will take place in Italy.

Turkey debuted at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1975 but had difficulty reaching a respectful position in the competition in its early days, generally returning home with the lowest scores.

The contest was once a national matter for Turkey because it was an opportunity to show how “European” Turks were, although the low scores from the international juries used to cause massive disappointment among people.

However, the country eventually saw a sudden reversal of fortunes with the introduction of televoting in 1997, when Turkey achieved its first top-three place with Şebnem Paker’s rhythmic hit, “Dinle.”

After years of tireless effort, Turkey won the competition once in 2003 with Sertab Erener’s “Every Way That I Can.” And then, in the following year, Istanbul successfully hosted the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest with a record 36 countries.

Having been in high positions for consecutive years thanks to the votes of the Turkish diaspora living in Europe, the country made a sudden decision to withdraw from the contest on Dec. 14, 2012, disappointing music lovers.