Slovakia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest seven times, debuting in 1994. It had attempted to debut in 1993, but did not pass through the qualifying round. In the first three finals that Slovakia participated in, it placed no better than 18th, which it achieved in 1996. Because of its poor results, it was forced to miss a year after each contest and then the country opted not to return for a number of years. It did eventually return to the Contest eleven years later, in 2009, although they withdrew again within 4 years, having failed to qualify to the final every year since their return.
History
1994–1998
Slovakia had planned on entering the contest at the 1993 contest, but with the introduction of many new countries, a preliminary round was held to trim down the number of new entries. Kvalifikacija za Millstreet featured seven countries competing for only three places in the final. Slovakia came fourth in the contest, represented by Elán with "Amnestia na neveru", and therefore had to wait another year before entering again. Slovakia's Eurovision entries in the 1990s weren't very successful, finishing 19th, 18th and 21st. After the 1998 contest, STV decided not to enter again for a number of years.
2009
From 1994 to 1998, STV used an internal selection to select the Slovak entry for the contest. In 2009, Slovakia organised a televised national final for the first time. A number of heats preceded a grand final, held on March 8, 2009 and Kamil Mikulčík and Nela Pocisková were chosen with their song "Leť tmou". They finished on 18th place out of 19 in semi-final.
2010
Slovakia tried again in 2010 contest with "Horehronie" by Kristina with similar result, despite being a fan and bookmakers favourite.
2011
Though STV originally stated that Slovakia would not take part in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2011, it eventually did appear in Düsseldorf represented by the new national public broadcaster RTVS, which had been created on 1 January 2011. On 18 February 2011, RTVS revealed their choice for Slovakia's Eurovision 2011 entry. The song was "I'm Still Alive" and was performed by twin sisters Daniela and Veronika Nízlová better known as the pop duoTWiiNS. They already had some experience at Eurovision before as backing singers and dancers for Tereza Kerndlová, the Czech entry in the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest. The 2011 entry was the first Slovak entry performed in English. TWiiNS eventually finished 12th in their Semi Final, which meant they did not qualify for the Grand Final, due to the televote that counterbalanced the good jury rehearsal. They provided the best result for their country in many years.
2012
RTVS sent an artist once again to the Contest in 2012, with a song that was selected internally by RTVS. At a press conference on 7 March 2012, the Slovak entry for the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest was announced: Max Jason Mai with a song called "Don't Close Your Eyes". He performed in the second semi final, that was held on Thursday, May 24, 2012. The song did not qualify in the finals. It was later revealed that the song finished in last place with 22 points.
2013 onwards
On 4 December 2012, RTVS announced its withdrawal from Eurovision Song Contest 2013, and on 9 September 2013 it announced that it wouldn't return at Eurovision Song Contest 2014. It had also been announced that Slovakia would not return at Eurovision Song Contest 2015, citing financial constraints and an incompatibility between the contest and the programming goals of RTVS. However RTVS returned to the Eurovision Young Dancers in 2015, with RTVS explaining that the return of Slovakia to EYD supported domestic production and promoted national culture at a European level. RTVS announced on 28 September 2015 that Slovakia would not participate in the 2016 contest. RTVS' PR manager, Juraj Kadáš, explained on 12 April 2016 that Slovakia's absence from the contest since 2012 was not due to poor results, but rather the cost associated with participation. Before the cancellation of the 2020 contest, RTVS had confirmed that they would not participate in 2020 due to a lack of interest from the Slovak public.
Contestants
Commentators and spokespersons
, the fourth channel of the Slovak Radio, has provided talk radio coverage of the contest since 2010 with Daniel Baláž, Pavol Hubinák and invited guests. It also broadcast the 2019 final.
