For some years now, a few days before the celebration of the Eurovision Song Contest Two semi-finals take place, from which 20 countries participate in the final, in what is, after all, the night of the festival. A number of countries participate in each of the semi-finals, but only 10 are chosen for the final. And Spain is never one of them, because Spain does not participate in the semis, but enters the final directly. He’s not the only one; In reality, there are five countries that reach the Eurovision final directly without needing to compete with anyone, known as the Big Five.

In the first semi-final of Eurovision 2024 For example, countries such as Portugal, Ukraine, Finland or Cyprus participate, the latter leading the order of actions on Tuesday. In the second, many others do it. But Spain, along with Germany, Italy, France and the United Kingdom, do not have the need to compete. The five make up the block called Big Five (the big five), made up of the five states that contribute the most money to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which is the international broadcasting corporation that is behind the organization of the festival.

This has not happened since the beginning of the festival. In the year 1999, Eurovision introduced an exception so that France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom had the right to compete in the 2000 edition and later, as they were the ones who contributed the largest amount of money to finance the festival. At that time they were part of the ‘Big Four’, but the group expanded in 2011, when Italy returned to the competition. Since the semi-finals have been held, these five countries are classified automaticallyalong with the representative of the host country which, in 2024, is Sweden.

However, This measure has not been without controversy. There are those who consider that the exception of these five countries may even harm their results in the contest; partly due to the antipathy they may provoke by not having competed like the rest of the singers, but also due to the disadvantage of spending less time on stage. However, The results of these five countries confirm that do not always come out harmed.

The reason why Türkiye does not participate

Behind the fact that Spain (and up to five other countries each year) enter directly to the final is precisely the reason why Türkiye has not brought a song to the festival for years. The country debuted at the festival in 1975 and, in fact, hosted the first edition that featured a first semi-final, in 2004, after winning for the first time thanks to Sertab Erener and his song ‘Everyway That I Can’. During the 2000s, Turkey almost always qualified for the final, except on one occasion, but since 2012 he has not returned to the stage of Eurovision.

Turkey’s decision not to participate in Eurovision was then due to two factors: the change in voting systems – with the reinstatement of the jury vote – and the benefit of the Big Five. And although the Turkish channel TRT is still part of the EBU – so can participate again in the contest in the future—even several years they chose not to even broadcast the festival. In 2014, for example, the station decided not broadcasting Eurovision for a completely different issue.

“We cannot broadcast live, when the children are awake, someone like that bearded Austrian who wears a skirt, does not believe in gender and says he is both a man and a woman,” explained the general director of Turkish public radio and television. , Ibrahim Eren, in a clear reference to Conchita Wurst.