Canada is joining the Eurovision Song Contest. The country was voted into full membership of the European Broadcasting Union last week and confirmed Tuesday that it intends to compete starting next year, according to a report by Variety.
The EBU owns and operates Eurovision. Canada's membership was approved at the organization's general assembly in Prague, making the country eligible to enter the annual singing competition for the first time under its own flag.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney reportedly first raised the idea of joining Eurovision in his 2025 budget. Carney spent several years living in the United Kingdom while serving as governor of the Bank of England. His interest in the contest is not confirmed, but he is said to be focused on building closer economic and political ties with Europe.
Canada has a strong existing connection to the contest despite never having competed as a nation. At this year's Eurovision in Vienna, Canada was one of the top three countries in the rest-of-the-world public vote. Canadians were also among the largest groups of ticket buyers from outside Europe for both the semi-finals and the grand final.
The country has also produced some of the contest's most memorable individual moments. Céline Dion won one of the closest races in Eurovision history when she represented Switzerland in 1988, beating the United Kingdom by a single point. The first Canadian to ever compete was Sherisse Laurence, who represented Luxembourg in 1986 and finished third.
Canada is not the first non-European country to enter the contest. Australia joined in 2015 and Israel has participated since 1973. Both came close to winning this year's competition in Vienna. Israel's Noam Bettan finished in second place and Australia's Delta Goodrem came in fourth. Bulgaria won with its entry Dara. Italy rounded out the top five with contestant Sal Da Vinci.
Five countries withdrew from last year's contest in protest over Israel's participation: Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Iceland, and Slovenia.
Eurovision marked its 70th anniversary last year. The contest launched in 1956 and this year reached 131 million people across 35 television markets. An American version on NBC failed to gain traction in 2022. An Asian spin-off is set to take place in Thailand in November. A Broadway show based on the 2020 Will Ferrell film Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire is also in development.
Canada has not yet announced how it will select its first official contestant. That process is expected to be revealed later this year.
