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Friday, 11 October 2013

Morocco - Facing A Comeback?



We all remember Morocco for their supreme first participation. Well, when I say first, I also mean last. Yes, Morocco – the only African country that can qualify for EBU membership – have only ever participated in Europe’s favourite show once in 1980. As well as that, Morocco are the only country to have had a song sung entirely (and fluently) in Arabic (Samira Bensaid - Bitaqat Hob). On their debut (and last attempt) they came 18th, with 7 points, all from Italy and they came ahead of Finland. Their broadcaster, SNRT, withdrew from the following contest due to the “bad” result. (Sore losers, I say). And unfortunately, SNRT are the only Moroccan broadcaster with EBU membership, hence that current participation is not yet happening.


But there’s two reasons why for Morocco a comeback might be at hands:

         1. SNRT have expressed intentions of making a comeback to the contest, although not at the 2014 edition. In their confirmation of not participating to ESCToday, they stated “a near-future comeback might be possible, but we’re not entering the 2014 edition of Eurovision”.
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2   2. 2M TV, another Moroccan broadcaster, are hunting for EBU membership. Should this be granted, the option of returning to Eurovision will be open.

Whether SNRT return to Eurovision before EBU membership is granted to 2M TV, we don’t know. But what we do know is this… perhaps SNRT are waiting for the contest to appear in Spain because it’s the closest European country (and country that can host the contest) to Morocco. Or perhaps it’s a matter of waiting for the right moment. Who says 35 years isn’t a good time to make a comeback? (The 2015 contest). Who knows?

I loved Morocco’s entry. It was a new flavour to Eurovision. I, for one, would love to go to Morocco for the contest!

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