Could a Eurovision return be on the cards for Türkiye?
Over the last few days, Turkish media have reported that there is growing pressure being put on Türkiye’s broadcaster TRT, to bring the country back to the Eurovision Song Contest. These reports suggest that influential figures, including a famous producer and a musician with previous Eurovision experience, are engaging with TRT regarding Türkiye’s return to the contest.
However, at the present time, nothing has been confirmed nor denied by the Turkish broadcaster, and these are just reports. But this is not the first time that there have been reports of a Turkish Eurovision return. Since the country’s withdrawal from Eurovision in 2013, there have been a few occassions when there’s been talk of a Eurovision return, but nothing has ever come of it.
Eurovision 2026’ya Türkiye’nin yeniden katılması için yetkileri ikna etme çalışmalarına başlayanlar varmış. Özellikle ünlü bir yapımcı ve daha önce Eurovision tecrübesi olan bir müzisyenin adı geçiyor! Türkiye en son 2012 yılında Eurovision’a katılmıştı. pic.twitter.com/xmafYsgx9F
— Türk Pop Müziği 𝕏 (@turkpopmuzigi) August 9, 2025
Türkiye made their Eurovision debut in 1975 with Semiha Yankı and her song “Seninle Bir Dakika”. The country was absent from the contest in 1976, 1977, 1979 and 1994, but participated every other year up until 2012. Their best results came in the 2000s and 2010s, when they achieved their first win with Sertab Erener in 2003, and secured a further eight left-side finishes in the final.
Türkiye’s last participation in Eurovision was in 2012. Later that year, TRT announced that they would not be returning to Eurovision in 2013, citing their dissatisfaction with the rules; more specifically, the changes that had been made to the voting system in 2009 when juries were brought back, resulting in 50% jury vote and 50% televote.
In August 2018, İbrahim Eren, the Director-General of TRT, stated that TRT does not plan to return to the contest, and does not plan to end their boycott of the contest for various reasons, with the main reason being Conchita Wurst’s win in 2014. In 2022 however, İbrahim Eren and the EBU had entered into talks about a possible Turkish return to the 2022 contest, but nothig came of these talks, and Türkiye was once again absent from the contest.
Do you think we could realistically see Türkiye back in Eurovision in the near future? What is your favourite Turkish Eurovision song? Share your favourite Turkish Eurovision songs with us in the comments below!
Photo credit: eurovision.tv / EBU
