Could we see a Eurovision debut for Kazakhstan in the near future?
One of the major news outlets in Kazakhstan, Khabar Agency, has reported that the country could be making their debut into the Eurovision Song Contest as early as 2026.
Kemelbek Oishybayev, Chairman of the Board at Khabar Agency has confirmed on Instagram that he attended the General Assembly of the EBU at the BBC Headquarters in London last week.
Kemelbek Oishybayev mentions in his Instagram post that he spoke with the EBU Director General Noel Curran about Kazakhstan’s participation in Eurovision, as well as their participation in Junior Eurovision, and the country strengthening their ties with the EU. Curran noted that the issue will be brought up at the next EBU meeting.
Kazakhstan has broadcast the contest on and off since 2010. In 2015, a delegation from Kazakhstan was present at that years contest in Vienna, Austria. Later that year, it was confirmed that the Khabar Agency would be joining the EBU as an Associate Memember, something that would come into effect in January 1st, 2016.
Despite having never participated in Eurovision, Kazakhstan has participated in it’s sister contest, Junior Eurovision. They participated every year from 2018 to 2022, achieving great success. Their best results came in 2019 and 2020, when Yerzhan Maksim and Karakat Bashanova both finished in second place, with Yerzhan winning the jury vote. Their participations in 2018, 2021 and 2022 saw them finish in 6th place, 8th place and 15th place respectively.
Kazakhstan withdrew from Junior Eurovision in 2023, citing low viewing figures as their main reason. Despite the Khabar Agency expressing their hope to return to the contest in 2024, they later confirmed they would not be returning.
Do you think we could be seeing Kazakhstan participating at Eurovision 2026 or beyond? If so, which Kazakh artists would you like to see on the Eurovision stage? Let us know your thoughts on this in the comments section below!
Photo credit: Corrine Cummings / EBU
