Sylvan wrote: Unpopular opinion but no artist/act should be allowed to compete more than once.
when it comes to former winners i completely agree, but it's a very nuanced issue imo like, the size of the music scene varies immensly from country to country, and some events used to pick representatives are stand-alone cultural events, like sanremo in italy and festivali i këngës in albania. sanremo predates esc and was even the inspiration behind it, and festivali i këngës predates albanias entry into the competition with roughly 40 years. reentering is very common even if you already won, cuz obviously you have a new song and it's a great platform for promotion. sanremo especially. like there's a reason italy has been outclassing us all ever since they returned, using sanremo is a demonstration of power unlike anything the contest has ever seen. im way off topic now, obviously they can decline the offer, im just not sure thats a fair demand. like pasha parfeni has entered for moldova before, but not only is it a long time ago and he has matured and grown as an artist since then, but the second and third place of their national selection were also former esc contestants. like is it fair to ask of moldova, one of the smallest states in europe, to send their fourth place idk. that's not the case for italy at all, their second place might even be the better entry for esc honestly it's different, interesting and a rare genre in eurovision, but it was not the song that was chosen by the public so it's like. complicated i guess. as long as you havent won im thinking reentering is fair game. a former winner returning is a while different story, they already reached the top and trying to so again feels kinda shitty cuz not only is it a massive achievement as an artist but it also brings so much to the country youre representing, publicity, tourism, cultural interest etc etc and to actively try and do that a second time is just so unfair to whoever would come second behind you imo cuz you kinda rob them of that opportunity honestly