Péter Magyar Instructs Hungary’s Culture Minister To Examine Eurovision Return

Hungary’s Prime Minister Péter Magyar said he will instruct the Minister or State Secretary for Culture to examine a possible Hungarian return to Eurovision after being interviewed by ORF during a visit to Vienna.

“Peter Magyar, the newly minted prime minister of Hungary, has begun dismantling the Orbán era”

El Mundo

Magyar told ORF, “So, I will instruct the Minister or State Secretary for Culture to investigate or scrutinise our opportunities and I will come back to you and to the younger generations with a reply.”

El Mundo

The discussion comes as Magyar’s party Tisza won a supermajority in Hungary’s parliamentary elections in April, ending 16 years of rule under Viktor Orbán.

Eurovoix and ESCToday both frame the prospect of a return as a response to Hungary’s absence from Eurovision since 2020, with Metro.co.uk also noting that Hungary has not taken part in the contest or even aired it since 2020.

El Mundo adds that Magyar instructed the new Ministry of Culture officials to study a possible return and to put an end to Orban’s years-long boycott.

Metro.co.uk says Hungary’s withdrawal had no official reason given by participating broadcaster Médiaszolgáltatás-támogató és Vagyonkezelő Alap (MTVA), while it was previously reported that the contest was considered “too gay” to take part in by the government.

In the same interview with Zib cited by Metro.co.uk, Magyar repeated, “There is no objection from my part and there is no sense not to participate in such a contest.”

ESCToday

Eurovoix also says it was speculated by inside sources that MTVA considered the contest “too gay” for MTVA to participate, and it adds that MTVA had been accused of coming under too much government control during Orbán’s rule.

El Mundo links the withdrawal to the Orban administration’s demand, describing the festival as a showcase of values the government sought to combat as an “Attila,” and it says the leader was irritated by the contest’s “numerous nods” to the LGBT community.

ESCToday adds that Magyar previously said “Not participating is a bad decision, and we shouldn’t have withdrawn,” and it says he indicated that if the decision falls within the government’s purview, they “will organize a comeback.”

Eurovoix states that if Hungary returns to Eurovision 2027, they would be the second country to do so, after North Macedonia’s return to Eurovision in 2027 after last participating in 2022.

“Péter Magyar, the Prime Minister of Hungary, has stated that he will instruct the Minister or State Secretary for Culture to examine a possible Hungarian return to Eurovision”

Eurovoix

Metro.co.uk says North Macedonia’s public broadcaster MRT (Macedonian Radio Television), through its Director General Zoran Ristoski, confirmed it would return after five years, and it adds that the 2027 contest will be held in Sofia, Bulgaria, after Dara won in Vienna last weekend.

El Mundo says Magyar argued that Hungary’s presence in Eurovision “would improve the country’s international image, foster a greater sense of national unity, and strengthen its relationship with the European Union.”

Eurovoix also notes that Hungary debuted in Eurovision in 1994 with Friderika Bayer and “Kinek mondjam el vétkeimet?”, finishing in 4th place scoring 122 points, which it describes as Hungary’s best result in the contest.

El Mundo concludes with Magyar saying, “It is a mistake not to participate and we should not have withdrawn,” tying the potential return to his broader dismantling of the Orbán era.