'Door is open' for Canada to join Eurovision

Canada could join the Eurovision Song Contest if it wishes, director Martin Green told the BBC, but the country has not yet made a formal request.

"Nothing's particularly come over my desk," Green said on Wednesday, adding that the door is open for a future Canadian entry.

"We will welcome anyone through those doors who wants to share the values of this wonderful occasion and stand on our stage with friends," he said.

Prime Minister Mark Carney, who has been forging closer political and economic ties with Europe since taking office last year, raised the idea of Canada joining the song contest in his 2025 budget.

In its fiscal plan, released in November, the Carney government wrote that it is working with the CBC, Canada's public broadcaster, "to explore participation in Eurovision".

Green acknowledged that he was aware that Canada was eyeing a spot in the popular contest.

"We know that Mark Carney wants to sort of embrace Europe," he said.

The song contest - as its name suggests - mostly showcases European talent and is put on by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). But countries outside of Europe have participated in the past, including Australia, which formally joined the contest in 2015.

Participation is open to countries with broadcasting organisations that are members of the EBU, according to Eurovision's rules. The CBC is not a full member but is considered an "associate member".

Associate members could be eligible to enter, but that is decided by the governing body of the contest on "a case-by-case basis", the rules state.

Australia was granted permission to participate despite its broadcaster being only an associate member. In its reasoning, the EBU has said that Australia had long broadcast the contest, which is hugely popular in the country.

Leon Mar, the CBC's senior director of public affairs, has said that the broadcaster will be sending three staff members to this year's Eurovision Song Contest as observers, the CBC reported.

"We are talking with the EBU about how we can collaborate more closely and exchange more content," Mar added in a statement.

Canada's star power is familiar to Eurovision

Despite Canada not being a formal participant, Canadians have competed in the Eurovision Song Contest in the past - and won.

Céline Dion, a Canadian from Quebec and perhaps one of the most notable winners in the history of the contest, competed for Switzerland in 1988 and won with a song titled Ne partez pas sans moi.

Her win is credited with propelling her into a decades-long career. It also marked the last time that a French-language song won the contest.

Other Canadians have since competed, including Natasha St-Pier, an Acadian New Brunswicker who represented France in 2001, and La Zarra, a singer from Montreal who represented France in 2023.

Under Eurovision rules, contestants do not have to be citizens of the country they are representing, although some participating countries can mandate it under their own rules.