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No chance to return in 2009
Luxembourg: "No interest!"
Radio-Télé Letzebuerg has confirmed to Esctoday.com that they have absolutely no interest in taking part in the contest again at present. This follows a statement from the company in 2005 that they would 'never' return to the contest, after originally applying to take part in 2004 but withdrawing before the final deadline due to the costs involved.
Luxembourg has won outright 5 times, making them the second most successful country in the contest in terms of number of wins. Their last entry was in 1993, when "Donne-moi une chance de te dire" by Modern Times received just 11 points and 20th place..
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I don't understand this announce of RTL. What's it means?
RTL, now a private channel in fact, left ESC in 1993 and stated clearly in 2005 that the broadcaster doesn't care about the contest. And RTL has never talked about the problems of semifinals or DNP voting, or has justified its absence in any reasoned way (like TMC or ORF did): it has simply ignored ESC last years.
Why RTL announce now again that it won't enter in 2009?? It was so obvious for everybody!! Nobody think about it, in the same way nobody consider if Jordan would enter.
Even when both EBU and the Russian broadcaster claimed they wanted to do an effort to reach the record of 47 contestants for 2009, they and other sources talked about Austria, Italy, Monaco and Slovakia, but I haven't read anywhere nothing at all about Luxembourg, because they simply haven't a broadcaster able to make an ESC entry project!
I want to see Luxembourg again in ESC but, of course, not via RTL...
I have always thought that only 10% of the songs before 1995 are even worth having a listen to.
Funny how some people say they don't like *any* of Luxembourg's entries... They probably haven't heard half of them 
For example, "Poupée de cire, poupée de son", "L'amour est bleu" and "Tu te reconnaîtras" are THE classics of esc classics, and "Apres toi" is very good too... And "Papa pingouin" is funny & camp 
, and "C'est peut-être pas l'Amérique" has always seemed like a wonderful defense of everything European to me...
But with a wonderful legacy like that, no wonder they don't want to come back and ruin all that, considering the current voting system etc, as some said...
Don't really like any of the Luxembourgian entries. Apres Toi is kinda alright the rest are horrible like that awful Celine Dion song as Darko S says
hehe lol Darko, you're not the wicked witch, you're everybody's favourite grandmother!!!
Hehe, sweet.
A pity, but no surprise. And in some ways a wise choice, as they wouldn't have a hope in hell with the current voting procedure.
OK now you're taking it to the extreme. I meant some imagination, not the seeking of attention.
Darko we love you but you already knew that..
I didn't as it happens, I always thought everyone perceives me as the Wicked Witch of the Southeast, and I'm sure I'm not too wrong. But lovely of you to say that anyhow, Marc
Oh this is a shame 
I would love to see Luxembourg back in the contest But it seems I probably never will
Darko,
noooooooooooo, they don't need to 'invest a little more imagination in the overall presentation'..perhaps subtract a little imagination!
I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the bearded women..lol
If Sebastien had just stood there, without the dark glasses, , and just 5 normal girls in the vocals, and performed his song, he would have done much better, I'm sure.
I think Luxembourg are doing the right thing. They could see the writing on the wall back in the mid-90s & got out when they knew their chances of ever winning again were fading rapidly away. I have liked a lot of the Lux entries but feel they would do themselves no good at all by returning & applaud their decision.
I would like to answer RTL that I am not also interested in the return of Luxembourg, if they will send to the competition scary entries like their last ones.
Darko, maybe the Netherlands should send our worldchampion iceskater Sven Kramer to Moscow to accompany our singer. Let's see if the Russians are able to put a iceskating track on the stage.
I agree totally Mina, both songs were crap live, visually and in terms of interpretation. But they were interesting, different, provoking songs which in itself is a great achievement. My point was that perhaps next year some more could be done to enhance the possibility of a good placing by investing a little more imagination in the overall presentation of an already promising song.
Darko we love you but you already knew that..... Me personally love following Luxy entries "100% d'amour" and "le papa pinguin", so camp.... Very fond of "Croire", way better than Celine Dion... Am I getting old ?
Lord, I was just waiting for someone to mention la vie et le cadeau, to me it's the absolute all-time paradigm of a horrible Eurovision entry, alongside Celine Dion and Morgane & her violons. But then again it might just be me and my sobriety twists 
And Mina, Belgium and France had really cool songs so don't be mean. It's a first step towards a good Western entry, what remains now is a little more effort in staging the number and promoting it ahead of the event. It's a learning curve
''And Mina, Belgium and France had really cool songs so don't be mean''
I wasn't mean, just saying that the Belgian song was a very 'special' entry and I wasn't surprised that not many people liked it...and that dress of hers!!!
France indeed had a good song but the presentation was awful..in my opinion at least.
It's a pity that Luxemberg doesn compete anymore...
I could check my fave songs list and see "Si la vie est cadeau" "Apres toi" and especially "Tu te reconnaîtras" among them ...
What a pity! I'd love to see Luxembourg participating. It would have been a plus for them since it's a tiny country!
that tiny state was very succesful with French, Spanish, Greek singers, now France can not find anything even for their own selections. Luxemburg could try again now with Serbian, Croatian, Slovenian, Albanian, Russian or Armenians
The best entries from Luxembourg are those who didn't have anything at all to do with Luxembourg: Corrinne Hermès and Vicky Leandros! Especially Corrinne's song is one of my alltime favourites, it's such a wonderful chanson with great lyrics and Corrinne is singing it very well...
I don't care much if Luxembourg is in the contest or not, we have enough countries and Luxembourg mostly borrowed singers from other countries to succeed. But still, Luxembourg gave us many some timeless Eurovision- classics so they will be remembered in a good way.
@ Keith, I fully agree with your comments, I myself have been a fan since 1961!! But why was Lux relegated back then??
''Its not like the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Germany have done particularly well recently is it! hmmm I wonder why! ''
Indeed, with a song like yucalili or however it was called, it's a mystery Belgium didn't do better this year. Or those bearded women...how could people not vote for them I wonder.
LOL
I believe Luxembourg withdrew from the contest in 1995 because they were relegated in 1994 (and couldn't participate even if they wanted to), and that hurt their pride so much that they decided to give us the big finger. This may have coincided with the transfer of ownership onto private hands and may have served to fortify the impression that the Eurovision was a waste of money for Luxembourg. The reasons for them not returning, however, may have every bit as much to do with DNP voting as Austria's and Monaco's withdrawals in recent years.
I feel it is somewhat ignorant of history to claim things like "these guys that support countries that don't want to take part and withdraw from ESC should not visit esctoday anymore... this is a site for fans... Ppl who love the contest!" Exactly how long has Sanio Silva been a fan with his 19 years of age? I have been a fan of this contest since long before he was born, and I dearly cherish all first 37 editions of it. I also resent the changes that have taken place in the 5 last editions (after televoting was permitted even for non-qualifying countries) because they have strengthened the lack of regard for musical quality and abundance of national pride in what used to be a song contest. I very much regard myself a fan, but I do not endorse the recent changes and I believe drastic measures should be taken - e.g. a temporary withdrawal of additional previous winners alongside Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco and Austria in order to get the message across that the current system cannot continue. Like it or not, it is possible that people may disagree with the organisation of the contest and still remain fans; perhaps particularly if they have been fans for a very long time. One may even go so far as to call these people the real fans, but I won't go there.
mmm...i wonder if we will have more easten countries next year...Slovakia is almost ready to compete again....how about Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan or who know why not Kyrgyzstan...that would help Russia to win esc or at least be in top 3 every singel year...
I do not share the reasons for the television of Luxembourg
I hope you reconsider later
Who can blame them?
Its not like the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Germany have done particularly well recently is it! hmmm I wonder why!
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