Kazakhstan’s national broadcaster Khabar is set to join the EBU on the 1st of January 2016! This is the first, and the only channel in this country to be part of the EBU.
Khabar is the first broadcaster from Kazakhstan which entered the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union, and is now set to join the EBU as well, as an associate member, as of the 1st of January.
Kazakhstan’s broadcaster has been negotiating EBU membership since 2008. They have also broadcast the Eurovision Song Contest, and they also sent their delegation to Vienna, in order to observe the contest.
Under the current rules of the Contest, Kazakhstan is not eligible to enter by being an Associate member. However, as an exception has been made with Australia, and seeing as Mr. Jon Ola Sand, the Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest has confirmed to various media that there will be a total of 43 countries taking part in Stockholm, Kazakhstan will have to wait until 2017 for a possible debut in the Song Contest.
