RTVS is such a Slovak-tease!

Ok, Slovakia...make up your mind!  After months of will-they-or-won't-they, the Central European nation proclaimed at the end of the year that they would be present in Düsseldorf, delighting Eurovision fans worldwide and making ESC 2011 the largest competition since 2008.  Even though their results in Eurovision have been less than stellar over the years, the competition still has an approval rating of 87.5% among Slovak viewers.  Suddenly, however, broadcaster RTVS announced that due to the after-effects of a major merger, Slovakia would be unable to afford their Eurovision participation without the help of a major sponsor.  Despite the EBU's decision to grant the broadcaster extra time to cobble together the dough, a fairy godmother failed to appear, leaving Bratislava high and dry, and leaving a depressing, Czechoslovakia-shaped hole in the 2011 Eurovision Participation Map:

Well, Slovakia, the other 42 competing nations and I will miss you in Germany, and we hope you can get your ducks in a row for 2012.  (And while we're at it, convince your neighbors in Prague to come back, too!)