Unsuccessful attempts at participation

There have been several unsuccessful attempts at participation in the PANAM Song Contest. For a delegation to be able to participate in the contest, they must either be a member of the PANAM Song Committee (PSC) or be a delegation invited by the committee and register their intention to compete before the deadline specified in the rules of that edition's event.

## **The Azores**

The Azores is an autonomous region in Portugal composed of multiple islands in the Atlantic Ocean. A delegation from The Azores was formed with the intent to participate, but their application was denied by the PSC, stating that the Azores would be unable to participate due to being an autonomous region of Portugal, who is not a full member of the PSC.

## **Bonaire**

Bonaire was originally going to participate in the 4th edition of the contest, however the delegation was later forced to withdraw due to not being an autonomous country in the Kingdom of The Netherlands unlike it's neighbours of Curaçao and Aruba. Bonaire later participated in the same edition under the Caribbean Netherlands, formed by Bonaire along with the islands of Saba and Sint Eustatius.

## **Cape Verde**

Cape Verde has unsuccessfully tried to participate in the contest in the past, stating that they should be allowed to participate due to being part of the Portuguese Empire in the past, as well as stating Equatorial Guinea taking part as another reason why they should be eligible. The PSC rejected their application due to Cape Verde not being in the Americas. Cape Verdean singer Mayra was originally set to participate in the cancelled second edition of A Estrela de Portugal.

## **Gibraltar**

Gibraltar expressed interest in participating in the 7th edition, however they were declined by the PSC as their participation was deemed as too impractical.

## **Iceland**

The Greenlandic delegation originally expressed their support for Iceland to be eligible to enter the contest in late 2019, however, like with Gibraltar, their participation was deemed as too impractical.

## **Malaysia**

On 30th May 2020, Malaysian actress and singer Fazura made comments about a potential Malaysian debut in the PANAM Song Contest, claiming that she would be interested at representing them in the Contest. The PSC however quickly responded, claiming that Malaysia would be ineligible to participate.

## **South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands**

The British territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands was deemed ineligible to participate, due to their low population and lack of a music industry.

## **Other countries and regions**

While not noteworthy enough to get their own sections, the following countries and regions have also announced their intent to participate in one way or another in the past.

* An **unnamed African country** was apparently in negotiations to participate, however, their participation was declined by the PSC.
* Several states and regions of the United States have expressed their interest to participate separate from the United States, including **Texas**, **Alaska**, **Hawaii** and a **United Southern States** delegation. These were all declined, due to them not being either sovereign countries or dependent territories.
* Delegations from both **Cascadia** and **Quebec** have unsuccessfully tried to participate in the contest in the past. However, these were denied for the same reason as the American states and regions mentioned earlier.