The Austrian national broadcaster issued a press release today by which they officially announce that the country will not participate in the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest set to take place on May 20, 22 and 24. Head of Entertainment for ORF, Edgar Bohm said that ORF is not aware how the countries will be split in the two semifinals, something that worries the broadcaster.

Another point of Edgar Bohm is that a possible split between East and West of Europe will be out of the question for Austria. We've already seen in 2007 that it's not the quality of the song, but the country of origin that determines the decision, says ORF's Wolfgang Lorenz. In the meantime ORF has not the best viewing rates in Austria over the Eurovision Song Contest. The broadcaster still considers the show as a political parade and not a way to show quality and talent. If ESC changes then ORF will return was the conclusion of ORF.