As Israel is cleared to compete, Eurovision’s future hangs in the balance – UK Times

Is this the end of Eurovision as we know it? The annual song contest is in crisis once again after it confirmed that Israel would be allowed to participate in next year’s event, despite calls from several participating broadcasters to exclude the country over its war in Gaza. Four countries – Spain, Ireland, Slovenia and the Netherlands – immediately announced their intention to boycott the contest in response.

To many, Eurovision has become politicised to the point of no return. It’s a sad state of affairs for a show that introduced the world to Abba and Celine Dion, and whose slogan is “united by music”. Only in the last decade, too, did it feel as though it had shaken off its image as a cheesy novelty show – especially to our cynical UK audience – to go mainstream as one of the year’s cultural highlights. It is not an understatement to say that Eurovision is now facing the biggest crisis of its 69-year history, as other participating countries threaten to walk out if Israel is not allowed to compete.

By banning Russia in 2022, a precedent was set. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organises the event, disqualified the country over “the unprecedented crisis in Ukraine”, stating that the inclusion of a Russian entry would bring the competition into disrepute. This marked an about-turn on their original (and highly controversial) statement: that they would not ban Russia as Eurovision was a “non-political cultural event that unites nations and celebrates diversity through music”.

In doing so, as The Independent’s critic Mark Beaumont argued last year, the EBU “painted Eurovision and its anti-political ethos into a corner”. Yet the show’s insistence on its status as a non-political celebration of the power of music in bringing people together has been shaky for some time. As the contest grew from a fun, frequently cheesy celebration of pop, it started to become increasingly relevant to the social and political changes taking place around the world. Israel’s win with transgender singer Dana International in 1998 was hailed as a powerful expression of tolerance and LGBTQ+ visibility. Conchita Wurst’s victory in 2014 echoed that sentiment, while much was made of the solidarity and support for Ukraine with Kalush Orchestra’s emotional win in 2022, which occurred three months into Russia’s invasion.

In the last two years, though, the situation involving Israel has shown the EBU’s “non-political” stance to be untenable. Insiders told me of the “horrible” atmosphere backstage at the 2024 contest in Malmo, Sweden, while contestants also reported a “tense” and difficult time. Irish delegate Bambie Thug, who uses they/them pronouns, publicly accused the EBU of failing to support them after they accused Israel’s broadcaster, KAN, of a rule break, while thousands of people protested outside the arena against the country’s inclusion. This year was no better, as Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael – a survivor of the 7 October Hamas attack on the Nova music festival – performed to boos and an attempt to crash the stage during the live final.

It was in stark contrast to my experience attending the 2022 contest in Turin, Italy, where the backstage mood could only be compared to that of a school play – excited contestants hanging out together in all manner of colourful costumes, cheering each other on. And in my 10 years of covering Eurovision for The Independent, I can’t recall a more tense round of voting than the moment Israel looked set to take the win this year, only to be trumped by Austria’s JJ at the last minute. The 2026 contest would therefore be held in Vienna, hosted by the winning country. Graham Norton, hosting the BBC’s coverage, said: “I think the EBU will be breathing the largest sigh of relief that they are not faced with a Tel Aviv final next year.”

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The EBU did not hold a vote on Israel’s participation for 2026, perhaps in a misguided attempt to avoid further confrontation between countries that still support it, and the ones that have condemned its attacks on Gaza. Instead, it asked broadcasters to vote on whether to introduce new rules designed to prevent governments and third parties from disproportionately promoting songs to influence voters. In a statement after its general assembly on Thursday (5 December), it said that a “large majority” of members had agreed that there was no need for a further vote on participation, and that “the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 should proceed as planned, with the additional safeguards in place”.

This includes a change to the public voting system after the Israeli government was accused of breaking the spirit of the contest’s rules by encouraging citizens abroad to use their 20 allotted votes for Raphael. In future contests, no viewer will be permitted to cast more than 10 votes on the night.

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This hasn’t been enough to placate those who still believe that Israel should not be allowed to participate. Irish broadcaster RTÉ said taking part would be “unconscionable given the appalling loss of lives in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there, which continues to put the lives of so many civilians at risk”. Spain’s culture minister Ernest Urtasun backed the boycott by national broadcaster RTVE, commenting: “You can’t whitewash Israel given the genocide in Gaza. Culture should be on the side of peace and justice. I’m proud of an RTVE that puts human rights before any economic interest.” It is safe to presume that other countries might follow suit.

Eurovision turns 70 next year, but it seems unlikely that it will find much cause for celebration. Announcing the voting changes last month, Martin Green, who runs the contest, said: “The Eurovision Song Contest belongs to all of us, and it must remain a place where music takes centre stage.” At this point, he and the EBU are only fooling themselves. Far from united by music, the world’s biggest singing competition has never felt so divided.