The Pop Corporation

Regardless of what the press releases say, Eurovision is and always has been a political event. Even singing about an end to war, is a vaguely political opinion, and the peace-and-harmony schtick has been a long-standing trope in Eurovision competitions.

Lately, the polemic has been brought to boiling point. As far back as 1970, Jordan refused to announce Israel as their winner, and more recently in 2017, Ukraine outright banned Russia from competing. Whether the organisers accept this or not, one of the consistent subplots of the Eurovision Song Contest is that it is, in part, a geopolitical drama.

From wars to the familiar problem of countries voting favourably for their geographical neighbours, discontent is never far away, despite the relative joy of fans getting to hear music from around the world, and all the camp fun that goes with it.

Of course, there’s serious moments such as Russia executing an attack on Ukraine as they performed their 2023 entry, which saw the show organisers scrambling as the Ukraine contestants held up a makeshift sign in protest during the broadcast.

With the conflict in the Middle East currently raging, with everyone having an opinion on it, it is unavoidable for Eurovision to avoid being caught in the maelstrom too. Part of the thrill of watching the contest is to see how the crowd will react, how the organisers will respond, and how the artists will make their feelings heard – it’s white knuckle viewing, on the night.

More recently, we’ve had near constant booing for Russian entries and the United Kingdom’s Brexit situation has seen a cold shoulder or two – and now of course, thanks to the invasion of Ukraine, Russia is banned from participating in the show altogether – a political move, by organisers.

Eurovision may well have painted themselves into a corner concerning any Israeli entry, despite increasingly calls for their ejection and pressure from all corners.

The organisers have introduced a Code of Conduct, despite proclaiming that they’re continuing the ‘proud tradition of celebrating diversity through music’ – only this time, diversity that must remain free from political influence. While on the premises of the competition, people must not promote, carry, or wear any political material. However, there are those on the right who would argue that Pride flags constitute a political gesture, and of course, Eurovision is filled with the whole gamut of Pride flags and is synonymous with them.

It’s a confusing mess, with Georgia forced to pull out in 2009 for criticising Putin in their ‘We Don’t Wanna Put In’ song, while Ukraine won with a song in 2016 with their message about the deportation of Crimean Tatars, angering Russian officials.

Icelandic entry Hatari held Palestinian banners in 2019, causing ripples of anger and stirring appreciation from those sympathetic. Armenian performer Iveta Mukuchyan waved a flag of the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which is the focus of a dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The former saw the Icelandic broadcaster fined, the latter, Armenia threatened with expulsion.

Just last year, Irish performer Bambie Thug hid messages of support for Palestine in their costume, who then alleged that Israeli organisers incited “violence” against them.

And now, former Eurovision contestants totalling over 70, have signed a letter calling of the expulsion of Israel and national broadcaster KAN from the 2025 show.

Over 70 former Eurovision contestants have signed an open letter calling for Israel and national broadcaster KAN to be banned from the 2025 contest. Addressed to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), who organise the show, the protests come from people including ’23 UK entry Mae Muller, ’94’ Ireland winner Charlie McGettigan, and Portuguese singer Fernando Tordo, amongst others.

They say in the letter that the inclusion of Israel in the 2024 edition led to it being “the most politicised, chaotic and unpleasant in the competition’s history” and accuses the Israeli broadcaster KAN of being “complicit in Israel’s genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza and the decades-long regime of apartheid and military occupation against the entire Palestinian people”.

The continue that, by allowing Eurovision to provide a platform, the EBU are in fact “normalising and whitewashing its crimes”, and given Russia’s continued barring from the contest, this shows a “double standard.”

This follows over 1,000 Swedish artists calling for the ban of Israel from the competition, and over 1,400 Finnish and 400 Irish music professionals echoing this.

To amplify the pressure, 2025’s Israeli contestant was forced to change the lyrics of their entry – ‘October Rain’ – which was referencing the October 7th attacks.

RTVE from Spain have requested an answer as to why Israel are allowed to take part, as well as questions from Slovenia’s RTV SLO network, and Iceland’s delegation saying that the Israeli involvement in the show is “strange.”

The EBU’s director, Martin Green CBE, released a statement, saying: “We understand the concerns and deeply held views around the current conflict in the Middle East. The EBU is an association of public service broadcasters who are all eligible to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest every year.”

“Additionally, as part of its mission to secure a sustainable future for public service media, the EBU is supporting our Israeli Member Kan against the threat from being privatised or shut down by the Israeli government.”

“We are not immune to global events but, together, it is our role to ensure the Contest remains – at its heart – a universal event that promotes connections, diversity and inclusion through music. The EBU remains aligned with other international organisations that have similarly maintained their inclusive stance towards Israeli participants in major competitions at this time.”

This year, is going to be a tense viewing experience, as well as a fun one.