Eurovision must change

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Eurovision 2024 was a striking change in energy from what was experienced with ESC 2023. The biggest part of this was due to Israel’s participation in the contest after the Gaza war had started. Many people saw the propaganda that was being shown not only in the song Hurricane but also in how Kan and the Israeli delegation had acted.

This was along with a signed open letter from delegations, broadcasters, and artists who had been harassed by KAN and the Israeli delegation. “An unsigned statement has been circulating online, reportedly sent by delegation members and artists… This statement addresses recent reports about backstage incidents during Eurovision 2024, including allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards the Israeli delegation and the decision by the EBU to relocate the Israeli delegation to different backstage areas.”

After ESC 2024, there was talk of whether Israel could stay in the contest. Even after artists like Nemo and Bambie thug spoke up about kicking Israel out, this push fell silent upon the EBU as they came back to Eurovision 2025 and came second in the televote. Conversations started about how the Israeli government had a hand in heavily promoting their song.

Pitchfork states that “Robyn and Fever Ray are among more than 1,000 Swedish signatories of an open letter calling for the Eurovision Song Contest to ban Israel from the 2024 competition,” Which shows that there was a push for Israel to be excluded even before the 2024 contest.

Israel has been participating in the contest since 1973, and since joining the European Broadcasting Union in 1957, it has been eligible to participate even if it is not in Europe. Controversy started even back in 2005 when a Lebanese broadcaster withdrew from the contest because they refused to broadcast Israel’s performance.

In 2019, the group Hatari, representing Iceland, held up a Palestinian flag during the final in Tel Aviv, which was considered a breach of Eurovision’s rules on political statements. In 2024, Israel’s participation became more controversial when the war in Gaza started soon after October 7th.

The National quotes when they spoke with one of the members of Hetari regarding Israel’s hosting of Eurovision back in 2019, “We found it a paradox that they were holding what they say is a non-­political song contest in Israel. The way we saw it was they broke their own rules the day they decided to host the event there.” This was soon after the band had been warned about their holding up of the Palestinian flag during the final.

Looking back on when Israel first submitted its 2024 song October Rain which soon changed to Hurricane even after multiple rejections. This soon had the Israeli government involved when it looked like Israel was about to give up and pull out of the contest, showing how important the Eurovision is to the Israeli government and its image.

Well, recently, the EBU has opened up countries being able to pull out after December because a vote was being called between broadcasters to see whether Israel should be able to stay within the contest, which will be taking place in December (As of publishing this, it has been moved up to November).

This has caused multiple broadcasters, such as Spain, Slovenia, and Ireland, to vow to drop out of the contest if Israel is to take part. The global view of what is happening in Gaza has shifted, which has, in turn, crossed into the Eurovision space. Countless countries, including the United Kingdom, have called for a Palestinian state, which would not have been talked about during the 2024 contest.

Spain’s culture minister quotes “I don’t think we can normalise Israel’s participation in international events as if nothing is happening.” This is impactful since not only is Spain one of Eurovision’s biggest contributors, but it is also a part of the Big 5 countries, so their potential pulling out sends a wider message to the EBU.

A New Day Will Rise had a very low jury score compared to its very high Televote. Eurovision News Spotlight alleged that the Israeli Government Advertising Agency ran cross-platform ad campaigns and used official state social media accounts to promote Israel’s entry.

If Israel is to stay in the contest, what we do know is that many countries that have promised to pull out of the contest, such as Spain, will leave the 2026 edition. If enough countries end up leaving, this may lead to the contest having to let go of its semi-finals and only having one final.

With this being the 70th edition of the contest, it would be best to keep the semi-finals in, as it will affect the grandeur of what is most likely to be a monumental anniversary for the contest. This can also add to a larger level of fans who no longer engage in the contest, resulting in lower viewing numbers.

Will this mean the end of the contest? In my opinion, no, however, it will mean that not only will the viewing number decrease, but also the number of countries taking part. It also spreads a message that rigging voting, harassing journalists/ other countries, and starting wars are okay.

Russia had been kicked out of the contest in 2022 due to the Ukraine war; however, this was after many countries threatened to pull out of the contest, which led to that final decision. The question is, would that be the same this time? Sadly, we won’t fully find out until November; however, it can affect the contest no matter what happens.

Rewatching Eurovision 2015, which happened in the light of the invasion of Crimea, many parallels came up for me. Russia nearly won with a propaganda peace song, the narrative push for peace, and the rallying around men who had won that year. It seems the EBU is repeating history, but with Israel, and this mirrors what was seen in the 2025 contest.

So…What can we do as viewers? Apart from waiting, you can contact your local broadcaster and tell them about what is happening, especially broadcasters who are undecided. Continue the conversation just as ESC Gabe and ESC Faith have already done.

We cannot have a repeat of this, or we might face what we did in 2025, however, with a very, very different outcome.