It’s a question that has arisen time and again: Is the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) political or not?
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) , which organizes the competition, keeps repeating that the ESC is only a cultural event with no place for politics. Its rules clearly state that political statements or even slogans are not allowed at the competition.
This might be especially difficult to follow through this year.
Following the Hamas’ terror attacks in October 2023 and the ensuing Israel-Hamas war, Israel has been criticized for the impact of its military campaign on the civilian population in Gaza.
Israel has been participating in the ESC for 51 years, so it’s not the first time the Middle East conflict has come into the spotlight at the event.
In 1973, singer Ilanit was the first artist to perform for Israel under stringent security measures. A year earlier, Palestinian terrorists had killed 11 Israeli athletes in the Olympic Village in Munich. Ilanit is said to have worn a protective vest, the audience had to remain seated during her performance and photographers had to take pictures of the ceiling to prove that their cameras were not camouflaged firearms.
Title of Israeli entry changed
This year’s Israeli candidate Eden Golan must also perform under special protection.
At the beginning of the year, several participating countries had already asked the EBU to exclude Israel from the competition amid the war.
And it almost happened, but not as a direct reaction to the boycott calls. According to the EBU, the original title of the Israeli entry, “October Rain,” was too reminiscent of the outbreak of war on October 7, 2023.
The title was changed and Golan was admitted.
However, the protest did not die down.
“The Broadcasting Union recognizes the strong feelings and opinions that this year’s ESC — against the backdrop of a terrible war in the Middle East — has evoked,” the EBU said in a statement, adding that it was solely responsible for Israel’s admission to the competition “and not the artist.” She is traveling to Malmo “to share her music, her culture and the universal message of unity through the language of music.”
Eurovision was hardly ever apolitical
The first ESC competition took place in Lugano, Switzerland in 1956. At that time, it was still called the “Gran Premio Eurovisione Della Canzone Europea” or “Grand Prix” for short in French. The aim of the event was international understanding, bringing WWII enemy countries together in a friendly competition.
Seven countries took part, including Germany.
The competition grew from year to year, with 17 countries taking part in 1968. That year, there was clear, politically-motivated dissent: The Spanish candidate wanted to sing in Catalan, a language repressed by Francisco Franco’s fascist regime. Another singer was sent instead to perform a Spanish-English version of the song, titled “La La La.”
After the division of Cyprus in 1974, Greece and Turkey turned enemies. In 1975, Greece boycotted the ESC. Turkey followed suit in 1976, but nevertheless broadcast the show on television. When the Greek entry came on, the show was interrupted and a nationalist Turkish song was broadcast instead.
Israel’s victory simply omitted
When it became clear that Izhar Cohen of Israel would win the 1978 ESC in Paris, Israel’s neighboring Arab country, Jordan, ended the broadcast.
At the height of the Cold War in Europe, young German singer Nicole took to the stage with a white guitar, sang a message of peace and won the competition in 1982. The question arose: Is the ESC allowed to be political if the message is positive?
Is it still about the music?
The fact that even the EBU has not always managed to stay apolitical was demonstrated by the exclusion of Georgia in 2009. The reason was an anti-Russian play on words in the title of the song “We Don’t Wanna Put In.”
Belarus was kicked out in 2021 because of its obvious support for President Alexander Lukashenko, who has been the subject of sanctions for human rights violations.
Russia’s exclusion from the ESC in 2022 was a reaction to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. Regardless of their political stance, Russian artists and their music suddenly no longer played a role.
Political allies among national juries
From the very beginning until today, national juries have often made no secret of which participating country they were chummy with or which they openly disliked, even though this had nothing to do with the song’s quality.
So, it certainly wasn’t about music when the Russian national jury responded to drag queen Conchita Wurst‘s performance with zero points in 2014. However, the Russian audience voted the Austrian entry into third place and Conchita went on to win the ESC by a landslide.
In 2016, Russia objected to the song “1944” by Ukrainian participant Jamala. It was evocative of the deportation of the Crimean Tatars under Joseph Stalin. The EBU argued back then that the song was not about politics, but about family history. Jamala, herself a Crimean Tatar, took home the ESC trophy.
Fine for the Palestinian flag
Clear demands and slogans from the audience or artists also occur time and again and are also penalized.
In Tel Aviv in 2019, the Icelandic band Hatari displayed the Palestinian flag during the scoring. As a result, the Icelandic broadcaster had to pay a fine to the EBU.
That same evening, Madonna’s performancehad already caused a stir: One of her dancers was carrying a Palestinian flag, another an Israeli one.
However, Malmo is preparing itself so that the ESC can take place without any serious incidents. There will be no party mile and police presence has been increased.
Two large demonstrations against Israel have been announced for the ESC week, which begins on Sunday, May 5, and ends six days later with the grand finale.
As Swedish authorities are expecting the worst, they have banned Israeli ESC fans from walking around with their national flags. The Israeli delegation is required to leave their hotel rooms only for rehearsals and performances.
This article was originally written in German.