Head of the European Broadcasting Union says he is prepared to act against any disturbance of order during the final of the competition, which takes place this Saturday night in Vienna
With the most recent edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, organized annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), a senior official from the organization defended this week that it “does not need to make political decisions”, because it is not a political institution.
“The EBU is not the European Union or the European Commission, we are not the United Nations, so we do not have to make political decisions,” said Jean Philip De Tender, deputy director general of the EBU, an alliance of 113 public service media outlets in 56 countries, yesterday.
The senior official’s statement comes in the wake of some countries announcing an unprecedented boycott of the European festival because of Israel’s participation, in the context of the crimes committed by the country in the Gaza Strip. Despite considering that the festival is “apolitical”, De Tender concedes that “it is such a big event that it has a political impact”, which is why those responsible are “prepared” for more interruptions during the final of this year’s edition, which will take place this Saturday night, in the Austrian capital.
On the festival’s 70th anniversary, five countries chose not to participate in this year’s edition – Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Iceland – justifying the decision with Israel’s war in Gaza, in the aftermath of a violent attack by Hamas, and the consequent humanitarian crisis it caused in the enclave and other occupied territories in Palestine.
De Tender says that the EBU is “talking” and “listening” to these countries to try to convince them to “return next year”, but emphasizes that, at the end of the day, public broadcasters in these countries have to listen to their audiences and make their own decisions about whether or not to participate in the festival.
Those advocating Israel’s exclusion from the contest invoke the fact that Russia was banned from the competition in 2022, shortly after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. On Friday, in a public statement, the head of the Spanish government, Pedro Sánchez, said that “there cannot be double standards” in relation to Israel and Russia and their participation in or exclusion from the competition.
“This year we will not be in the Eurovision Song Contest, but we will participate with the conviction that we are on the right side of history,” said Sánchez. “For coherence, responsibility and humanity – in the face of an illegal war and also a genocide, silence is not an option.”
Asked about the double standards, De Tender says that the difference between Russia and Israel is that the Russian public broadcaster is not considered independent from the government, which is why its membership of the EBU was suspended and, therefore, prevented from competing in the Eurovision Song Contest.
When the EBU announced Russia’s exclusion in 2022, the organization said the move was intended to address concerns that the invasion of Ukraine would “bring the competition into disrepute.” Regarding this, De Tender says that “things become clearer when a country is involved in a conflict”.
“[É] when it is seen more explicitly whether or not there is independent journalism. I think the war made it clear that this was not the case [da emissora russa]”, he stated, countering that the situation with Israel is “totally different”, because the country’s public broadcaster, KAN, is independent enough and continues to be a full member of the EBU.
Speaking about the same alleged double standard on Wednesday, Martin Green, director of the Eurovision Song Contest, said Russia could “theoretically” be allowed back into the competition if its public broadcaster respects independence rules.
The EBU also overhauled the Eurovision Song Contest voting system this year, following allegations that the Israeli government unfairly influenced last year’s results through a mass voting campaign.
With protests expected on the streets of Vienna this Saturday against Israel’s participation, security at the venue will be on high alert, Politico also reports.
During Israel’s performance in Tuesday’s semi-final, an audience member “expressed his opinion loudly” and was removed from the venue, along with three others, for “inappropriate behavior”, the EBU and Austrian broadcaster ORF confirmed in a statement released earlier this week.
During Saturday’s final, says De Tender, the policy regarding audience noise on broadcast will be the same. “We will not shy away from any booing. The sound level throughout the event and for all artists will remain the same”, said the official, adding that the organization is “prepared” in case something similar happens during the broadcast of the final.
