Thank god. Something had to be done
1 Like
I’m not too sure this is going to work. How do we know that they (and we should all know exactly who this is targeting), if they do make it in, won’t be able to find loopholes in these new rules to continue advertising in the same way they have been the last few years and continue to buy extreme amounts of SIM cards to screw up the televoting again.
Happening now: the EBU has finally approved, by a majority of members, the revised voting rules for the ESC at its General Assembly, whilst, at the same time, also allowing Israel to take part on next year’s contest.
However, this comes with the loss of four member broadcasters, as RTVE, AVROTROS, RTÉ and RTVSLO have announced almost immediately after the decision was made their withdrawal from the contest, and are not broadcasting it altogether. RTBF and RÚV are also considering a withdrawal, but the Belgian broadcasters are planning to broadcast it in any outcome, as announced by VRT.
1 Like
It is all a bit of a mess really. I guess if it stays as just 4 out, it could have been worse.
So we likely have 4 countries out but I believe 2 countries have already been announces to be coming back in? Making it around 35 next year.
1 Like
I think many Eurovision fans in those four countries won’t be happy about their broadcasters’ withdrawal from next year’s competition. The YouTube live streaming will get a huge boost.
1 Like
I’m pretty sure as it stands in the ESC rules, a country isn’t allowed to take part unless they televised the previous year’s contest. So, countries like Ireland etc, announcing they won’t televise it next year is more significant than it may sound, as it essentially rules them out for 2027 as well (unless of course exceptions are made…)
While disappointing it has come to this for Eurovision. Given how divided the world is these days, no major surprise that has found its way into Eurovision.
2 of those 4 are the biggest financial contributors though (Spain + Netherlands). I expect more withdrawals to follow.
Either way I expect a lot of artists to reject going to Eurovision so the field quality will be poorer.
1 Like
The majority of people in those countries supported the boycott, so somehow I don’t think they’ll be too upset.
Three are back for next year, Moldova, Bulgaria and Romania. There have also been rumours of Canada.
It seems likely Belgium and Iceland at least will also boycott, so there is likely to be a net loss of a couple of countries from last year, which was already relatively low at 37.
Yeah, great job EBU. Lose out four mainstays just to appease Israel who isn’t technically even part of Europe 
Great stuff. Lost every last bit of credibility they had.
4 Likes
This competition is now a joke from it’s original inception. Israel should have been banned this year. If it’s right and it is, that Russia is banned so should they. Can’t really get the enthusiasm I used to have for Eurovision anymore. It’s a bloody mess.
2 Likes
I completely agree. The last few years have lacked the joy I used to get from watching Eurovision every year.
3 Likes
It will be the lowest amount of countries participating since the semifinals were introduced in 2004. For a 70th anniversary year too, was it really worth it EBU?
1 Like
They said their board will finalize the outcome at the next Wednesday meeting.
1 Like
I’m very impressed by the countries following thru with their boycotts. I thought they would cave in the end.
really there are no winners, here. Fans in the boycotting countries are not represented, the ones that are participating are on awkward terms. Israel will be more of a pariah than ever, I don’t think those mitigations are enough to ease cheating concerns and everyone else has Eurovision ruined by divisiveness.
There was such a simple solution on the table. Questions need to be asked of EBU leadership.
3 Likes
The EBU could have suspended Israel from next year’s competition, but it didn’t want to anger the Israeli government and damage European Union’s relationship with Israel as the result.
A spokesperson for public broadcaster SBS, which airs Eurovision in Australia, confirmed it would continue its coverage of the event in 2026, while recognising the “deeply held views and concerns about the war in the Middle East”.
“Eurovision was created to bring people and cultures together through music, a purpose that continues to guide the contest and has shaped SBS’s broadcast for more than 40 years,” they said.
“Our position remains that, as a public broadcaster, making a decision to be involved based on the inclusion or exclusion of any country would undermine SBS’s editorial independence and impartiality.”
The broadcaster, who selects who will represent the nation in the competition during a jury preview show, has confirmed Australia will compete in the 2026 event.
1 Like
They already confirmed hosts and some other aspects for 2026. They’re no longer in a position to be able to pull out even if they want to.
It’s an absolute mess. When you’ve got founding countries like Spain and Netherlands pulling out, something is very, very wrong. Just to appease Israel? How is that fair? I believe money and political pressure are at play here. It’s very sad to see.
3 Likes
I am pretty sure there were also countries threatening to withdraw if Israel were excluded. So either way it was going to be like this. They could have avoided this situation completely by just pausing Israel’s participation a couple of years ago when the conflict first broke out. Instead it has dragged on to become this mess.
4 Likes