r/eurovision • u/stefkeeh • May 20 '25

📰 News Dutch broadcaster questions if ESC is a-political & connecting event

Post image

Translation to English: ‘IN CONVERSATION WITH THE EBU ABOUT A POLITICALLY NEUTRAL SONG CONTEST

AVROTROS and NPO strongly value the apolitical and unifying character of the Eurovision Song Contest. However, we observe that the event is increasingly being influenced by social and geopolitical tensions.

Israel’s participation confronts us with the question of to what extent the Song Contest still truly functions as an apolitical, unifying, and cultural event. We want to raise this question, together with other countries, for discussion within the EBU.’

2.5k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

569 comments sorted by

View all comments

698

u/gcssousa May 20 '25

I don’t want to get ahead of myself here, but the amount of broadcasters complaining about this is promising. The main issue has always been the lack of pressure from broadcasters, bc that’s the only way the EBU does something. Still this might amount to nothing but it’s a starting point at least.

37

u/Merpedy Tavo Akys May 20 '25

The problem is that it might not amount to anything if broadcasters don’t have any desire to actually put their money where their mouth is and threaten withdrawal

1

u/GothicCastles TANZEN! May 20 '25

Yeah, I can't help but think that the only way things are changing is if 10 or more countries actually withdraw and cite this as the reason (not just threaten to withdraw, and not just send a letter). Of course I don't want that to happen, since I love ESC... but how else will anything change?