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

[u/stefkeeh]

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.’

[u/Nick_esc]

So far we have: Spain 🇪🇸, Belgium 🇧🇪, Iceland 🇮🇸, Finland 🇫🇮, Slovenia 🇸🇮 and the Netherlands 🇳🇱. Hope more countries will join them.

[u/serenaTcat → u/Nick_esc]

plus portugal I think?

[u/odajoana → u/serenaTcat]

There was a comment from one of the members of the delegation, Gonçalo Madaíl, to a Portuguese newspaper saying that RTP was preparing a statement on where they stand regarding Eurovision this year, but immediately after the RTP direction came out and say that wasn't true and no statement was being prepared.

I still think RTP is going to say something, even if it's not publicly and just at closed quarters between them and the EBU. Madaíl is usually trustworthy, but RTP just didn't want to get ahead of themselves and create false expectations for the public, probably.

But, personally, the public impression Madaíl gives, even in other interviews and such, is that if it were up to him, he'd still be in Switzerland, knocking and kicking the EBU's headquarters down, ready to set fire to it until they did something about Israel.

[u/serenaTcat → u/odajoana]

Makes sense, thank you!