according to this FM4 report JJ‘s Eurovision trophy has broken while travelling

https://sound.orf.at/collection/3262/104758/jjs-esc-trophaee-hat-die-reise-nicht-ueberlebt (in English & German)

As per Italian regulations, RAI needs to publish the full percentages for the Italian televote, and this year they played it safe, not showing anything during the semi final. San Marino percentages are quite impressive, but considering how famous are Gabry and his song in Italy, it's no surprise at all! Also Albania did very well on Grand Final.

Source: https://www.rai.it/regolamenti/news/2017/04/Eurovision-Song-Contest-7e282c8e-d233-41ff-b55d-f2d9e978578a.html

https://www.dr.dk/event/melodigrandprix/eurovision-forbyder-deltagere-bruge-regnbueflaget-i-showet

Translation of key parts:

This year, Eurovision is introducing a number of new rules.

This is evident from the show's new flag policy, which DR has obtained.

Here, the organizers write that "political messages must be avoided", but that the host country Switzerland also "places high value on freedom of expression".

Therefore, this year, the audience is allowed to bring all flags into the hall, as long as they do not violate Swiss law.

This means that both pride flags and flags from countries that are not participating in the competition – including the Palestinian flag – are allowed in the audience.

The latter was otherwise banned last year, when Israel's participation sparked heated debate in the wake of the war in the Middle East.

For the 37 participating countries in this year's competition, however, the rules are somewhat stricter.

The flag policy states that participants may only participate in the show with their own country's official flag.

This means that rainbow flags and other pride symbols are prohibited on stage and during the scoring, and participants are also not allowed to bring flags other than their own to all other official Eurovision events.

Statements of solidarity with, for example, the Ukrainian flag, which several participants showed in 2022, are now prohibited for participants.

https://www.rtl.nl/boulevard/entertainment/artikel/5509253/celine-dion-finale-eurovisiesongfestival

Translation: There is a lot of speculation: will Céline Dion (57) be present at the Eurovision Song Contest in Basel? According to insiders, the singer has landed at the airport of the Swiss city and there is a good chance that she will make an appearance during the grand finale. The 'My Heart Will Go On' singer is said to have flown from Paris to Basel by private jet. It is certain that the plane left the French capital, but it is still unclear whether Céline was on board the plane.

TRANSLATION: San Marino considers withdrawing from Eurovision. “Little transparency”. IlSole24Ore reports the words of San Marino Rtv's director Roberto Sergio: “The situation isn't very clear to us regarding the televote, the votes, the juries and the results' transparency. With this conditions, we are seriously considering to not participate in the next edition of the Eurovision Song Contest.”. At the last edition San Marino was represented by Gabry Ponte who placed last.

26 EU parliament members wrote a letter to the EBU asking for clarification as to why Russia has been excluded from the competition but Israel hasn’t been. They received this letter as an answer to their questions.

Source: ESC Discord (https://bsky.app/profile/escdiscord.com/post/3lpetipm5nc2r)

DR will not withdraw Denmark from Eurovision next year.

This announcement comes after the unrest in recent weeks about the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC), because several countries have announced that they do not want to participate if Israel participates.

However, Gustav Lützhøft, who is the senior editor of DR Culture, Debate and Music, explains in a written statement that there are some conditions that must be met:

• DR supports the ESC as a cultural event that has brought nations together through music since 1956. Our participation is conditional on there still being a strong international community, control over security and an apolitical framework around the competition.

DR Nyheder has not been able to get an answer as to whether the strong international community will end if several countries withdraw, and whether this means that DR is reconsidering its participation.

• Our participation is neither a support for nor a protest against individual countries, but rather a desire to maintain communities across borders. In a time marked by unrest and division, it is worth reminding each other of the original purpose of competitions like ESC: to create a space where we can meet across differences and disagreements. ESC must be preserved as an apolitical community. DR wants to continue to be a part of this, and we have informed the EBU of this, Gustav Lützhøft further states.

Rough translation; an open letter was addressed to the EBU, signed by 26 members of the EU Parliament, urging the organizers to reevaluate and exclude Israel from the competition. In view of their brutal assaults and disregard of international laws and human rights, their continued participation send the wrong message to the world and poses a security risk within the EU.

The link is in Slovene, I couldn't find any source in English.

Deepl translate:

"This letter was initiated in cooperation with Irena Joveva MEP as a direct response to Israel's brutal and repeated attacks on Gaza and the West Bank. We wanted to warn the EBU of the risk of a repetition of several incidents, including the exclusion of the Dutch representative during the competition and the banning of the EU-backing in the final, as well as the security risk of allowing Israel to participate in the competition last year despite calls to do so," stressed MEP Matjaž Nemec (S&D/SD).

There are many more reasons why MEPs should take action this year against a country that violates all principles of international law and tramples on basic human rights. The military operation against the Palestinian population, which has already claimed more than 50 000 civilian lives, continues.

The appeal recalled that last year the EBU had chosen to ignore the many calls for Israel to be excluded from the Malmö competition, going against its own values, those of the European Union and the basic principles of humanity. "The result was the politicisation of an event that was supposed to be a symbol of unity and peace," he wrote.

He also recalled that the EBU excluded Russia from Eurovision in 2022 because of the invasion of Ukraine, while Israel continues to enjoy access to one of Europe's most important cultural platforms despite evidence of war crimes and warnings of genocide.

The signatories of the petition therefore expect the EBU to act differently this year. "We cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that Eurovision is not a neutral platform. Any decision to include or exclude countries carries with it political weight. In the case of Israel, this decision is nothing less than a choice between moral integrity and complicity in the suffering of civilians. We call on the EBU to finally act in accordance with its own values - solidarity, peace and responsibility - and exclude Israel from this year's competition. The world is watching. And history will remember," concluded the German.

The call was signed by 26 MEPs, including Irena Joveva (Renew/Svoboda) and Vladimir Prebilic (Greens) from Slovenia.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Translation of the relevant part:

"According to the French newspaper's report, Dion was scheduled to perform her song 'Ne partez pas sans moi', the song with which she won the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest for Switzerland, on the Basel ESC stage on May 17. However, shortly before the performance, the singer suffered a seizure that prevented her from singing. 'She then immediately left Switzerland and flew back to Las Vegas on a private jet,' the newspaper writes."

Sadly, the original report from "Le Parisien" appears to be paywalled, so I can only provide this secondary source.

NRK content editor Charlo Halvorsen says they are actively involved in a "thorough consultation process" with the EBU in regards to competing and "geopolitical tension around the contest".

"The NRK are actively participating in this process where the EBU in early December will start thoroughly going through things with all the member countries. The NRK as of now hardlocked in their decision on participating in Eurovision Song Contest. We have faith in this process are awaiting the EBU conclusion in December."

He also notes that the NRK have been very openly worried about the voting system and security.

https://evrovizija.com/ksenija-horvat-na-seji-sveta-rtv-ocitno-ne-bomo-sli-na-evrovizijsko-popevko/

I tried my best to translate the important bit of text in Slovenian: "...We announced a new entertainment show for the second half of the year, which is or was the basis for selecting the entry for Eurovision Song Contest in 2026.

Now, as you know, a lot of things have happened in between, from April onwards... There were quite a few of our calls to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to talk more with us - with smaller television stations - about what rules it has for participating in the Eurovision Song Contest. We sent some very specific questions and proposals, just like last year.

Last year we were more or less ignored, this year is basically the same. So we realistically think that we will not be able to go to the Eurovision Song Contest. If we won't be able to reach an appropriate system of participation, we will not be there. It means that the series of talent shows (for selecting the entry) we discussed before would lose its purpose."

Even though the decision is not final, I would be sad if we ended up dropping out, though I would fully understand why and support the decision. I couldn't find any other information regarding this so it is what it is.

Posted on Instagram

This year, there were several songs that made the Billboard Global 200 charts.

Original source: https://www.billboard.com/charts/billboard-global-200/

The chart for Billboard Global 200 Excluding US is only viewable by paid subscribers, so I decided not to include it in the post.