I’m a Eurovision superfan, but this year’s contest brings only sadness. I won’t be tuning in |
For the past two years, amid intensifying controversy over Israel’s participation in Eurovision, I and most other Eurovision superfans have stuck by the contest, despite clear misgivings.
This week, however, as the usual collection of power ballads and jokey songs compete in Vienna, we are not bonding over a common joy, but rather over our shared sense of sadness about the politicisation of the contest. This sadness pales in comparison to the trauma and grief experienced by the people affected by the wars fuelling this politicisation, but it is there nonetheless.
Five countries – Spain, Ireland, Slovenia, Iceland and the Netherlands – have pulled out of Eurovision this year. Their absence is the result of a crisis that has been disastrously mismanaged by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the association of public broadcasters in Europe plus the Middle East and North Africa, that organises the contest.
Eurovision has always had a certain political subtext – that has been part of its appeal. But the EBU crossed a Rubicon when it kicked Russia out in 2022 because of its invasion of Ukraine, which went on to win that year thanks to a public vote reflecting overwhelming political support across Europe.
Once opened, that Pandora’s box has been very hard to close, as the Israel controversy has shown. The EBU has been flailing around in this new geopolitical era, and as a result, Eurovision’s future is under threat.
Like many fans, including some in Israel, I thought the........