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Posted on 05/20/2026 9:51:42 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
VIENNA—On May 9, the day before the Eurovision Song Contest held its opening ceremony, protesters were already in the streets. Israel’s participation, a fact of Eurovision since the country joined in 1973, had become a flash point after the war in Gaza began in 2023. Ahead of this year’s contest, the 70th edition of Eurovision, the controversy reached a fever pitch.
What began as calls from artists and activists for Israel’s exclusion transformed in the months leading up to the contest into an open revolt. Five countries—Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Spain—announced they would not attend. Numerous former contestants boycotted, and the 2024 winner, the Swiss singer Nemo, returned their trophy to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which was rumored to be smashed and wrapped in toilet paper.
If all of this seems melodramatic, that is because the contest’s troubles represent not just a song competition under threat, but a global order teetering on the edge of collapse. Eurovision, long a symbol of the liberal internationalist project, finds itself in danger of being caught up in its demise.
Eurovision is the world’s most-watched non-sports broadcast. Founded by public broadcasters after World War II, the contest aimed to stitch the continent back together under values that its rules now describe as “universality, diversity, equality, and inclusivity”: in other words, the principles that have long defined the rules-based international order. Such high-minded aspirations are achieved, of course, through choreography, pyrotechnics, and an amount of sequins that would make Liberace blush.
The tension between pan-European public square and flashy campfest is core to Eurovision’s identity. The same sparkly song competition that launched ABBA and Céline Dion has also featured a Portuguese protest song against the Estado Novo regime, a Bosnian number about European indifference to genocide...
(Excerpt) Read more at foreignpolicy.com ...
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Israel’s participation has presented the contest with a huge problem. The controversy heightened after Israel came in second in last year’s show in Basel, Switzerland. Had the country won, per the rules, it would have been this year’s host—essentially getting a weeklong advertisement in part funded by the EBU, tying the Eurovision brand to a nation credibly accused of genocide.
As Natalija Gorscak, head of the boycotting Slovenian broadcaster RTV, told me, “Killing 20,000 children in Gaza is the same as killing the children in Ukraine for me. No war should be tolerated.”
There was a banner that reads “NO... FOR GENOCIDE” alongside smaller flags.
A close-up shot of an audience at an evening event shows two women looking upward with emotional expressions. Each woman holds a small flag featuring a blue star of David between two blue stripes.
Europistan wanting to eliminate jews. Who would have guessed?
Headline:
Song Contest Turns Into Virtue Signaling Contest
They have determined to eliminate “the Saturday people”.
We “Sunday people” are not far behind.
I find it hard to believe I t is so watched. I have never watched even a minute of it and don’t know anyone who has
One Word: EURABIA
With all due respect, Isreal is not part of Europe. So why is it included?
Christians should be Saturday people too. The Prince of Darkness deceived followers into Sunday worship to put a secular shield over the eyes of worshippers.
Australia is also part of it and has been for years. They’re a lot further away.
Credibly? Made up, bogus, Global Islam propaganda maybe.
They have done that with the shock value of the winners in recent years who are male but claim he is not male or female, and others pushing womanface minstrels.
I didn’t know that, but I’ll say the same about Australia.
It’s famous because ABBA launched their career from it.
(Matt Amodio voice): What’s a Womanface Minstrel Show?
Israel is part of the Euroleague in basketball, where Maccabi Tel Aviv has won numerous championships in the world’s best basketball league.
RE: With all due respect, Isreal is not part of Europe. So why is it included?
Same question might be asked of Australia.
ok, but wasn’t that in the 70s or 60s?
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