For all its silliness and ephemerality, the Eurovision Song Contest remains one of the few truly pan-European mass-cultural events. So it is not an inconsequential matter when countries are either barred from the contest or withdraw from it for political reasons.
While viewers may think of it as a competition between nations, the contest is actually between the respective national broadcasters. It is hardly a coincidence, though, that the four broadcasters that confirmed this week that they would not be participating in next year’s event are all from countries whose governments have been most critical of Israel’s actions in Gaza.
Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain will not be represented in Vienna next May, a decision that had been expected once Israel was cleared to compete by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). RTÉ said it would be “unconscionable” for Ireland to take part.
It is unclear what would need to happen in Gaza for RTÉ to return. The ceasefire that came into effect in October has not ended the killing of civilians or the ongoing humanitarian crisis. It is therefore possible that Ireland, which has never failed to send a representative since Butch Moore in 1965, may be absent for some time.
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The EBU has announced stricter rules on voting and promotion, seen as a response to alleged vote-tampering on behalf of Israel in recent contests, and to Israeli government funding of digital advertising campaigns in support of its entrants. There have also been accusations of intimidating behaviour by Israeli camera crews backstage.
Such controversies only emphasise the tenuousness of claims that cultural or sporting events are “above politics”. The history of Eurovision is littered with national rivalries or tensions affecting the show and, at times, the outcome. Eurovision is now shaped by two wars, with Russia and Belarus, excluded since the invasion of Ukraine, now joined on the outside by the four countries opposed to Israel’s presence. In that respect, at least, the modern contest is an accurate reflection of a troubled and increasingly divided continent.
