Worries About Eurovision's Neutrality

AVROTROS and the NPO have described the Eurovision Song Contest's stance as apolitical as very worrying in the light of Israel's controversial entry this year. The broadcasters said in a joint statement that they "deeply value the apolitical nature of the contest and the tradition of celebrating diversity through music." However, they said that "societal and geopolitical discussions" are more often being played out in the media and that, in some cases, that seemed to be having a "negative impact" on the contest.

They will raise the issue with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which runs Eurovision, along with other participating countries. The Dutch broadcasters ask whether the event can still be considered a truly apolitical cultural platform, especially in light of the political temperature now.

Political Pressure and Voting Glitch
The calls to ban Israel escalated after Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez declared his support for such a ban.

Sánchez compared Israel's involvement to that of Russia, which was barred from Eurovision in 2022 after its invasion of Ukraine.

Speculation intensified when the public televote propelled Israel into the top 10 at the last minute. Israel rose from 14th with 60 points from juries to second place after a whopping 297 public votes, including 12-point scores from 13.