Eurovision Organisers Respond After Series Of Complaints Are Made By This Year's Acts
Eurovision bosses have spoken out after a number of complaints were made by acts and delegations from this year’s competition.
The annual song contest was largely marred with controversy this year, most notably due to the continued presence of Israel amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
After many fans called for Israel to be removed from the competition, Eurovision organisers made it clear this would not be the case, leading to calls for a boycott of the broadcast including from the Palestine-led BDS (Boycott, Divestments and Sanctions) movement.
Eurovision took place in Malmö, Sweden last week, where it made headlines due to several incidents that took place in the lead-up.
Complaints were made to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) about members of the Israeli delegation’s behaviour towards other countries’ representatives, while The Netherlands was expelled from the contest after an incident involving a member of the production team.
The EBU said in a statement: “We regret that some delegations at the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) in Malmö didn’t respect the spirit of the rules and the competition both onsite and during their broadcasts.We spoke to a number of delegations during the event regarding various issues that were brought to our attention.
“The EBU’s governing bodies will, together with the heads of delegations, review the events surrounding the ESC in Malmö to move forward in a positive way and to ensure the values of the event are respected by everyone.
“Individual cases will be discussed by the event’s governing body, the Eurovision Song Contest Reference Group made up of representatives from participating broadcasters, at its next meeting.”
Since the competition, several acts and delegations have already spoken out against the way Eurovision was run in 2024.
Irish entrant Bambie Thug – who was made by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to remove subtle pro-Palestinian messages from their stage costume during the semi-finals – told reporters after the final: “I just want to say, we are what Eurovision is. The EBU is not what Eurovision is. Fuck the EBU. I don’t even care anymore. Fuck them.”
Lithuanian entrant Silvester Belt also described Saturday’s live final as a “traumatic experience”, having been chosen to follow Israel in the running order.
“Going after that country, with the crowd being so intense, was one of the worst things I had to go through,” he wrote.
“I really did the best that I could in this situation.”
The Portuguese delegation has also filed an official complaint to the EBU after their act Iolanda’s final performance was uploaded to YouTube later than everyone else’s.
Iolanda sported nail art inspired by the traditional Palestinian keffiyeh, with the EBU confirming the delay in uploading her performance was due to its “pro-Palestinian elements”.
The Portuguese singer also wore a dress by the Palestinian brand Trashy Clothing during her final performance.
Meanwhile, even the night’s winner, Swiss representative Nemo, was vocal about the competition after they were crowned this year’s champion (becoming the first non-binary victor in Eurovision’s history).
Having apparently broken the Eurovision trophy during their winning celebration on stage, Nemo told reporters: “The trophy can be fixed – maybe Eurovision needs fixing a little bit too, every now and then.”
Nemo also admitted their Eurovision experience had been “really intense”, and “not just pleasant all the way”, but insisted that “at the same time, there was so much love here as well”.