Back in 2022 the EBU was originally gonna allow Russia to participate on the basis that the Eurovision "Is not a political contest" even though it very much is.
Ukraine initially protested this but they, still, didn't budge.
Only after Finland, Estonia and Iceland threatened to withdraw (I think it was these three) and only then did the EBU decide to suspend Russia on the basis that their broadcaster was spreading misinformation and propaganda regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The official statement given was not that they had an issue with one of the contestants actively invading another, rather that they weren't being honest about it.
It's worth noting that each country has to pay a participation fee based on their population. In other words, a country like Poland is not paying the same amount of money as a country like San Marino. You can therefore see why the EBU did not want to lose Russia. If one country with large population leaves that means the participation cost for the remaining ones will rise. In fact, Russia's expulsion has inadvertently caused Bulgaria's, North Macedonia's and Montenegro's withdrawal as they could no longer afford the participation fee. This year, Romania, a country with a large population but facing financial difficulties is possibly also withdrawing. Their participation is still up in the air, well after the period to announce their participation has ended, and Australia also took quite a well to finalize negotiations for their participation.
Just like they did with Russia, the EBU has already announced that they do not intend to ban Israel and unless no other countries complain about it and threaten to withdraw, like Estonia, Finland and Iceland did before for Russia, they're gonna keep Israel around.
I'm not here to discuss who should be allowed in and who not, because if we start with Israel then we should also take Azerbaijan, Serbia and every single northwestern European country that retains colonies around the world out too, but my point is, if the EBU's official reasoning for expelling Belarus was that they were trying to send a propaganda song and for Russia was that their broadcaster was spreading propaganda, I don't see how Israel's broadcaster isn't doing the exact same thing about the ongoing situation in Palestine.
to get perfectly political, I think that ESC should ban israel as they banned russia. I know that they wont ban it, but they should because allowing a violent country which is committing war crimes but banning the other is just hypochrisy. Ban both or ban no one.
🇪🇪 #Estonia's national broadcaster ERR has issued an update on the submissions for its #Eurovision 2024 selection Eesti Laul. #ESC2024
Estonia’s national broadcaster Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR) has issued an update on the submissions for Eesti Laul, the Estonian national selection.
Submissions open until 23rd October 2023
Karmel Killandi, the editor-in-chief of ERR’s Entertainment programs, has recently revealed that since submissions opened in September, 12 submissions have been made to the competition – six in Estonian and…
In my head, these two are still 10 years old. How is this happening? AND HOW ARE THEY ONLY A YEAR YOUNGER THAN ME???? I feel old and young, it is strange.
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Marcus and Martinus are finally representing Sweden after years of trying, and really, it's well deserved. Good luck hosting boys!
Sweden’s entry for Eurovision 2024 has been chosen! This year, the Norwegian twin duo, Marcus & Martinus will be representing Sweden with their song “Unforgettable”. The first people to go up and congratulate them were the duo Medina who came in 2nd place. There was a lot of tears and strong emotions and the boys made a great performance. Congratulations and a big good luck in Malmö.
I have thought long and hard about whether or not to post about esc this year, especially since it will be held in my home town. I decided to post the winner of melodifestivalen. However, what I will do during esc is still uncertain. The fact that Israel is still allowed in the competition is appalling and I can only hope the EBU will come to their senses and disqualify them for the horrendous war crimes they are committing. Free Palestine 🇵🇸
Verilybitchie made a video about Israel's participation in Eurovision. There's a call to action in the video, there are resources in the pinned comment - a template e-mail for broadcasters translated into 20+ languages, their contact info as well as the sponsors' contact info. Click here to see the resources!
🇭🇷 Today we continue our “That Eurovision Preview” series with #Croatia’s Baby Lasagna. He will be representing his country at #Eurovision with the song “Rim Tim Tagi Dim” #ESC2024
Eurovision in Malmö is now just over a month away. In the lead-up to the start of rehearsals, we will get to know a bit more about this year’s artists, their discography, and their Eurovision 2024 journey so far. Next up, we will preview Croatia’s 2024 representative Baby Lasagna.
Baby Lasagna’s Eurovision Journey So Far…
Baby Lasagna was selected to represent Croatia with “Rim Tim Tagi Dim”…