Eurovision wants to tighten its rules after a very disrupted 2024 edition

Boos as Israeli contestant Eden Golan sang on stage, anti-Israel protests in the contest’s host city of Malmö, a contestant being kicked out due to an altercation…

L’Eurovision 2024, which saw Swiss singer Nemo take first place and Frenchman Slimane come fourth, gave rise to several controversies that provoked reactions of spite. From the host of the competition on French television Stéphane Bern to the last French winner, Marie Myriam.

The Eurovision organisers have been thinking about improvements to be made, particularly concerning the apolitical nature of the event, which is the guarantee of its sustainability. As relayed by the American specialist media Variety the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the event’s coordinator, wants to strengthen its rules in the future.

“We need to review the rules”

“We are proposing an apolitical event. But the event has grown to such an extent that it is clear that geopolitical tensions can have an impact (…) As a public service media, it is very important that people can express their opinions and their points of view, but the Eurovision Song Contest is apolitical and must remain so.”explains EBU Deputy Director General Jean Philip De Tender in Variety.

This former boss of Flemish channels adds: “We need to review the rules and find new ways to mitigate the impact of these external events.” Last May, thousands of people in Malmö, including environmental activist Greta Thunberg, demonstrated against Israel’s participation in the international song contest because of the war in Gaza.

Better support for artists

“We have a duty of care towards artists, but artists must also understand that if they participate in the Eurovision Song Contest, there are rules to follow.”continues Jean Philip De Tender. During the last edition, the Dutch candidate, Joost Klein, had been excluded from the competition two days before the final after an altercation that occurred backstage. A sanction that the Dutch television broadcaster had considered disproportionate.

Read alsoEurovision 2024: Dutch organisers reveal details of incident that led to Joost Klein’s exclusion

The EBU also intends to provide better support to artists, who sometimes find themselves at the forefront of a highly exposed stage, even though they are not entirely used to it. “What we learned is that we need to better prepare all artists”assures the deputy general director of the organization. Without knowing yet what form this support will take during the next edition of Eurovision, in May 2025, in Switzerland. An edition that Santa should also watch closely: the new voice of French song would not hate to participate one day.