Eurovision

The question is not if we are going to miss out on seeing Eurovision, but where we are going to see Eurovision

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RTVE had spent weeks threatening to do it if Israel continued among the countries participating in Eurovisionand has finally carried it out, breaking a streak of 65 uninterrupted participations since 1961. However, this goes beyond a mere refusal to continue broadcasting the final: there are many interests behind this decision and they will be unleashed from now on. The most obvious: who broadcasts Eurovision now? Spain breaks the deck. RTVE leaves Eurovision 2026 given the refusal of the EBU (European Broadcasting Union, organizer of the event), to veto Israel, with 738 votes in favor compared to 264 against and 120 abstentions. The vote did not actually address the expulsion of Israel, but rather the approval of new measures on transparency in televoting that, in practice, allowed the country to continue. Spain thus joins the pressure front in which the Netherlands (AVROTROS), Ireland (RTÉ) and Slovenia are also active, and the measure is total: there will be no candidate in Vienna and no live signal of the final One of five. Spain thus becomes the only member of the Big Five (a group formed by the largest financiers of the event along with France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom) to abandon ship. The impact in figures of this decision is direct: each country of the Big Five (which enjoy automatic access to the final without going through the semi-finals) contributes approximately 350,000 euros annually to the festival, a sum that the EBU will lose from the Spanish coffers and which is much higher than the 30,000-50,000 euros paid by the smaller nations. Furthermore, it happens at a delicate time: Moldova had previously justified withdrawing by citing “unsustainable costs.” On the other hand, Germany threatened to leave if Israel was expelled, evidencing the internal fracture. Spain thus becomes the first member of the Big Five to withdraw for political reasons, establishing a precedent that could encourage other countries to follow in its footsteps. Together, these five states provide the broadcast with some thirty million viewers. That is to say, as the press has commented, it is an unprecedented decision that turns this into “the biggest boycott in the history of the festival” Who broadcasts now? RTVE’s renunciation of broadcasting rights raises an unprecedented question: can other Spanish television stations broadcast the contest? We must take into account decades of institutional blockages by RTVE. FORTA (a federation that brings together twelve regional television stations) has been trying to join the EBU for thirty years without success. “RTVE’s authorization is a necessary condition, and it repeatedly denies our entry,” declared its general secretary in 2020. Even so, the EBU statutes allow multiple members per country, as is the case with private channels that gained access (SER and COPE on radio). In 2014, when Spain was absent from Junior Eurovision, the European organization contemplated Atresmedia or Mediaset assuming participation, but the EBU Steering Group rejected the proposal. Now, the EBU technically could sell the emission rights to other Spanish channels, although it would require, again, the approval of RTVE. There is a precedent for all this hustle and bustle in Germany: the ARD that represents the country is, precisely, a consortium of regional television stations, similar to the FORTA model. Boycott, something remains. Boycotts are not new to Eurovision, although we have never witnessed one of this magnitude. In 2009, Georgia left after refuse to modify his song ‘We Don’t Wanna Put In‘, considered critical of Putin. In 2017, Russia was unable to participate in kyiv after sending Julia Samoylova, banned for performing in Crimea. The closest precedent was in 2022, with the Russian expulsion for invading Ukraine. Arab states historically avoid the contest due to the Israeli presence: Morocco only participated in 1980, when Israel did not attend. Türkiye left in 2013 alleging unfair behavior by the Big Five. International reactions. Israeli President Isaac Herzog celebrated the decision that Israel remained in Eurovision as a sign of “solidarity” between nations, while the Foreign Minister he wished for “a fall from grace” of all those who have participated in the boycott. An opinion against the boycott that has found echo in countries like Austria: Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger, for example, insisted in that the contest “is not an instrument for sanctions.” In Xataka | After the Eurovision controversy, thousands of people asked themselves an old question: what is Israel doing in a “European” contest?

withdraw from Eurovision Festival

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The presence of representations of the State of Israel in public life is increasingly discussed and conflicting. After the Massive protest in Madrid During the end of the cycling return to Spain last Sunday (as a culmination of a long series of protests throughout the state), it is now the turn of Eurovision: RTVE has officially decided that Spain will retire from Eurovision 2026 If the European Broadcasting Union (UER) does not vein Israel’s participation. A decision that is a political statement, but above all, a reflection of an increasingly clamorous state of opinion. What happened. The decision of the Board of Directors of RTVE was approved with 10 votes in favor, 4 against and 1 abstention. The proposal was from the president of RTVE, José Pablo López, and is an unpublished political measure. The motivation, according to RTVE, is the Israeli offensive in Gaza and the context of serious human rights violations that many sectors of the government consider that Israel uses for propaganda, which Eurovision as a contest should avoid. The fifths. Spain thus becomes the fifth country, and the First of the so -called “Big Five” (The five main financiers of the festival: Germany, Spain, France, Italy and the United Kingdom) that takes this step. Other European public televisions such as Ireland, Netherlands, Slovenia and Iceland have already announced similar movements. RTVE thus breaks the historical presence of Spain in Eurovision, which had been participating uninterruptedly since 1961. And what remains. Some analysts talk about this decision from Spain and their persistent with the Big Five could trigger a domino effect, and generate similar positions in Belgium, Denmark, Iceland, Finland and Norway. In others, such as France, there is already parliamentary pressure to take this step (and has a Eurovisive boycott history to Israel). If the movement continued advancing, there would be a unique situation: Eurovision would be fragmented in geopolitical blocks. There are those who feel a precedent of this situation in the expulsion from Russia of the contest after the invasion of Ukraine, but it is not exactly the same: the decision to resign if Israel participates is not a punishment, a sanction, as was the case with Russia, but rather a declaration of principles and rejection of the policies of a country. The tension is chewed. This movement is not new or spontaneous: RTVE, Ireland, Slovenia and Iceland carried from spring asking that Eurovision made it clear whether Israel participated or not. And in July, the partners met in London and it was decided that this year the deadline would be extended in mid -December for countries to definitely decide who presented themselves. The Uuer has clarified that there will be no sanctions for those who retire, but the situation is tense: Yesterday the news jumped in Israeli media that Eurovision recommended the country to retire or compete under neutral flag. And yesterday, Eurovision He denied that proposal. The reasons. And why all this issue raises so many blisters? The money, of course. As we talk about the return, the economic trail points to endless interest that are those that, ultimately, keep organizations such as the UER. He Televoto promoted by Israel It is economically very juicy, because of how active and committed its voters, although there has been Handling suspicionssince the system allows up to 20 votes for each telephone line. And in addition, the main sponsor of the festival is the brand of cosmetics of Israeli roots (although founded in Canada) Moroccanoil. Currently, the situation is of tense calm: Germany, Italy, Austria, Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Greece and Switzerland support Israel’s presence, but there are other countries, such as Sweden, Denmark and Poland that already launched Navigators notices About the decision they will have to make in December. Eurovision is far from danger, but the concord among its members seems broken definitively. Header | RTVE In Xataka | Israel is a hot potato for Eurovision: its participation is increasingly problematic and there is no good solution

Russia has recovered a Soviet festival as a cultural and political counterweight of Eurovision. It will not be easy

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You may like more or less, but there is an indisputable truth about Eurovision: it is not just a music festival. Beyond choreographies, lights, Brillibrilli And the catchy melodies, the appointment organized by the UUr is loaded with geopolitics. Russia knows. Hence, you have decided to start Your own alternative to the European Festival, which was expelled by the invasion of Ukraine: Interview. Your name may find you strange, but connect with an appointment of the Soviet era. The big question, now that the festival has started Your countdownit is whether Interview will become a real alternative to Eurovision. It will not be easy. What happened? That Russia is promoting its own Eurovision. Or rather, he wants to recover an old festival that hurts its roots in the time of the USSR, back in the 60s and 70s, when it served as showcase and agglutinator of the nations of the socialist block. The appointment is called Interview And it has been cooking over the last months: In February Vladimir Putin gave order to start it, In June The first participants were announced and (except for unforeseen changes) the appointment will be held in two weeks, Saturday 20in Moscow. Do we know what it will be like? More or less. The web Interview is grim Live Arena From the Russian capital, it will be issued through the official channel Piervy Kanal and will include about twenty artists. In June, at the beginning The countdown From the appointment, the organization talked about the participation of 20 countries, especially members of the geopolitical block BRICS and CEIalthough the list includes some surprise. Specifically those responsible for the festival They announced As participants to Azerbaijan, Belarus, Venezuela, Vietnam, Egypt, India, Kazakstán, Qatar, China, Colombia, Cuba, Kyrgyzstan, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, United States, Tayikistan, Uzbekistan, South Africa and Russia itself. Only only the representatives of 17 candidates are announced on the interview website, including the great surprise: the US flag bearer artist, Brandon Howard. Why is it interesting? Input because it shows the determination of Vladimir Putin to recover interview, An old appointment Soviet whose history can go back to the 60s and 70s and that had Two great stages: between 1965 and 1968, when it was developed in Czechoslovakia; and between 1977 and 1980, when Sopot, Poland, replacing the City International Festival. In the early 80s the authorities decided to cancel it after the emergence of the movement Solidarność and his destiny was definitely marked with the fall of the USSR. In 2008 He had a fleeting resurgence and in 2014 Putin He showed his interest In recovering the cut, but the authentic support seems to have now received it, in 2025, Three years later that the Uuer decided to expel Russia from the Eurovision Festival for the invasion of Ukraine. What does Putin intend? Interview resurgence is not a simple matter of nostalgia or historical curiosity. In the festival there is a clear component of geopolitics and culture, just like there is in Eurovision. Good test is the list of countries with confirmed representatives or Howard’s presence. The context is not accidental either: the relaunch of interview comes three years after the Uuer showed the exit door to Russia, after Putin Try to recover Friendship games as an alternative to the Olympic Games (of which It was also excluded for his role in Ukraine) and in a moment of international claim in which the Russian leader has been shown with such relevant leaders Like Xi Jingping, Narendra Modi or even Donald Trump. Is it only geopolitics? No. There is also a cultural factor that Kremlin wanted to make clear from the beginning. Months ago, after the return of Interview, the Russian senator Liliya Gamerova was announced He claimed that the festival “will promote real music” and turn its back on “false values ​​outside any normal person” in an evening reference to Eurovision. In 2014, Putin’s vindication of Interview coincided with the victory at the European Festival of Conchita Wurst And last year the winner was the non -binary artist Nemo Mettler. In a Interesting analysis Posted today in The Guardian Elise Morton recalls that throughout the last decades Eurovision has been associated with the causes LGBTQ+, a link that can be traced at least 1997, with the participation of PALL ÓSKARthe first openly gay contestant of the festival. 11 years ago the victory of the Drag Queen Wurst coincided with Putin’s attempt to promote “traditional values” in Russia, which included limiting LGBTQ+contents. What will it be for? With interview, The expert reflects In Visual Cultura Bárbara Barreiro, the objective of the Kremlin is clear: to create a “cultural counterweight” to Eurovision, “to challenge Western cultural dominance” at a time when the UER Festival has become a “representative of liberal values.” Not just that. As Morton remembers, it has also served as a showcase so that countries that were under Soviet domain exhibit their cultural independence. Will it have it easy? It does not seem. Eurovision’s popularity lies in its effectiveness as an audiovisual show, something to which interview should aspire. And no matter how much the Russian festival presumably an artist poster, the truth is that it starts with some disadvantages. To begin its ignorance and the low impact that seems to be having on social networks. On Instagram the event has just over 4,000 followers. It is a figure understandable by the difficulties in accessing the platform from Russia, but its mark on the Russian network Vkontakte And Telegram is not much better, with just dozens of followers. Is it the only handicap? Another logistics challenge is the time spindle. Although in Eurovision Australia participatesmost participating countries (whether or not in Europe) share a more or less similar schedule. To hit with an hour of maximum audience does not represent a great challenge for its organizers. Nor manage a vote system that makes the audience feel participate. Musicians from countries such as the US, Russia, China or Saudi Arabia … Read more

The Eurovision voting system is broken. And that has led to becoming a propaganda tool

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Eurovision has attracted the eyes of the entire continent this weekend (the audiences in RTVE were stratospheric), although this year a series of lines that place the contest in an awkward position have been crossed. The participation of Israel, controversial from the first moment, and the overturning that the scores gave at the last moment have put on the table the idea of ​​the Use of the system for political propaganda purposes. And the fault is, in part, of the way of scoring. What happened. That a series of events took place that, separately, could not attract attention, but that added to an unusual edition, with cross accusations and, more than ever, a festival in which music has been relegated to an absolute background. Israel starts lazy → Israel received few points from the jurors of the countries. Only Azerbaijan gave him 12 points, which left him in the tail of the scores, with just 60. Robo in the scores → but with the points of the televoto there was a dramatic turn: he received 297 points of the public, with 12 points in 13 countries, including Spain. Many others gave him the 10 points of the second position. Israel led the classification until the last moment, when Austria received the points of the Televoto and surpassed it for just a dozen advantage. How to vote. The voting system goes beyond a mere “first the jury, then the public”, and carries with him A account of a certain complexity: The European Radiodifusion Union computes the votes of its spectators, collected by call, text message or internet. Each person can vote up to 20 times, but not by their own country. The spectators of non -participating countries (“Rest of the World”) group their votes and count as if they were one more country (which also allows to vote to countries like Israel). Next, a list of the most voted options in each country is prepared and the same points as the jury: 12, 10, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 points, regardless of the number of people you have voted are awarded to the first 10. That is, it is not about how many total votes are those who remain above but simply that they are The most voted In each country. These points of the public are worth half of the total, which enables radical modifications in the jury’s decision, as has happened this year. Made the law, made the “trap”. That system explains that it is relatively simple to mobilize certain political positions to vote in one direction or another. David Saranga, acting director of the Public Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel, admitted to the Ynet portal, as stressed See youthat his body intervened in previous years to promote the vote to Israel, achieving 12 points by the public. Influential profiles on social networksmatches of right and means opposed to government They served as a speaker for a positioning related to Israel that resulted in votes. Not so much televoto. The voting system It has evolved With the passage of time. Until 1997, the winner decided on national jurors, without direct participation of the public. Between 1997 and 2008, the televoto by telephone and SMS was the main system and the jury was only used as support. Since 2009, the current mixed system was established: 50% of the result comes from the televoto and 50% the professional jury. The intention was to avoid precisely situations such as those that have been seen in this edition, although they have led to mass votes in the opposite direction, as happened with the Victory of Ukraine in 2023. Spain protests. This propaganda work that, despite the statements of Saranga, has been camouflaged as spontaneous movements by high Israeli charges as Israel Minister of the Diaspora, Amichai Chikliit fits perfectly to Eurovision rules. That has not prevented RTVE from asked the European broadcasting union open a debate about “the appropriate” of the Televoto and if it is being manipulated by political interests. In addition, as announced by the public channel itself in its news, it will request an audit that specify and break down the voting of each country. TVE against Eurovision. This audit, of being held, will be the last confrontation of the public channel and the European broadcasting Union. Before that, last Thursday, in the presentation of the second semifinal, The presenters Julia Varela and Tony Aguilar said that “this year RTVE has asked Eurovision for a debate on Israel’s participation in the festival. The victims of Israeli attacks in Gaza already exceed 50,000, and among them, more than 15,000 boys and girls, according to the United Nations Organization.” Those words earned a warning to RTVE, who responded with a poster before issuing the contest positioning in favor of Palestine. Melody’s failure. It has been suggested that the low classification of Spanish representation could have to do with this conflict between RTVE and Eurovision. And that his position 24 is not something that we are precisely unusual in Spain: in the last twenty years, We have remained in positions below 15 times 16 times. This year the perspectives were better: the forecasts put it among the first 15. Not having an apparent explanation for the debacle, conspiracy theories were launched blaming these bad results to the pro-palestine position of the government and RTVE. It was then when He put on the table The idea of ​​manipulation in voting. Header | RTVE In Xataka | Film rooms are becoming “show rooms” of all kinds. The best example: Eurovision

Putin has ordered to launch a Russian version of Eurovision. The last time the nation voted on lighting the light of the living room

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In geopolitics, very few things are left to chance, much less if what it is about is to extol the national values. Let’s put as an example Europe and “your” Eurovisionthat strange mixture of cultural exaltation of the peoples of the continent through music, a formula Martian that continues to awaken passions and quite the opposite for decades. In fact, even Russia has signed up for the formula. It is called interview, and in reality its history is older. Relive Russian music. As we said, Vladimir Putin has ordered the return of the Musical Interview contestthe ancient Soviet response to Eurovision, After the exclusion of the nation of the European contest in 2022 Due to the invasion of Ukraine. The event, which will apparently will be held in Moscow this fall, seeks to promote cultural and humanitarian cooperation among the allied countries of Russia, with the participation of nations such as Brazil, China, India and Cuba. The origin of interview. Released in 1977 in the middle of the Cold War, Interview It developed as A platform to promote cultural unity within the communist bloc and compete with the popularity that Eurovision already had then. It was also sought to show aval after Stalin’s death. However, if the event is remembered for something, it was for an unusual event. A peculiar vote. The lack of phones in Soviet homes forced The implementation of an unprecedented voting method: The spectators had to light the light of their house if they liked a song, or remain dark if not, allowing the electric company to register the consumption peaks and determine the winner. The success of the program resulted in surreal situations, with much of the nation in the dark at times, or totally illuminated. During its four editions, The contest managed to attract non -European countries like Cuba and Mongolia (or Finland, who was the only country he can say with “pride” that he has participated in the fever Kitsch In both blocks), standing out as a propaganda event that sought to project an image of diversity within the socialist block. End to the first stage of interview. The sunset came as the Soviet Union began to weaken at the beginning of the 80s. The contest was canceled in 1981 And since 1984 it would be Polish television TVP that resumed the organization of the festival With the old name of Sopot. In 2009, Putin proposed to restart interviewthis time between Russia, China and the countries of Central Asia, mostly members of the Shanghai cooperation organization, although it did not crystallize. Eurovision and rupture with Russia. From his first participation in Eurovision in 1994, Russia became one of the most competitive nations of the contest, although achieving its only victory in 2008 with Dima Bilan. However, Kremlin’s rejection of the evolution of the festival, where messages of diversity and visibility LGBTQ+ have won prominence, led to great tensions. Conchita Wursst’s victory in 2014 marked a breakdown: while Europe celebrated its inclusion message, In Russia the reaction was outragedwith Putin and his allies condemning the “moral degeneration” of the contest. As we said, the invasion of Ukraine in 2022 sealed the definitive exclusion of Russia, which has now promoted the search for its own alternative. The “new” interview. The Guardian told this week That unlike the current Eurovision, which celebrates diversity and inclusion, this “remake” interview will adopt a conservative approach. Planning documents have revealed that Artists must respect “traditional spiritual and family values” and avoid any political content or “humiliate the honor and dignity of society.” In fact, Russian officials have affirmed that the contest will serve to promote “real music”, as opposed to what they consider “false” Western influences. International support and doubts. Apparently, Putin has discussed the initiative with Xi Jinping, receiving the support of Chinawhich suggests that the program could become an emblematic event for the geopolitical alliances of Russia. That said, doubts persist about its success, since Moscow has failed in previous initiatives to replace Western events, Like friendship gameswhich sought to rival the Olympic Games. In a world where entertainment is a weapon of mass influence, Putin’s commitment to a festival with its own seal is a declaration of intentions: Russia not only wants to challenge the West in the military and geopolitical field, but also in the cultural. That Eurovision is prepared. Image | Flowcomm, Serge Serebro In Xataka | Film rooms are becoming “show rooms” of all kinds. The best example: Eurovision In Xataka | China is filling with Russia products. The problem is that many of these products come from China itself

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