Recommendations of the Editorial team
The Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) is under a new flag regulation this year that causes discussions and attracts criticism from the LGBTQ+community. From now on, artists can only show their national state flag on the inside of the ESC stage. Political flags, including the rainbow or nonbinary flag, are taboo.
The new rule: no stage for political messages
The European Radio Union (EBU), which organizes the ESC, introduced the new flag guidelines after the competition was accompanied by political debates last year in Malmö. The war in the Gaza Strip and Israel’s procedure in particular were heavily discussed. The EBU said that it wanted to ensure with the stricter rules that artists: Inside, avoid political messages on stage.
Specifically, this means that artists are only allowed to appear with their national flag. All other flags- be it rainbow, nonbinary or palestinian flags- are no longer allowed on stage. Artists violate this rule inside, threaten punishments up to disqualification. This form of statement is no longer possible for non-binary artists such as Nemo, who appeared in Switzerland in 2024 in 2024.
“The flag ban is a slap in the face”
For the LGBTQ+community this is of course a stab. Roman Heggli, General Secretary of Pink Cross, a Swiss organization for the rights of queer reacts particularly disappointed. He said via “Spiegel”: “The Eurovision is a celebration of solidarity and tolerance and has a long history of supporting LGBTQ+rights. The flag ban is a slap in the face.”
EBU defended the decision with the words of ESC director Martin Green: “Eurovision does not need a flag to demonstrate and celebrate its connection with the LGBTQ+community. You just have to see the show: see and hear the artists about what they sing about.”
The audience can still show flags
Although the artists may only appear with their national flag in the future, less restrictive rules apply to the audience. The EBU specified that visitors to the ESC in Basel can bring all the flags that are approved according to Swiss law. This means that Palestinian flags are also allowed in the audience. This decision is a reaction to incidents from the previous year when several nonbinary flags of spectators were confiscated on the inside.
Israel’s participation remains controversial
Israel’s participation in the ESC will remain one of the most discussed points this year. In several countries, including Switzerland, Palestinian organizations and human rights groups have spoken out against the participation of the country. In an open letter, more than 70 former ESC participants, including the Portuguese winner of 2017 Salvador Sobral, demanded that Israel are excluded. The participants compare Russia with Israel, the EBU Messe with two levels, since Russia was excluded from the competition from the competition after his invasion, while Israel can continue to participate in the Gaza Strip despite its military campaigns.
Geri Müller, President of the Swiss Palestine Association, expressed his criticism via “Spiegel”: “Russia was excluded from the Eurovision after his invasion in Ukraine, but Israel can continue to participate, even though it is committed in the Gaza strip.” Israel has rejected these allegations since the conflict began. The country will be represented this year by Yuval Raphael-a survivor of the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, in which more than 1200 people were killed.
“Space of joy and escapism”
The EBU maintains that Israel is represented by the public service broadcaster and not by the Israeli government. So that the EBU alone sees no reason to rule out Israel.
Despite all the political discussions and conflicts, ESC director Martin Green emphasizes that the competition should continue to serve as a “space of joy and escapism”. He explained: “I hope that this year the Eurovision will do what it has done in the past 69 years, namely show that music can bring us together. I know that sounds kitschy, but that’s the purpose of competition.”