I have a confession to make: I love the Eurovision Song Contest. The combination of cheese, pyrotechnics and sexual innuendo is next level.
It’s highly silly — but also highly political. Austria boycotted in 1969 because Spain, which was then under a dictatorship, was hosting it. Azerbaijan was accused of buying votes in 2013. Russia was banned after its invasion of Ukraine in 2022; that same year, Ukraine won.
In recent years, Israel’s war in Gaza has been upending the contest. Five countries are boycotting this year because Israel is participating. Their main reason is the war. But some are also angry about an Israeli campaign to influence the results of the contest, which my colleagues Alex Marshall, our European culture writer, and Mara Hvistendahl, an investigative reporter, wrote about this week. I’m talking to them today.
Fire, glitter and boycotts
Alex, you’re back. Last week, we talked about the Venice Biennale and how it’s been overshadowed by politics. This week, I’m talking to you and Mara about Eurovision. The final is tomorrow. But this year’s contest has also been overshadowed by politics. What’s going on?
Well, these days you can’t host a major cultural event in Europe without the Gaza war overshadowing it. But part of this is also specific to Eurovision.
In 2024, they held the first Eurovision since the Oct. 7 attack. The war in Gaza was raging and Israel’s presence caused this furor. There were protests. Groups were calling for Israel to be kicked out. People in the crowd were booing the singer — it was a big mess.
But then you get this unexpected result. Israel’s singer comes in fifth and almost wins the popular vote, which involves audiences calling in to cast their votes. And she wins in countries where the public is very critical of the Israeli government. Then it happens again in 2025. And now people start asking questions.
And Mara, you guys start investigating this. What did you find?
An ad campaign, basically. An aggressive online ad campaign in multiple languages, funded by the Israeli foreign ministry and the prime minister’s office, which together put at least $1 million into the campaign. It encouraged people to vote as many times as possible for Israel’s entry, which, at the time, was 20 times. If enough people do that, it can really affect the outcome.
So countries who were already angry about the war in Gaza get really mad about this, too, and threaten to boycott unless Israel is banned. Then, another group of countries sides with Israel, and say that if Israel is banned, they’ll pull out. And the only way Eurovision avoids total implosion is to push through a set of rule changes last minute to make it harder to influence the outcome of the contest.
Viewers can only vote 10 times now, for example. But for some countries, this didn’t go far enough, and they’re still boycotting.
Did Israel break any rules?
Technically not. I mean, the logic of the industry — and this is something that people involved with Israel’s acts have said in its defense — is that you need to promote your artists, right? And the Nordic countries, which are Eurovision powerhouses, sometimes have big record companies promoting their entries. Is there a difference between that and the Israeli government promoting its artists?
And Malta has ads this year pushing people to vote for the Maltese artist. But we don’t know who is paying for those, and it’s worth noting that they don’t say, “vote 10 times.” They’re also not being circulated by government officials. And that’s the part where people feel Israel went against, if not the rules, the spirit of the competition.
Alex, why on earth does Israel care so much about the Eurovision Song Contest?
Well, Israel is really good at Eurovision. It has songwriters who know how to write that sort of power ballad or that high-energy, slightly quirky dance song that’s so appealing to Eurovision viewers, which is why it’s won four times.
This allows it to say to Europe: “You think your citizens hate us? Look, we almost won Eurovision.” And it can say to a domestic audience: “You’re being paranoid that Europe hates you. Look — everyone loves you!” Israel doesn’t really have another forum for this. It’s not good at football. Some recent acclaimed Israeli movies are by quite pro-Palestinian directors, so the government doesn’t want to promote those. So this is what it has.
OK, leaving the politics aside for a moment, what are the songs we should be looking out for on Saturday?
Finland is the favorite. It’s got a violinist. Eurovision fans love a violin and she’s actually playing live. It’s a banging tune, incredibly well-staged — fire going off everywhere. And the violinist is duetting with a hot Finnish guy. What’s not to like?
Another entry to watch is Greece. It’s probably slightly too camp to win, but it involves a man dressed as a cat, singing a song about how he used to be a street busker. Lithuania’s entry paints himself entirely in silver, and sings a stirring ballad that turns into a 1980s club banger. Romania has a song called “Choke me,” which has women’s rights groups up in arms. Let me also just throw in Italy, which has entered a 1970s disco throwback. So old school, but so amazing.
I love it!
I also love it. Even with all the politics hanging over it, it’s still my happy place.
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BEFORE YOU GO …
I’ve been obsessed with Eurovision ever since I shared a flat with two Swedes at university. What other big international competition celebrates drag artists wrapped in tinfoil performing rhythmic spanking while counting in German? (Ukraine, 2007) Or men in zombie suits blasting out heavy metal? (Finland, 2006)
We’d host watch parties for a very international group of friends, and it was a bit like a World Cup watch party — except Germany always comes last, and Sweden is often a favorite.
For me the magic of Eurovision is that despite the politics of the day — which do interfere every year, as my colleagues explain above — in the end, it does bring people together.
As Conchita Wurst, a bearded diva who won the contest for Austria in 2014, put it in perfect Eurovision-ese: “This night is dedicated to everyone who believes in a future of peace and freedom. You know who you are. We are unity, and we are unstoppable.”
I’ll leave you with Conchita’s “Rise Like a Phoenix,” one of my all-time Eurovision faves, and “Eurovision Song Contest,” the movie with Will Ferrell. Americans are notorious for not getting Eurovision, but this clip seems pretty spot on to me.
Have a great Eurovision weekend! — Katrin
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