The 95th General Assembly of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), organizer of the Eurovision Song Contest, will begin on Thursday, December 4, in Geneva (Switzerland). This is one of the most decisive matches in its history, as it may end the absence of Spain, one of the members of the so-called Big Five, in the next edition.
If the two-day meeting, Thursday and Friday, does not end with Israel being expelled from the competition, Spain will withdraw from the competition. This was confirmed by Jose Pablo Lopez last week.
The problem is that, as the European Broadcasting Union explained to El Pais last Tuesday, one of Eurovision’s plans in this Assembly is not to submit to a direct vote on expelling Israel from the competition over its attacks in Gaza, which an independent panel appointed by the United Nations has described as a genocide in which more than 70,000 Palestinians have died so far.
What will be resolved, the organization determines, is whether members consider the new package of measures announced on November 21 sufficient to address concerns expressed by countries such as Ireland, Slovenia and the Netherlands, which have confirmed with Spain that they will withdraw from the competition if Israel remains in it, “without having to vote on Israel’s participation,” a spokesman for the European Broadcasting Union, an organization to which 113 radio and television stations from 56 countries belong, told this newspaper. He commented: “We very much hope that the package of measures will reassure you that we have taken consistent steps to protect the neutrality and impartiality of the festival in the future.” Therefore, Israel will only be voted out if they consider the new measures insufficient.
Given the lower likelihood of Israel being expelled, there are also a group of countries that have announced that they will be the ones to stop participating in Eurovision. It is made up of Switzerland, Austria and Germany (another member of the Big Five, which contribute the most money to the EBU budget and thus to the celebration of the festival). In addition, Austria is hosting the 2026 edition of the festival. The country’s chancellor, Christian Stocker, has been advocating for months that Vienna would not organize the event if Israel was expelled, which would lead to a huge crisis for the EBU, much bigger than if Spain and other broadcasters had not participated next year.
France, Denmark and Serbia are some of the countries that have announced their presence no matter what. While another group, consisting of Portugal, Iceland, Norway and others, is waiting for the end of this crucial gathering to make a decision. The rift between EBU members is global, regardless of what happens between November 4th and 5th.
In addition to the different standards with which the European Broadcasting Union treated Israel in dealing with Russia, which was expelled from the Eurovision contest after it began its attacks on Ukraine, countries such as Spain have expressed concern about the transparency of television broadcasting in recent years. In fact, in May this year, RTVE requested an audit from the European Broadcasting Union in light of the strong pro-Israel vote mobilization campaigns launched on social media, which led to the country being on the verge of winning the contest (and thus becoming its host) in the last two editions.
Among the new measures announced, which are expected to be voted on on Thursday, are proposed changes to voting instructions that discourage “disproportionate promotional campaigns… in particular when carried out or supported by third parties, including governments or government agencies,” the text released by the EBU noted. “Broadcasters and artists in the competition cannot actively participate in, facilitate or contribute to third-party promotions that could influence the outcome of the vote, and as set out in the updated Code of Conduct, any attempt to inappropriately influence the results will result in sanctions,” the Eurovision organizer warns.
The maximum number of votes per payment method (whether online, SMS or phone call) will be reduced from 20 to 10 entries, making it more difficult for organized campaigns to influence the TV outcome.
Another decision proposed by the EBU is to restore the professional jury vote in the semi-finals. Since the 2022 edition, it has only participated in the final, so the countries that qualified for it were strictly in the hands of the public. The European organization comments: “This change seeks to encourage optimal musical balance and increase diversity in the songs qualifying for the finals, ensuring that high-quality works of broad artistic merit are recognized alongside those that are highly popular.” The number of jurors will increase from five to seven, and the range of professional profiles from which they can be selected will be expanded, including journalists, music critics, music teachers, creative professionals such as choreographers and theater directors, and leading figures in the music industry. To attract a younger audience, the judging panel in each country will include at least two members between the ages of 18 and 25.
Just a week ago, the head of RTVE, José Pablo López, ratified in the Cortes the institution’s veto against Israel in the Eurovision contest announced last September before the start of the Gaza ceasefire. He said in his appearance: “We adhere to the same position that was unsustainable a few months ago for two main reasons. First, because of the genocide committed in Gaza. I still believe, as head of the institution, that the Eurovision Song Contest is a competition, but human rights is not a competition. It seems to me that this is something we must take into account. But I want to put another issue on the table: Israel’s systematic non-compliance with the rules of the competition itself.”