"The walkouts came after the general assembly of the European Broadcasting Union a group of public broadcasters from 56 countries that runs the glitzy annual event met to discuss concerns about Israel's participation, which some countries oppose over its conduct of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. At the meeting, EBU members voted to adopt tougher contest voting rules in response to allegations that Israel manipulated the vote in favor of their contestants, but took no action to exclude any broadcaster from the competition."
""It's a historic moment for the European Broadcasting Union. This is certainly one of the most serious crises that the organization has ever faced," said Eurovision expert Dean Vuletic. "Next year, we're going to see the biggest political boycott of Eurovision ever." Vuletic, author of "Postwar Europe and the Eurovision Song Contest," predicted "tense" weeks and months ahead as other countries contemplate joining the walkout and protests set to overshadow the contest's 70th anniversary in Vienna next May."
Public broadcasters from Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain and Slovenia withdrew from next year's Eurovision after organizers decided to allow Israel to compete. The departures followed a European Broadcasting Union general assembly where members discussed concerns about Israel's participation amid the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The EBU adopted tougher voting rules in response to allegations of vote manipulation but did not exclude any broadcaster. The contest has seen protests for two years, prompting restrictions on political demonstrations. Observers warn the withdrawals could spark a large political boycott and further protests that may overshadow Eurovision's 70th anniversary in Vienna next May.
Read at www.npr.org
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