The ban on LGBTQ+ flags and Israel's presence spark controversy at the Eurovision 2025 final.
A few hours before the final of Eurovision 2025, the city of Basel welcomes all artists who seek to raise the crystal microphone to the highest level. Melody The Spanish representative has risen sharply in the polls. The Spanish representative has experienced a notable rise in the competition's official betting houses. Initially ranked 30th, her position has improved significantly, reaching 14th. The flag veto LGTBIQ+ and the presence of Israel They spark controversy in a final that can be followed this Saturday the 17th on La 1 de Spanish Television starting at 21.00:XNUMX p.m., coinciding with the International Day against LGBTIphobia.
Before the start of the 69th edition of the Song Festival, more of 70 former contestants signed a letter in which they asked for the expulsion from Israel of the contest. Even some public channels such as, for example, RTVE asked the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to reconsider its inclusion. Despite protests from artists and a large crowd of demonstrators in the Swiss city, Yuval Raphael will take the stage at St. Jakobshalle.
The participation of the Israeli representative, who performs a ballad entitled 'New Day Will Rise', has a strong symbolic value if we take into account that she is one of the survivors of the attacks perpetrated by Hamas in october 2023, after which the current Israeli offensive began. During the last official rehearsal before the second semi-final of Eurovision 2025, six people were expelled for "to disturb» with boos and whistles at his performance.
Artists without flags LGTBIQ+
This is not the only controversy that the EBU. In recent days, he has been the subject of all kinds of criticism after imposing more restrictions on the regulations regarding the flags carried by representatives, according to Danish public television. DR.
Although the audience is allowed to carry flags of non-participating countries, including the Palestinian flag, the problem now lies with the representatives. Anyone carrying one flag Anyone who is not from their country may be denied entry, expelled, or have their nationality removed. This isn't all; they may also face sanctions.
With this rule, we will stop seeing participants who are not from Ukraine Carrying the flag of this country in solidarity, as other artists have done in previous editions. They will also not be able to display the flag of the collective LGTBIQ+as he did Marco Mengoni, representative of Italy in Eurovision 2023 o Nemo when he taught the non-binary flagIn the latter case, the Eurovision 2024 winner confessed that he had to sneak the flag onto the stage after the organizers told him it wasn't allowed.
Fines to depoliticize the contest
The Eurovision rules explain that the presentation or lyrics of the songs "They must not go against the reputation of the festival, nor may they contain political slogans or advertising mentions.Failure to comply with this rule may result in a financial penalty. This is what happened to the Icelandic representatives at the 2019 festival, held in Tel-Aviv (Israel)In the green room, while the televoting points were being revealed, they showed the palestinian flagThe organizers sanctioned this country with a fine of 5.000 Euros considering that the competition regulations had been violated.
La EBU may prohibit the display of flags of other countries on the grounds that it is an eventnon-political"and that "all participating broadcasters, including the host broadcaster, shall be responsible for ensuring that all necessary measures are taken within their respective delegations and teams to safeguard the interests and integrity of Eurovision«.
