Sánchez demands Israel's exclusion: ESC becomes a political battlefield!
Sánchez demands Israel's exclusion: ESC becomes a political battlefield!
Österreich - On May 21, 2025, Spain Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez made a controversial demand to the European Radio Union (EBU): Israel's exclusion from the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) 2025. This decision is a direct response to the ongoing military operations in Israel in the Gaza Strip, which took place in parallel to the ESC final. Sánchez criticized the double standards that ruled and described the participation of Israel as a "scandal" compared to the exclusion of Russia due to the Ukraine War. He emphasized that the cultural stage of the ESC should not tolerate such inequalities and asked for a review of the votes. Vol.at ESC is increasingly shaped by political issues and the perspective of some participants influences the competition.
In the middle of these political tensions, the Israeli singer Yuval Raphael took part in the ESC, who is a survivor of the Hamas massacre of October 7, 2023. Raphael performed with the song "New Day Will Rise" and reached the 15th place in the jury ranking, but received 297 points from the audience, which earned her the highest public rating. Overall, Israel took second place behind Austria. The high number of points in the public voting has nevertheless raised questions, in particular on the part of the Belgian station VRT, which expressed doubts about the integrity of the voting system and thus questioned his future participation. Despite the allegations that came from Spain and Belgium, EBU rejected the allegations of manipulation and defended the televoting as the "most progressive in the world". Welt.depolitical dimensions of the esc
The discussion about the participation of Israel and the demands for exclusion thrown the long -standing area of tension between music and politics again in the Eurovision Song Contest. Despite the claim to be apolitical, the ESC is increasingly seen as a platform for social and political statements. The EBU is faced with a variety of complaints and plans to have talks with the television channels involved. The application of Spain to check the televoting is supported by several countries that believe that military conflicts may have influenced the vote.
In the past, the ESC was used as a forum for various political messages, such as the Drag Queen Conchita Wurst, which in 2014 moved many people in 2014. The later successes such as that of the Ukrainian group Kalush Orchestra, which won the competition in 2022, also show the strong political commitment of the ESC and its importance as a mood barometer for Europe. These developments make it clear that the competition is no longer just for entertainment, but also for visibility and attitude, especially with regard to identity policy questions. Tagesschau.de
While the European radio union is still responding to the demands and questions regarding the voting system, it remains to be seen how this debate about the ESC 2025 will develop. The combination of cultural performance and political commitment makes the competition a special event that goes far beyond music.
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