"Israeli officials hyped their country’s 5th place Eurovision finish as proof of quiet global grassroots support for their assault on Gaza. Now, they admit they manipulated the results through an international propaganda blitz"
"Ynet reported Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the government publicity office invested in a targeted campaign to get votes not based on the song itself, but by appealing to pro-Zionist and Islamophobic views"
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) issued a statement to the press on Monday, saying they “regret that some delegations at the #Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) in Malmö didn’t respect the spirit of the rules and the competition both onsite and during their broadcasts.” This release does not appear on the Eurovision or EBU web sites.
“Some delegations.” “Spirit of the rules.” Suuuuuure.
The statement continues: “the EBU’s governing bodies will, together with the heads of delegations, review the events surrounding the ESC in Malmö to move forward in a positive way and to ensure the values of the event are respected by everyone.
“Individual cases will be discussed by the event’s governing body, the #Eurovision Song Contest Reference Group made up of representatives from participating broadcasters, at its next meeting.”
Place your bets as to whether KAN faces ANY consequences.
Separately, Malmö Police said on Monday that The Netherlands’ #JoostKlein, disqualified from #Eurovision on Saturday, will likely be charged for making illegal threats. Aftonbladet, citing an unnamed source, claims Klein raised his arm with a fist and lunged at a female photographer who repeatedly refused to stop filming Klein, stopping short at making contact.
What is particularly galling about the EBU’s declaration of “zero-tolerance towards inappropriate behaviour” is that this policy was not applied equally to every offender at #Eurovision. As Gabe Milne of ESCUnited.com wrote on X-Twitter:
“If you have a ‘zero tolerance policy towards inappropriate behaviour at our events’, then why was harassment of artists and press ignored for the entire week?”
The Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS confirmed to news outlet NU.nl that it submitted an official report to the EBU on May 10th, a day before #JoostKlein’s disqualification, about the unsafe environment at #Eurovision, especially in the so-called “delegation bubble.” It also criticised the EBU’s use of anti-booing technology.
The Irish Independent reported that RTÉ One’s broadcast of the #Eurovision Grand Final on Saturday pulled in 666,000 viewers, a 54% share of the audience, double the figures of last year’s contest in Liverpool.
Ireland’s entry #BambieThug placed
6th in the jury vote;
6th in the public vote; and
6th overall.
The Portuguese broadcaster RTP has requested a meeting with the EBU to “clarify” several incidents during the #Eurovision Grand Final. According to RTP its request is supported by several countries, including France, Spain, Croatia and Norway.
Importantly, France and Spain represent two of the “big 5” countries in Eurovision, which contribute the most financially to the contest.
Chief among RTP’s complaints is the EBU discriminated against them, by delaying publication of the Portuguese entrant #Iolanda’s #Eurovision Grand Final performance video, and initially using footage from the semi-final.
RTP says the EBU told them it was because “your competitor has pro-Palestine motifs painted on her nails.” RTP replied, “so?”
For anyone keeping score, the EBU has so far received reports of incidents at #Eurovision from The Netherlands, Ireland, the UK, Portugal, Slovenia and Switzerland. A number of broadcasters and artists have so far made statements, including Norway, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine, Spain, Croatia, France and Italy.
That’s 14 participating countries out of a possible 37, including four of the “big 5” countries. The EBU has work to do, which we can so far assume they’ll just sweep under the rug.
Ein Regierungsratspräsident eines grossen Kantons behauptet einfach mal dass eine Organisation eines Musikwettbewerbs korrupt ist...ohne auch irgendeinen Beweis für diese absolute Fake News zu liefern.
It is not exactly surprising that the one artist that was doing the pause entertainment on #Eurovision that also is a member of a Christian sect had a meltdown in media today talking about how "Eurovision is going PC crazy by not supporting Israel". Most people I have met from white Christian sects are exceptionally racist and wholly subscribe to the need of Jews wiping out all other people in the area so that the end of the world can happen in the name of Jesus.