Eurovision ‘rigged' in favour of Israel
The national broadcasters for Spain and Belgium have complained to the competition's organisers after Israel won the public vote by a large margin.
RTVE, Spain's public broadcaster, and VRT, the Flemish public broadcasting company, are calling for organisers to investigate the televoting system following a surge in support for Yuval Raphael, Israel's contestant who ended up winning 357 points.
The country finished in second place after Austria's JJ, who received 436 points for his song Wasted Love.
The competition's entrants receive points from a professional jury from each country, as well as from a public vote. The maximum amount of points to receive from any country's jury or the public is 12.
Belgium and Spain's televoters both awarded Israel 12 points, despite the juries giving the country zero points. Viewers at home can vote up to 20 times for a small cost charged to each vote by text or phone call.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which runs the competition, confirmed Spain and Belgium's broadcasters had been in touch and insisted they take the complaints 'seriously'.
Katia Segers, a Flemish parliamentarian, said: 'A system in which everyone can cast up to 20 votes is a system that encourages manipulation.
'Whether this manipulation occurred in our country and all other participating and non-participating countries must be investigated.'
She added: 'The VRT must take the lead in requesting this investigation. And in holding the debate on the televoting system within the EBU, and on Israel's participation.'
Martin Green, the director of Eurovision, said: 'It is important to emphasise that the voting operation for the Eurovision Song Contest is the most advanced in the world and each country's result is checked and verified by a huge team of people to exclude any suspicious or irregular voting patterns.
'An independent compliance monitor reviews both jury and public vote data to ensure we have a valid result.'
He added: 'We remain in constant contact with all participating broadcasters of the Eurovision Song Contest and take their concerns seriously.'
Israel's participation in Eurovision for a second year running amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza and investigation for war crimes by the International Criminal Court has provoked political debate across the continent.
Ms Raphael, who is a survivor of Hamas's assault on the Nova music festival on Oct 7, 2023, was disrupted in her final performance in Basel, Switzerland, by pro-Palestine protesters who tried to storm the stage.
It followed protests calling for a boycott of the competition as well as an open letter published a week before the contest which featured more than 70 previous Eurovision contestants calling on the organisers to ban Israel and its broadcaster KAN.
During Saturday's grand finale, Spanish broadcaster RTVE came under fire after they took a stand against Israel's inclusion during their country's broadcast.
For 16 seconds, viewers saw a black screen with white lettering in Spanish and English that read: 'When human rights are at stake, silence is not an option. Peace and Justice for Palestine.'
EBU's Mr Green added: 'We can confirm that we have been in touch with VRT and RTVE since Saturday's Grand Final regarding voting in the competition.
'Now the event has concluded we will have a broad discussion with participating broadcasters, to reflect and obtain feedback on all aspects of this year's event as part of our planning process for the 70th Eurovision Song Contest next year.'
A spokesman from VRT said they had 'no indication' the vote count was incorrect, but said: 'The main question is whether the current voting system guarantees a fair reflection of the opinions of viewers and listeners.
'VRT notes that the Eurovision Song Contest, as it is currently organised, has become less and less of a unifying and apolitical event.'
The spokesman added: 'VRT calls for full transparency from the EBU about the rules and voting … without a serious answer to our concerns regarding the Eurovision Song Contest, we do question future participation.'
The Telegraph has contacted RTVE for comment.
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