Eurovision Organisers Confirm Spanish Broadcaster Was Spoken To Over Pro-Palestine Message

Yahoo

19-05-2025

Eurovision bosses have confirmed that Spain's national broadcaster was spoken to after a political message that it chose to air before this year's broadcast.
On Saturday night, the 69th Eurovision Song Contest was held in Basel, Switzerland, with the competition once again sparking controversy in the lead-up due to Israel's involvement, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
Before the live broadcast, Spain's national broadcaster RTVE displayed a black-and-white message in both Spanish and English, which read: 'When human rights are at stake, silence is not an option. Peace and Justice for Palestine.'
Frente a los derechos humanos, el silencio no es una opción. Paz y justicia para Palestina.https://t.co/puZwqrZD76pic.twitter.com/NnqISBQl6c
— RTVE (@rtve) May 17, 2025
Severalnewsoutlets subsequently reported that RTVE was potentially at risk of a fine over this message, due to Eurovision's strict rules about political messaging.
HuffPost UK contacted the European Broadcasting Union on Monday, who declined to comment, but did say that it had spoken to RTVE regarding this, and had reminded them of the rules around neutrality.
Slovenia and Spain were the first two countries whose national broadcasters raised questions to the EBU about Israel's participation in Eurovision 2025.
After Iceland and Ireland became the third and fourth, an EBU rep said that conversations would be had with its member broadcasters about Israel's involvement in the contest – albeit only when this year's event was over.
Prior to the contest, more than 70 musicians and performers associated with Eurovision – including multiple former winners – also co-signed an open letter urging producers to remove Israel from the contest, similar to how Russia was banned from competing in light of the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
These calls were then backed by then-reigning champion Nemo, who told HuffPost UK in an exclusive interview: 'Israel's actions are fundamentally at odds with the values that Eurovision claims to uphold – peace, unity and respect for human rights.'
Israel wound up finishing in second place at this year's Eurovision behind Austria's JJ, with its representative Yuval Raphael landing the highest number of points from televoters.
Remember Monday Speak Out On Their Eurovision Experience After Getting Zero Points From Viewers
Eurovision Protester Speaks Out After Viral Clip Sparks Anger Over Security 'Aggression'
'I Was Never As Overwhelmed As I Was At Eurovision': Former Winner Nemo Reflects On Their 'Whirlwind' Experience