Douze Points! - The Eurovision Podcast
Eurovision, but not as you know it! Australia's biggest weekly Eurovision podcast, giving you all the dirt, all the drama and all the scathing opinions you love to hear about the Contest we live for!
Douze Points! - The Eurovision Podcast
Heat Wave, Hot Takes and Eurovision Rules
We break down the hottest question in the Eurovision universe—why Russia is out and Israel isn’t—we examine the rules and the reasons as best we can. Whilst looking at previous controversies to try to find the answer. We try to make sense of decades of controversy, from daffodils on Jordanian TV in 1978 to China’s censored semifinals and the EBU’s hard line on inclusivity.
We visit 1978, 2018 and 2022 and examine how the EBU applied the competitions standards across very different political climates.
Along the way we talk heat waves, cats, and the human side of fandom, while keeping focus on governance: broadcaster accountability and inclusivity.
In the end all that matters is we understand that everyone matters .
#eurovision
I don't know. Can you can you hear the fan? Can you hear that in the background? I don't know. It's either that. It's either we have them in the background, or I'm gonna have to turn off the fan, and then you can just hear the ah ah! Oh my lord. Australia is in a heat wave. Pretty much we've had four days of please, Lord, help us. With parts of the country. Big uh oh, cool, balmy, breezy 51 degrees centigrade. That's about what 128 degrees Fahrenheit for our American listeners. Oh, it's it's like we've been living in a two-bedroom semi-detached house with L Diablo. It is hotter than hell. But we have to pull it together because it is not just the sounds of fans that we hear on the horizon.
SPEAKER_01:We hear That's right, we prepare for Eurovision twenty twenty seven.
SPEAKER_02:It's welcome back. And it really is welcome back, as my cats can testify. As I actually spent an hour already recording this episode, but it turns out after my break, I have completely forgotten how to use my roadcaster and pressed all of the buttons, including the instrumental and the every button except the button to record the podcast. Yes, I recorded everything, all the sound effects, not actually the talking. Ah, look, who knows? Some of you probably argue that would make a better podcast. What well that's just awkward. We are not going to be able to kick off this 2026 Eurovision year without addressing the elephant in the room. And we come to the absolute hottest subject of Eurovision 2026, and I hear people saying, why is Russia banned from Eurovision and not Israel? So, this episode we are going to look at understanding Eurovision participation, broadcasters, bans, and the EBU. Now, unless you've been living under a rock, you will know that some people have called for Eurovision to be banned, and others are insisting that Israel has to be allowed to compete at Eurovision. So I am going to attempt to explain this as best I can so when people ask you, you can say why. Because there really seems to be a lot of confusion around this. This episode, I'm going to attempt to clarify the underlying reasons focusing on how Eurovision is structured, the role of broadcasters versus countries, and how the European Broadcasting Union or EBU enforces its rules. We're going to examine some examples involving Ukraine, China, Russia, and of course Israel. Now I think the first thing we need to understand is that whilst Eurovision, while it is listed as country v country, this is not a direct country versus country event, like, say, the Olympics. So with the Olympics, it's very much run by the individual countries. And those countries and the governments invest the money, time, resources. Some of them have whole government departments where they channel the money and resources into funding the competitors to represent that country at the Olympics. Whereas with Eurovision, and although it is listed as being country versus country, it's really actually broadcaster versus broadcaster. So a broadcaster pays money to the EBU for the broadcasting rights for the Eurovision Song Contest. And then the individual broadcasters from those countries can choose to organize competitors for the Eurovision Song Contest to represent their country. But really technically, they are representing the broadcaster for that country. But it's presented as being country versus country because let's be honest, that's a lot more involving and people can get behind that. I mean, people are not really going to get behind, oh, oh, it's Channel 9 versus Mango TV. Oh, I don't think anyone's really that deeply attached to a channel. The crucial point is that under EBU rules, governments are not supposed to interfere in broadcaster decisions. And the broadcaster, not the state, controls Eurovision participation. The EBU itself describes itself as an apolitical member organization of broadcasters who are committed to upholding the values of public service. Now, one of the very key components of not only being able to compete, but also being even able to broadcast the Eurovision Song Contest, you, the broadcaster, has to sign up to some very strict conditions. One of these is that you have to agree to broadcast the Eurovision Song Contest in its entirety. You also can't add any sort of political commentary or bias to it, and you certainly can't censor it or use it to fulfill a government or regime's agenda. A prime example of this happened in 2018 in regards to the EBU and China. Now it's fairly safe to say that China does not have a history of supporting or embracing their LGBQTI plus community. In 2017, the China Netcasting Services Association, which is a state-approved industry body, made the situation a whole lot worse by officially banning portrayals of homosexuality in any online broadcasting. As a result, the few public queer film festivals completely disappeared, and online streaming platforms, which had been the go-to traditional sites of the circulation and exhibition of Chinese or overseas queer films, in a part of life that was already censored and highly regulated. Now, in 2018, China's Mango TV acquired the rights to broadcast the Eurovision Song Content, which might seem weird for a country that is actively working against the queer community, but it does have humongous stage production and singing. So China's Mango TV started broadcasting. Unfortunately, they didn't even make it to the grand final. The broadcaster censored two semi-final performances, basically just cutting them out, including Ireland's Entry by Ryan O'Shaughnessy with the song Together, Together, Together. That's not actually a correct representation of the song. It's my artistic, non-copyrightable version. I will fight for any cause, but I cannot fight copyright. So what did Ireland's Ryan Asshanessy do to so shock China's Mango TV? It featured a same-sex couple, two men dancing out their life story together. What you might call interpretive therapy. And we're not even talking about a UK-styled six-man gangbang in a public toilet. We are just talking about two men in comfortable sweaters, if I believe, having a little bit of a dance, having a bit of a seat on a park bench. Even this, however, this action violated domestic censorship policies that classify same-sex relationships as you know, we had to say these things because it's a fact and it's a part of history, and you know, so we have to use words and language so we can appreciate the fights and the battles that have been won and why we have to keep fighting for rights because the policy uh at the time classified same-sex relationships as quote abnormal. So they simply cut out the same-sex performance. However, this action violated the EBU's rules, which would require the contest to be broadcast in its entirety without any censorship or political bias. Now, despite the potential for substantial financial gain from continued Chinese broadcasts, the EBU terminated its partnership with Mango TV, underscoring its commitment to inclusivity and non-discrimination. The EBU's direct quote at the time quote, this is not in line with the EBU's values of diversity and inclusivity and our proud tradition of celebrating diversity through music. Mmm, mic drop. Bing! I can't believe I haven't actually put a mic drop sound on this. Okay, next episode. And to be honest, if anything, China just drew more attention to the song. They shouldn't have bothered. It ended up coming 16th in the grand final anyway. It wasn't a very good song. But that aside, you know what? China, everyone in China, everyone in power and around the world, just please, just come a little bit closer. I just I have a little bit of a secret for you.
SPEAKER_00:No regime, no country, no world ever ended. Just because two men had a little kiss.
SPEAKER_02:And if you're wondering, the other country that was centered was Albania. However, this wasn't because of dancing men in sweaters, it was because it showed performers with tattoos. Again, considered abnormal. Now let's jump all the way to 2022. Now, following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the Russian broadcaster was unable to guarantee compliance with the EBU's requirements, which again, one of those, is they have to agree to air all performances without government influence or censorship. And I know that sounds far-fetched, but that's actually not that far back. If we go back to 1978, where one of the most inf one of the most infamous Eurovision incidents occurred. Now, during the live broadcast of the 1978 Eurovision Song Contest, Jordinian television, JTV, actually cut the transmission when it pretty much became clear to everyone that Israel was about to win the Eurovision Song Contest. This was, of course, after earlier in the show, they just cut out the Israeli performance and replaced it with a picture of, would you believe, daffodils? So they completely censored Israel out. Then, when Israel was going to win, they just cut down, shut down the performance, and actually then went so far as to announce that Belgium, who was the runner-up that year, had actually won the contest. I tell you, if you love soapy dramas or K-pop drama, forget the television, forget Netflix, you need the history of Eurovision. Now, since the Russian broadcaster could not commit to broadcasting the contest in full, acknowledging all participating countries, they were deemed ineligible to participate. Basically, they could not guarantee that they would show the Ukraine performance, nor any other country supporting Ukraine. So then, this decision to ban the Russian broadcaster was based on the broadcaster's inability to uphold the EBU's apolitical and inclusive standards. It was not on a direct political ban of the country itself. So now we come to the topic of Israel. Now, Israel's public broadcaster has been a member of the EBU since 1957. Now there were some legislative attempts made in 2025, and I believe at the end of 2024, in an attempt to privatize the broadcaster that was struck down in Parliament. But that was defeated, and the broadcaster assures the EBU of its independence. And in 2024 and 2025, and now in 2026, the Israel Broadcaster again has agreed to meet all the standards required for a broadcaster to compete at Eurovision. And it has done that in the last two broadcasts. It showed all of Eurovision in its entirety. It did not edit the broadcasted performances, including auditable booze. So the broadcaster has done nothing wrong. And so therefore, by the EBU's own conditions and rules, Israel could not be barred. And the really sad thing is it's not as common as you would think that a country would compete at the Eurovision Song Contest whilst engaged in war and conflict. Obviously, the Ukraine has entered every year since the Russian 2022 invasion. Let's not forget as Yugoslavia began to disintegrate. Crawl through the woods at night to come and compete at Eurovision during the Bosnian wars. Now some countries did go to the EBU and demand that Israel be banned from the contest. This included Spain, and let's not forget Spain is one of the contest's largest financial contributors. It's one of the big five. Stephen Ericsson, the Director General of Iceland's national broadcaster RUV, said that they were stepping back from Eurovision 2026 because there was, quote, no peace or joy connected to the contest, essentially with Israel competing. So Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Slovenia, and Iceland have all withdrawn. The distinction between broadcaster and country is fundamental to Eurovision's governance. The EBU's rules are designed to ensure that the contest remains apolitical, inclusive, and free from government and political interference. Bans are implemented when broadcasters fail to meet these standards. And regardless of the actions or policies of their respective governments, understanding this framework is essential for making sense of participation and exclusion decisions, such as those involving Russia and China, and explains the ongoing debate about other countries' eligibility. Now, some previous performers, I know for example, Bambi Thug from Ireland has insisted that Israel being allowed to compete is a political statement by the EBU. But I actually think it's the complete opposite. I think the EBU has abided by its own rules, and the banning of Israel would be going against their own rules. And that would actually be political. The Israeli broadcaster is meeting its fundamental requirements to broadcast and it is not editing the broadcast booze and all. And by doing so and showing all of the performances in all of the entirety, it meets the standards to broadcast and compete at the Eurovision Song Contest. I also think it's important because we need to put human faces and names to countries and people. And whilst I certainly think that you can hate governments, regimes, it is very, very wrong to hate a people or a country. Do you really think every American is represented by Donald Trump? There are tens of thousands of people protesting in Minneapolis right now who would disagree with you. Honestly, I just cannot wait till the aliens land and then just start bustling us together and just start eating us all indiscriminately. Then, finally, then we can finally realize all this bullshit that we put up doesn't mean shit. We're all exactly the same. And we're gonna figure that out when they hurt us up and just try to eat us. It doesn't matter what side of the fence you sit on. You just wanna be left alone with your kids or your cats, and you just wanna Netflix and chill and lie on the couch on a Sunday and eat snacks and fall asleep. So remember, hate regimes, hate governments don't hate peoples. Oh, and one more thing. You know what that is, China?
SPEAKER_00:It's a sound of demand.
SPEAKER_02:So let's end with a well, let's hate most of the governments, except the Finnish government. They seem alright. And let's love everybody, and some of that love is gonna be a little bit gay. And that is completely normal. Except if you're cousins. That shit's just weird. So thanks for listening to that episode on The Awkward Conversation. I've already had quite a few people DM me, just message me that because I'm not gonna boycott Eurovision 2026, they're boycotting me. But I respect your right too, because I am a damn hippie. Now, moving forward, we are gonna have a mix up of different episodes in the weeks to come. There are gonna be some, and we will put a spoiler alert at the beginning. So if you don't want to know any About the songs or performances of 2026. We'll put it up that it's going to be an episode on songs and performers getting ready for semi-final and semi-final two. But then we're also going to alternate between episodes when we are just looking at the beautiful history of Eurovision, some of the controversies, and as well, we're going to do some deep dives into the countries to try and help you understand your different European neighbors and why they are the complex, beautiful masterpieces that they are. Believe me, when we do the deep dive into Finland, I am gonna give you a snapshot of some of Finnish TV invented for kids, and believe me, it is gonna make so much more sense. Trust me, once you know the people, you'll understand. See you soon, sexy people.
