A history of Eurovision and politics
Eurovision is meant to be apolitical, but over the years it鈥檚 been caught in controversy.
Amidst conflict in the Middle East, some people have been calling for Israel to be banned from the Eurovision Song Contest. Now that Israel鈥檚 participation in the 2024 competition has been confirmed, critics are vowing to boycott the event in protest.
Eurovision鈥檚 organisers say that the song contest is 鈥渁 non-political music event and a competition between public service broadcasters鈥�, not between governments. But over the years, Eurovision has found itself caught up in controversy and geopolitics.
Adam Fleming charts this history with Dean Vuletic, historian and author of 鈥楶ostwar Europe and the Eurovision Song Contest鈥�.
Podcast
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AntiSocial
Peace talks for the culture wars.
