Eurovision 2024: Facts and rumors.

Last week was the final of the Eurovision Song Contest. It looks like this 68th edition will go down as one of the most controversial to date.What has happened, and what is still happening?

Eurovision 2024: Facts and rumours:

 

Participation Israel

Fact

Friction already starts to arise in February 2024.
Israel’s submitted song, “October Rain,” is not approved. At first they refused to change the song, until the President of Israel, Yitzhak Herzog, interfered; the song is adapted, and the title is changed (to “Hurricane”).
Israel will once again participate in the Eurovision Song Contest, despite protests from many participating countries.

Rumor

There has been speculation until the first semi-final that Israel will withdraw at the last minute, which, as we all know, did not happen.

 

Disqualification The Netherlands

Fact

On Friday morning, May 10, it becomes clear that Joost Klein, representing the Netherlands, is not allowed to rehearse at the very last minute. The EBU then announced that an incident had occurred with an employee of a camera crew. Then it remains quiet for almost 24 hours. Joost is not allowed to participate in the jury final on Friday evening, the recording from the 2nd semi-final will be used. Just before the family show starts, on Saturday afternoon, it is announced that the Netherlands will be disqualified. The matter is transferred from the police to the prosecution. The case is expected to be heard in June. After a long silence, Joost announced this week that “he is very sad”, and agrees that he would have pushed the camera, but denies that he touched or threatened the person in question.

Rumor

Immediately after the incident, pushing the camera/phone away, Joost Klein apologized. From that moment on, the camerawoman in question refused any form of conversation, although she was asked to do so.

European Broadcasting Union (EBU)

Facts

During and after the Festival, the EBU received a lot of criticism, and several complaints were filed:

  • As mentioned earlier: the participation of Israel.
  • Refusing to display flags in the hall, other than those of the participating countries. For example, the European Union and non-binary flags were banned.
  • The booing in the hall was filtered out, and an audio tape of cheering could be heard on TV.
  • The Spanish, Dutch, Irish and Greek delegations have filed official complaints about the behavior of the Israeli delegation ánd the Israelian press. Nothing has been done with these complaints.
  • Joost Klein (The Netherlands) was disqualified, without it being clear what exactly happened.
  • After the festival, several artists opened up about the intimidating and hostile atmosphere behind the scenes.
  • Various broadcasters from participating countries have requested clarification through a so-called “open letter” to the EBU.
Rumors
  • Since there was an incident involving a camerawoman, you would think that there should be camera footage. These could be deliberately withheld.
  • Money talks; Since Moroccon Oil, the main sponsor is from Israel, the EBU does not dare to take action against the misconduct of the Israeli delegation and press.
  • The Dutch artist Joost Klein was sacrificed to turn the attention away from the Israeli delegation.   

 

It is sad that the victory of Switzerland’s Nemo has been overshadowed by all the commotion. The calls for the resignation of the incumbent board of the EBU in general, and of its chairman Martin Österdahl, are becoming louder and louder.
Will the EBU take a good look in the mirror and take its responsibility?

To be continued…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Anja Kroeze

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70 years of Eurovision, slipping into the sixties

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March 30, 2026 No Comments
History
Martijn

70 years of Eurovision, slipping into the sixties

The Eurovision Song Contest is celebrating its 70th anniversary. That is a wonderful milestone. We at Eurovision Universe love diving into the history of the contest. That is why we are taking a closer look at the contests of the past 70 years. 1959 France chose to organize the contest in Cannes. Eleven countries came together. No Luxembourg this year, but the United Kingdom was back. Monaco made its debut. The presentation was in the hands of Jacqueline Joubert, who would go on to do so more often. The big favorite was Domenico Modugno. After the success of “Volare,” he entered for Italy again. He did not show up for the first rehearsal. He did not consider it important. The French broadcaster thought different and scheduled a rehearsal for him anyway. He did not win by a long shot. His “Piove” finished in sixth place only. Also noteworthy were the participants from Germany: the recently deceased Kessler Sisters, who sang their song entirely in sync. But France did not want to grant Italy the victory. The same applied the other way around. And where two dogs fight over a bone, the third one runs off with it. And that was the Dutch Teddy Scholten. With the artfully rhymed “Een beetje,” she took first place, much to her own surprise. When someone from the production team urged her to go to the stage because she had won, she didn’t believe a word of it. And yet it was true: the Netherlands had won for the second time in four years. 1960 It became a bit too much for the Dutch broadcaster to organize the contest yet again. Therefore, the British BBC took over. The contest moved to London, and for the first time, but certainly not the last, Cathy Boyle hosted the event. Thirteen countries participated. Luxembourg was back, and Norway made its debut.Big stars participated. Siw Malmkvist represented Sweden. Camillo Felgen competed for Luxembourg (in Luxembourgish!). Rudi Carell, who would later become a big star in Germany, competed for the Netherlands. None of them finished high. The winner was 19-year-old Jacqueline Boyer. Conductor Franck Pourcel was displeased that she had to perform last. After all, she had to go to bed early, the conductor said. At Pourcel’s request, the entire rehearsal schedule was rearranged. And Jacqueline won! “Tom Pillibi”, a song about a pathological liar, became a huge success and an international hit. 1961 The Eurovision Song Contest returned to Cannes, France. Jacqueline Joubert hosted it for the second time. By then, the number of participating countries had grown to sixteen. Spain, Yugoslavia, and Finland made their debut. Lale Andersen participated for Germany. She had gained fame during World War II with the song “Lili Marleen”. A Greek also took to the stage, which was the first time. Although Greece itself was not yet participating, singer Jimmy Makoulis represented Austria. The final unintentionally became very exciting between Luxembourg and the United Kingdom. Unintentionally, because for a long time, too many points were accidentally recorded for the British on the scoreboard. The British duo, The Allisons, did have the big Eurovision hit of that year with “Are You Sure?”. Frenchman Jean-Claude Pascal won for Luxembourg. In “Nous, les amoureux,” he sang of a love that was disapproved of by others. Only much later Pascal admitted that this song was about the love between two men. In this, Pascal was far, very far ahead of his time.

Read More »
March 30, 2026 No Comments
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