Eurovision bans warring countries from hosting the contest — new rules
The organizers of the Eurovision Song Contest have announced a change in rules, according to which no country engaged in armed conflict will be able to host the contest, writes Euronews.
"Eurovision" is hosted annually by the broadcaster of the country that won the previous year; the contest is a joint project of public broadcasters that are members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).
According to the new rules, "the winning broadcaster automatically forfeits the right to host the contest if an armed conflict, complex geopolitical situation or any other situation substantially affects the safety, security or stability of its state or the immediate region," the EBU statement says.
Since the EBU includes non-European broadcasters, the contest is not limited to European countries only.
The EBU noted that before deciding whether a winning country is capable of safely hosting the contest, they may order an independent security risk assessment.
No country was mentioned by name in the statement, but Israel was close to winning in 2025 and 2026, coming in second place both times.
Five countries — Spain, Ireland, Netherlands, Slovenia, and Iceland — boycotted the 2026 contest in Vienna, which was the first such instance in the contest's history.
They stated that they could not participate in the contest alongside Israel due to its war in Gaza, which began after the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
If it turns out that the winning country cannot host the contest, the EBU will appoint another host country.
Ukraine hosted "Eurovision" in 2017, despite the ongoing conflict in the east of the country between Ukrainian troops and Moscow-backed separatists.
However, after Ukraine's victory in the 2022 contest, it was unable to host the subsequent edition due to Russia's full-scale invasion.
As a result, "Eurovision 2023" was held in Liverpool, UK.
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