Artists participating in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Basel are not allowed to wave a rainbow or other pride flag on stage or in the Green Room. Only national flags are allowed.
The Eurovision Song Contest organiser European Broadcasting Union (EBU) confirmed the news after reports from Danish broadcaster DR.
If participating artists break the rules, there may be consequences. It is not clear what kind of sanctions will apply.
A more liberal flag policy applies outside the stage. All flags that are permitted under Swiss law may be used. This will soon also apply to the audience; fans will therefore be allowed to bring a pride flag.
Last year, there were many complaints about the flag policy in Malmö. Some fans had to hand in unusual flags, such as the rainbow flag or the European flag, at the door. Swiss winner Nemo was not allowed to bring the non-binary flag on stage. The artist later said that he had “smuggled the flag in”.
In previous years, many artists also carried a pride flag alongside their national flag. This also applies to S10, at the start of the Eurovision Song Contest final in Turin in 2022. Source: nu.nl.
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