Category: ESC 2025

A Safer Eurovision

The Eurovision Song Contest will look different in 2025 to guarantee the safety of participants. For example, cameras will be banned in more places and rehearsals will take place behind closed doors more often. The organization of the music festival announced this on Tuesday.

This year, the organizer European Broadcasting Union (EBU) received complaints from participants in the Eurovision Song Contest. They allegedly did not always feel safe behind the scenes. Several countries threatened to take measures if the organization did not take action.

In response to these signals, the EBU has now decided to introduce a code of conduct. Everyone who works on the event must sign these rules. This includes artists and their supervisors, but also people behind the scenes and journalists, for example.

In addition, there will also be places in the artist rooms where filming is absolutely prohibited. This was not the case in previous editions.

This year, an incident took place behind the scenes in the artist room in which Joost Klein allegedly got into an argument with a camerawoman. The Netherlands was disqualified because of that incident and the Swedish police investigated. Ultimately, Klein was not prosecuted.

After the incident with Klein, AVROTROS considered skipping the Eurovision Song Contest next year. In a response, the broadcaster stated that it was satisfied with the announced measures. “We see that the EBU has listened to our comments. We will continue to monitor whether the changes and renewed agreements that have been made are being complied with and enforced.”

The organization has also chosen to hold rehearsals behind closed doors. This already happened during the first rehearsals, but artists will be given even more space to rehearse their song without journalists present.

It is not clear whether this will have consequences for the collaboration with TikTok. The Eurovision Song Contest always shares the first images of rehearsals on that platform. It is also not known whether journalists will still be able to attend rehearsals.

Furthermore, a producer will be appointed who will be specifically responsible for the mental health of artists and employees. This producer will be held responsible for a safe and respectful environment.

The Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Basel in 2025, after Nemo won on behalf of Switzerland this year. It is not yet known which artist will participate on behalf of the Netherlands. However, registrations have now closed. Source: nu.nl

First Eurovion 2025 Riot

The first song for the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest has not yet been chosen, and there is already talk of a possible disqualification. Montenegro chose the band NeonoeN last week, but its song Clickbait may not meet the requirements.

The band won the national final Montesong, but footage has surfaced of a performance from 2023 in which NeonoeN already plays the song. The Eurovision Song Contest regulations state that participating songs may not have been released or performed publicly before 1 September 2024.

The footage of the performance may jeopardize NeonoeN’s participation. The band itself responded to the situation via social media. NeonoeN wrote, among other things, that the song had not been released before and therefore would not have had an advantage in the national final. “Whatever the decision about our victory, we will respect it.”

Broadcaster RTCG also shared a statement via social media on Monday. It states, among other things, that a decision about a possible disqualification will be taken in consultation with the organizing EBU. “There will be no hasty decisions.” It is not yet known when the EBU will make a decision on the song.

The Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Basel next year, after the victory of the Swiss Nemo earlier this year. In the Netherlands, the selection committee is currently considering 331 entries. Who will represent our country will be announced at a later date. Source: nu.nl

Basel Residents Vote Positive

The residents of the Swiss city of Basel have voted by a large majority in favor of public funding for the Eurovision Song Contest in 2025, the AFP news agency reports. The amount involved is almost 40 million euros.

A partial count has shown that more than 66 percent of voters are in favor of using tax money to organize the event. Without that money, activities surrounding the international event would be drastically scaled back.

Switzerland went to the polls on Sunday to vote in a number of referendums. These were about, among other things, highways, housing and therefore the Eurovision Song Contest.

Referendums play an important role in politics in Switzerland. By collecting a certain number of signatures, citizens can request a referendum on bills or important issues, such as in this case the public funding of the Eurovision Song Contest. The result of such a referendum is binding.

The Christian-conservative political party EDU called for a referendum on the Song Contest, because it would be a “terrible propaganda event”. The party believes, among other things, that artists display “occult and satanic messages”.

The EDU is a relatively small party, but the larger party SVP is also critical of the event. The party called the song festival a “big theater with little content and embarrassing self-promoters.”

The Eurovision Song Contest 2025 will take place in May. Last month it was announced that the Netherlands will be participating in the Song Festival again next year. It is not yet known who will represent the Netherlands. Source: nu.nl

Three Hundred and Thirty One

The Dutch selection committee for the Eurovision Song Contest has received 331 entries for the 2025 edition. “A huge and fantastic number considering the short period that registration was open,” AVROTROS announced on Saturday.

The number ensures diversity: the entries include songs in Dutch, English and other languages, ranging from ballads to uptempo and rock songs.

Registration for the Song Contest opened later than usual this year. For a long time it was unclear whether the Netherlands would participate in the edition in Basel, Switzerland, due to the controversy surrounding the disqualification of Joost Klein.

The Europapa singer declined to participate in the upcoming edition and “needs more time to recover”. “I am grateful for all the love and support I have received. But I am still devastated by what happened this year,” Klein said earlier.

The selection committee will consider the entries in the coming weeks and then determine which artist will represent the Netherlands in Basel. While the number of 331 is an impressive result, it is lower than last year’s record number of over 600 entries. Source: nu.nl

Anouk Again

Anouk has sent a song to the Eurovision Song Contest selection committee. The singer said this on Thursday evening during the broadcast of RTL Boulevard.

Anouk says that she was approached by the selection committee for possible participation in the Song Contest. “After that, I immediately sent in a song”, says Anouk.

She has not heard anything from the committee yet. “They can never do that, because they do not want to favor people. I think that there are enough people who could and would possibly go”, emphasizes the singer. “As a songwriter, I also think that the best song should win. I also understand when people say: she has already been.”

Anouk already participated in the Song Contest in 2013 with the song Birds. She came ninth in the final in Malmö, Sweden. She was the first Dutch participant in nine years to reach the final.

The song with which the artist has now registered is a “fairly hard song and not a depressive ballad”. “They’re not birds falling off the roof,” she says, referring to her previous entry.

Anouk also said during the broadcast that she had submitted a song for this year’s edition together with rapper Latifah. But the selection committee chose the song Europapa by Joost Klein. “What I don’t think is nice is that you don’t just send an email saying: unfortunately, you didn’t get it.” Source: nu.nl.

Dutch Participation

The Netherlands will participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 in Switzerland, AVROTROS reported on Wednesday. Joost Klein was asked to participate again, but he declined the offer.

AVROTROS says it has had months of discussions and consultations with the European Broadcasting Union, the organization behind the Song Contest. AVROTROS now has sufficient guarantees “that structural changes will be implemented at the music festival”.

Joost Klein was offered the opportunity to participate again, the broadcaster says, but he ultimately chose to decline the offer. “Registration for new songs for 2025 is now open.”

Klein himself has also responded. “My team and I had everything ready, but it just doesn’t feel right. I am grateful for all the love from all over the world, but I still haven’t recovered from this year. I need to give myself more time to heal.”

AVROTROS previously expressed doubts about participating in 2025, partly because of the disqualification of Joost Klein and the unpleasant atmosphere behind the scenes. The broadcaster still believes that the disqualification of the Dutch participant in Malmö was unnecessary and disproportionate. Klein is the first artist to be excluded from participating while the Eurovision Song Contest was already underway.

The singer is said to have made a threatening gesture towards a camerawoman. The Swedish judiciary decided to stop the investigation into the incident at the beginning of August. The judiciary could not establish that Klein had made his “threatening gesture” with the intention of causing the camerawoman “serious fear”.

The original deadline for registration was 15 September. The EBU had granted AVROTROS an extension until 1 November. Source: nu.nl

Safe Space

Participants in the Eurovision Song Contest will be given so-called “safe spaces” to withdraw. This was reported by the chairman of the supervisory board of the Song Contest to the Swiss newspaper SonntagsBlick. The Song Contest will take place in Basel in May next year.

After criticism of the organization of the last edition in the Swedish Malmö, the European Broadcasting Union, the organizer of the Song Contest, commissioned an independent investigation. This resulted in serious recommendations to improve the event. Many countries, including the Netherlands, filed complaints because of “an unsafe atmosphere” behind the scenes. The organization is now trying to tackle this with safe spaces.

According to chairman Bakel Walden, “a few things” from the previous edition may not take place again. For example, communication will be improved and the event must remain as neutral as possible. “We cannot solve the many wars and conflicts in the world during the Song Contest,” says Walden. With this he refers to the controversy surrounding Israel’s participation.

Walden expects participants to behave “honestly and respectfully” during the Song Contest. It is not yet clear whether the Netherlands will participate in the upcoming edition. AVROTROS has not yet made a decision after Joost Klein was disqualified during the previous edition. Source: nu.nl

Respite

AVROTROS will be given extra time to decide on participation in the Eurovision Song Contest next year. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has granted the broadcaster an extension until 1 November, an AVROTROS spokesperson confirmed to ANP.

AVROTROS has been in talks with the EBU for several weeks about the Netherlands’ participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. The broadcaster has previously expressed doubts, partly because of the disqualification of Joost Klein and the unpleasant atmosphere behind the scenes.

The broadcaster still believes that the disqualification of the Dutch participant in Malmö was unnecessary and disproportionate. Klein is the first artist to be excluded from participation while the Song Contest was already underway.

The singer is said to have made a threatening gesture towards a camerawoman. The Swedish judiciary decided to discontinue the investigation into the incident in early August. The judiciary could not establish that Klein had made his “threatening gesture” with the intention of causing the camerawoman “serious fear”.

“The talks are constructive, but still ongoing,” says the spokesperson for AVROTROS about the talks between the broadcaster and the EBU. “To give this constructive dialogue a chance to succeed, AVROTROS has requested a postponement for the decision on participation. The EBU has granted this postponement until 1 November, for which we are grateful.” 

The EBU says it is pleased with the talks. “And we sincerely hope that AVROTROS will participate in Basel in May,” says a spokesperson. 

The original deadline for registration was 15 September. Countries can then withdraw for a period free of charge. Source: nu.nl

Basel It Is

The Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Basel next year. The Swiss city is allowed to organize the event because Switzerland won the Song Contest earlier this year thanks to artist Nemo and the song The Code.

The Song Contest will be held in the St. Jakobshalle, which has a capacity of over twelve thousand visitors.

The battle for the organization of the Song Contest was between Basel and Geneva until the last moment. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has thoroughly tested the proposals of the two cities against set criteria. For example, a location with a capacity of at least ten thousand visitors must be available. The city must also offer enough hotel rooms and be easily accessible. Zurich and a collaboration between Bern and Bielle were previously eliminated.

The Eurovision Song Contest is organized each year by the country that won the previous year. Switzerland received the most points in May of this year with the song and performance of Nemo. The artist won in Malmö, after the Swedish Loreen had emerged as the winner a year earlier.

The Song Contest in Malmö did not go without a hitch this year. Dutch participant Joost Klein was disqualified just before the final due to an incident with a camerawoman. Earlier this month it was announced that he will not be prosecuted for this. Broadcaster AVROTROS wants to meet with the EBU again to discuss the disqualification.

AVROTROS, the broadcaster responsible for the Eurovision Song Contest in the Netherlands, has not yet committed to participating in the 2025 edition. Broadcasters from several countries complained about the unpleasant atmosphere behind the scenes at the event. AVROTROS says it only wants to participate if the EBU changes this.

The 2025 Eurovision Song Contest will be held on 13, 15 and 17 May. The exact dates have yet to be announced. It was recently announced that Montenegro will return after a two-year absence. Source: nu.nl

Letter to the Editor

According to the EBU, the Public Prosecution Service’s decision to dismiss the case does not detract from the fact that, according to the EBU, Klein acted in violation of EBU rules. His disqualification was therefore justified according to the EBU. Unfortunately, it does not state which rule was violated that justifies such a draconian punishment as disqualification.

Continuing to maintain the publicly stated view that Joost Klein committed a disqualifying act is without a doubt a defamatory accusation. After all, anyone who deliberately attacks someone’s honour or good name by accusing them of a certain act with the apparent aim of publicising it commits the criminal offence of defamation. AvroTros could therefore file a complaint of defamation against the EBU.

All the more so now that the consequences of the disqualification have also manifested themselves in the Netherlands and the Netherlands can therefore be regarded as the place where the crime of defamation was committed.

Gerard Spong, Amsterdam.

The above concerns a letter to the editor of de Volkskrant, from the Dutch lawyer Gerard Spong, in which he indicates that the statement of the EBU, without reason for the disqualification, is libel and that an official complaint can be filed against this. I wonder if AVROTOS or Joost Klein will take action on this. Personally, I would consider this a strong action. 😊

Montenegro Returns

Montenegro will participate in the Eurovision Song Contest again next year. The country has been absent for two years, but will be back in 2025. The Montenegrin broadcaster RTCG opened registration for the national preliminary round on Thursday.

Montenegro first participated in the Song Contest in 2007. Since then, the country has appeared in the semi-finals twelve times, reaching the final only twice. Montenegro’s best result dates back to 2015, when Knez finished thirteenth with the song Adio.

During the last participation in Turin in 2022, singer Vladana failed to reach the final. In 2023 and 2024, Montenegro withdrew from participation because the costs were too high.

Before Montenegro became independent, the country participated as part of Yugoslavia and later Serbia and Montenegro.

It is not yet known exactly how many countries will participate in the Song Contest next year and whether the Netherlands will be among them. After Joost Klein was disqualified during the previous edition, AVROTROS stated that his next participation is not yet certain. The broadcaster wants to see changes at the Eurovision Song Contest organizer EBU.

AVROTROS will soon enter into discussions with the EBU about the disqualification. Earlier this week, the Swedish judiciary decided not to prosecute Klein for the incident for which he was disqualified. Source: nu.nl.

Adjustments 2025

The Eurovision Song Contest (EBU) organisation is making a number of organisational adjustments in the run-up to the next edition. The changes follow the results of an independent investigation into the last edition in May in Malmö, Sweden.

Among other things, a new director will be appointed, who will oversee the work of the show’s current executive supervisor, Martin Österdahl. The organisation announced this in a press release on Monday.

In addition to appointing the new director, the EBU will also focus on clarifying the rules for delegations, working more with fan clubs and influencers and strengthening security measures.

Several participants, including Swiss winner Nemo and Irish Bambie Thug, were critical after the Song Contest in Sweden. The atmosphere behind the scenes was said to have been “very intense”. The EBU was also criticised for the disqualification of Dutch participant Joost Klein after an incident with a camerawoman. In addition, the Israeli entry reported bullying behind the scenes.

AVROTROS says it is pleased that serious recommendations are being made. “It seems that the EBU wants to make serious work of structural changes,” says a spokesperson for the broadcaster. “We will closely monitor whether words are converted into actions in the coming period and will consider our participation in 2025 on that basis.”

No(r)Way

Norway, like the Netherlands, is waiting for the time being to confirm its participation in the next Eurovision Song Contest. Stig Karlsen, head of the Norwegian delegation, first wants to hear what improvements the organiser of the Song Contest wants to implement.

Karlsen told the newspaper Aftenposten that Norway intends to participate again in 2025, but that changes are needed. “We have not yet confirmed our participation,” he said. According to the Norwegians, the outcome of the ongoing investigation into the last edition of the Song Contest is important. “We cannot go into another year with so many conflicts and protests,” Karlsen said.

The Norwegian broadcaster NRK has asked the organiser of the Song Contest, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), to consider the participation of countries that are in the middle of an armed conflict, such as Israel. “Perhaps such countries that cause noise should temporarily step aside,” Karlsen suggested.

On Thursday, AVROTROS and the NPO announced that the Netherlands will only participate next year if the EBU implements or promises a number of changes. Earlier this week, the European broadcasting association announced an independent investigation into various complaints about an unsafe atmosphere during the event in Malmö.

The last edition of the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö, Sweden, was an eventful one. For example, some people did not agree that Israel was allowed to participate despite the war in Gaza, which led to demonstrations in Malmö.

Some delegations did not always feel safe or noticed a tense atmosphere. Several countries filed complaints with the EBU and artists, including the Norwegian band Gate, also considered withdrawing.

Doubts

Only when AVROTROS is confident that the Song Contest will be structurally adjusted to “put the artists and their musical message central again”, will the broadcaster consider participating for future Eurovisions.

Earlier this week, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) announced that it had commissioned an independent investigation into its own organisation.

The EBU did this after complaints about an unsafe atmosphere at the last edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. The Song Contest delegations will be questioned (anonymously) for this investigation.

AVROTROS, like other participating broadcasters, has been asked to cooperate in an investigation by the EBU. The broadcaster has decided to cooperate “with the necessary reservations”.

“AVROTROS believes that a broader, in-depth and truly independent investigation is needed to address structural problems.”

According to the broadcaster, not only the working methods of the organisation and the EBU in Malmö should be investigated by “a recognised and independent research agency”.

AVROTROS also wants an investigation into “the independent role and mandate of the committee of delegated participating countries, the rules, procedures and appeal options for complaints and the increased pressure on the artists and delegations in the run-up to and during the Song Festival”.

The broadcaster still believes that the disqualification of Dutch participant Joost Klein was unnecessary and disproportionate. Klein is the first artist to be excluded from participation while the Song Festival was already underway.

The singer is said to have made a threatening gesture towards a camerawoman. The Justice Department is currently investigating the incident.

The NPO (Dutch Public Broadcasting) agrees with the criticism of the broadcaster. “We support the conditions that AVROTROS sets for a possible subsequent participation”, a spokesperson said. Source: nu.nl

First Bid

After Switzerland’s win at the Eurovision Song Contest, Geneva wants to host the 2025 edition. The Palexpo exhibition and events complex in the Swiss city has already submitted a bid to the Swiss broadcaster SSR, writes the newspaper Le Temps. Palexpo has coordinated the plans with the city council.

It is tradition that the winning country organizes the next edition. Geneva is the first city to report. Swiss media also takes into account the interest of cities such as Zurich, Basel and Bern. Previous Swiss editions of the Eurovision Song Contest were in Lugano (1956) and Lausanne (1989).

Geneva is located in the far west of Switzerland, on the border with France. It is a very international city, with offices of the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the World Health Organization and the Red Cross, among others.

Geneva is also home to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), an umbrella organization of public broadcasters and organizer of the Eurovision Song Contest. The EBU played a leading role in this week’s edition. The organization was criticized for the decision to allow Israel to participate due to the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, while Russia has been banned since 2022 due to the war in Ukraine.

There was also a lot of dissatisfaction among fans and participants about the decision to disqualify the Dutch entry Joost Klein. At the final last night, there were boos and cheers in the audience when Eurovision boss Österdahl came into view.

Switzerland won the Eurovision Song Contest for the third time yesterday, with the song The Code by Nemo. He is the first non-binary winner of the song festival. Source: NOS.