The VRT has doubts about a future participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. The Belgian broadcaster wants the organizer European Broadcasting Union to provide full transparency about the scoring. The VRT also wants to debate Israel’s participation with all countries.
“We have no indications that the scoring was not done correctly, but we do ask the EBU for full transparency,” says a spokesperson for the VRT. “The question is mainly whether the current voting system guarantees a fair reflection of the opinions of the viewers and listeners.” Twenty votes can be cast per person, which according to the broadcaster could lead to manipulation.
The statement from the Belgian broadcaster comes after the Spanish public broadcaster RTVE asked the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to investigate the votes of viewers. RTVE finds it strange that Israel, despite protests against the country’s participation in the Song Contest, received twelve points from the Spanish public. Both the Belgian and Spanish professional juries gave Israel zero points.
The EBU states that the voting procedure was correct. “It is important to emphasize that the Eurovision Song Contest voting procedure is among the most advanced in the world. In each participating country, the result is carefully checked and verified by a large team to rule out suspicious or irregular voting patterns,” EBU boss Martin Green told the Belgian news agency Belga.
Green says that he takes the concerns of the broadcasters seriously in the evaluation of the last edition.
RTVE also wants a broad debate about Israel’s participation. This initiative is supported by the VRT. “We at VRT have noticed that the Song Contest as it is currently organized is less and less a unifying and apolitical event,” says the VRT. “It is increasingly at odds with the original standards and values of the event and those of the public broadcaster.”
The VRT says that it works well with the EBU on “many levels”. But without a clear answer to his concerns, the Belgian broadcaster questions future participation.
The VRT cannot decide on participation in the next edition. Then it is the turn of the French-language Belgian broadcaster RTBF, with which the VRT alternates, to decide on participation in the event.
Israel came second in the singing competition on Saturday behind Austria. Israel’s participation has been controversial since the 2024 edition due to the war in Gaza. The EBU defends Israel’s participation because, according to the organization, the Eurovision Song Contest is a “non-political music event”. Source: nu.nl
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