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‘It is time to ask if the rules allow abuse’: broadcasters call for overhaul of Eurovision voting after Israeli near win

Questions around social media campaigns prompt several nations to demand a ‘complete review’ of how the contest’s public vote works

Dutch broadcaster AvroTros issued a statement this week saying that it attaches “great importance to the apolitical and binding value of the Eurovision song contest” but that it is “increasingly influenced by social and geopolitical pressures”. Ewan Spence, senior editor at ESC Insight, which reports on Eurovision all year round, told the Guardian that there are potential issues with any future Israeli victory while the Gaza conflict continues. There was a security incident during Raphael’s performance that led to a Eurovision staff member being hit with paint, and on the day of the contest pro-Palestinian demonstrators clashed with police in the centre of host city Basel.

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