Every year we reach the same point where the EBU keeps a straight face and insists that Eurovision is a peaceful, non political song contest. At the same time half of Europe is ready to walk out like we are at a horror movie premiere that Stephen King has already declared the event of the decade. Which tells us absolutely nothing, because Stephen King has been hyping half finished trailers ever since he learned how to use social media.

I love Eurovision. I always have and I always will. It is the one night of the year when Europe gets official permission to arse around. For one evening the world’s problems move to the background and millions of people scream the same choruses like we are one large confusing but good hearted family. That is why this whole situation is so frustrating. This time it is not about the stage show, or the mystery of how Sweden leads the odds weeks before anyone even knows who their artist is.

In the middle of all this color and chaos the conversation has become openly political whether the EBU likes it or not. Eurovision tries to be non political in a time when the entire contest and the entire world is shaped by politics. The more the EBU insists otherwise, the more politics spills out from behind the curtains.

When Russia was removed from the 2022 contest the reasoning was clear. A country that launches an unprovoked war cannot participate in Europe’s biggest music event.

But when the same discussion is about Israel, the principles do not seem equally straightforward.

Supporters of Israel’s participation say the situations cannot be directly compared. Russia’s attack on Ukraine was seen as a threat to European security, while Israel’s war in Gaza is viewed as a more regional conflict. Critics argue that the difference is meaningless. Both involve severe human rights violations and civilians in danger.

Where I stand

I base it on one simple thing. Consistency. If Russia was excluded because the country is at war and causing massive human suffering, why does the same logic not apply to Israel? If war was enough to exclude one country, why is the other explained with the phrase “the situation is complicated”?

The situation is always complicated, but human rights cannot be conditional. The moment they are, they lose their meaning.

If the EBU wants credibility, it needs one clear standard. Not two parallel ones: one for Russia and one for Israel. If military actions and serious accusations were enough to exclude Russia, why are they not enough now? And if Israel is allowed to stay in the contest, should we admit that Russia’s exclusion was not only about principle but also about geopolitics?

In the end it is simple. If Eurovision wants to be non political, it has to be consistent. Otherwise everyone can see that this is not about principles at all. It is about selective courage. And selective courage is not courage. It is just a way to speak loudly when it is easy and stay quiet when it would actually require standing behind your own values and your own rules.