On 12 August 2024, after an investigation by the Swedish police, charges against Joost Klein had been dropped because of a lack of evidence provided. This was the end of a lurching saga which began after the end of the second semi-final of this year’s contest, involving Joost lunging at a camerawoman after she forgot to stop filming him after his performance of “Europapa”. The drama that entailed the night before the grand final ended with the EBU disqualifying the Netherlands from the grand final, despite the song coming second in the televote in the semi-final.
This was the cherry on top for a chaotic year of Eurovision, which involved geopolitics and a maelstrom of toxicity within the press center. The city of Malmö became a pressure cooker for all the contestants involved, which spilled from outside the stage and into the fabric of the contest. Due to the EBU’s mishandling of multiple incidents, the trust between the organization and the fandom was breached, which could imbue into future contests if it’s not handled as soon as possible.
So far, the EBU has focused on stretching out the roles, so that the Executive Supervisor wouldn’t have to do too much in their position. This includes creating the position of the EBU director, who would “report to the EBU Deputy Director General and Media Director“, and oversee the work of the Executive Supervisor. In addition, they would develop task forces on Governance and Participation, along with Safety and Risk Management. Martin Green was hired for the first holder of this role on October 14, previously serving as the executive supervisor for the 2012 Olympics’ ceremonies and Eurovision 2023, amongst others. Ultimately, the EBU wants to make sure the events of the 2024 contest would not happen again.
Despite the EBU’s intentions, several delegations would like to see more. The Slovenian delegation wants to see further discussion of certain issues, such as with the Rest of the World and the fallout of the Netherlands’ disqualification. The EBU also ignored multiple complaints about abuse from within the press centre and outside of it, including derogatory commentary from KAN.
Future Actions:
—Determining what geopolitical events can necessitate a ban: Previous precedents of countries getting banned from the contest due to politics either involve United Nations sanctions or the broadcasters rising up against another. Within their Governance and Participation development area, the EBU hopes to “clarify the decision-making responsibilities of the various EBU Governing Bodies as it relates to the accepted list of participants, ensure a wide range of Member opinions are heard; the remit of the governing bodies…”, amongst other tasks. While trying to incorporate the views of a bunch of shareholders, a group focusing on current events would also help. They would also be able to analyze what’s going on in the world and see how it would impact the contest.
—Transparency over sponsorships: The target for this is MoroccanOil, which has been the primary sponsor for the contest for the past half-decade. They garnered event, digital, and media rights; MoroccanOil would then have their stylists work at Eurovision. There have been questions if the EBU’s reliance on their goods is connected to Israel remaining in the competition, so a report on how much the EBU is getting from their different sponsors is key. Since MoroccanOil will continue to be a sponsor in 2025, it will not make any immediate impact, but will be a start to find sponsorships to not only provide funds, but also reflect the ideals the contest promotes.
—Better protection of the artists and fan media: Despite the chaotic press center this year, along with infringements of the artists’ privacy, this is nothing new within this pressure-cooker environment. For example, S10 mentioned how press backstage always demanded something from her, which wasn’t common in the Netherlands. Along with standards on those who get accredited, there has to be a code of conduct on what behavior is allowed within the press center and backstage. A recent rule to restrict filming backstage is a yearned-for necessity, though reinforcement is necessary to prevent a toxic workplace environment from re-emerging.
—Limits on ways for governments to promote voting for their entry: While many foreign ministries use their reach to promote their Eurovision songs, the Israeli one took it to a new level this year with their wide advertising reach. Altogether, the ads were viewed 14 million times before the grand final, and cost approximately $1 million. Advertising is not illegal to achieve a good result, but the Israeli use could send a bad precedent with how much spent and the extent, resulting in more authoritarian countries taking a similar approach. The EBU could limit the amount of money needed for campaigns, along with making standards on how to promote. This would not only limit the ways problematic broadcasters could spin the vote, but also provide a more level playing field for countries who cannot afford a large ad campaign.
—Providing a diverse management team: The hype, and eventual second-place finishing for “Rim tim Tagi Tim” provided a bit of hope for southeastern Europe, which has struggled over the past decade. Not only would there be a first-time winner had Croatia won, but also hope with Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, and Montenegro returning. Only the latter has announced their return to the 2025 edition, but what stands out more is that the Reference Group frequently lacks Eastern European representation. Decided by the Head of Delegations, invitation, and whom previously hosted Eurovision, they control the flow of Eurovision from financing to how the brand is represented. With Balkan countries frequently struggling due to the energy crisis and lack of funds from their broadcasters, finding more members of the reference group from these areas would provide a new perspective on the contest, but also encourage cash strapped delegations to come back.
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a greater mix of genres and more mainstream appeal in the 2020s; however, politics will be a make-or-break point for a contest which involves so many diverging countries and interests. With these steps, the EBU could begin working to regain the trust of the artists and the fandom, without whom which Eurovision would fall apart.