It’s not us that needs to change, it’s the Eurovision Song Contest itself

Who has the right to compete, and is the competition really a celebration of diversity and community?

Ireland’s Emmy during the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 semi-final in Basel Switzerland. Picture Andres Poveda

Ireland has been represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 58 times since making its debut in 1965 in Naples. 

And although we failed to qualify for this year’s Grand Final, we have, drumroll please... clocked up seven wins. We’re the only country to have won three times consecutively and, as it stands, Johnny Logan is the only person to have won the contest three times - twice as a singer and once as a songwriter.

Savour it while it lasts. 

Sweden is clipping at our heels, and judging by the odds and their performance in semi-final one, they’re set to break our record this year with 'Bara bada bastu' by KAJ.

In 2023, I questioned whether it was time to bow out of this loveless marriage we were in with the song contest, after not having qualified for the final for a fourth time in a row. 

Bambie Thug

In its history, the Eurovision Song Contest has seen many changes, and for a decade, Ireland had a reputation for staying the same. 

Then, came Bambie Thug.

Not only did Bambie represent a change in Irish Eurovision, but also a change in Ireland. 

The Cork native put Ireland back in the Eurovision conversation by representing us in a way that had the entire world talking.

Bambie Thug performs during the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest in Sweden last year.

Bambie challenged the competition in a way that we were proud of. 

But that journey wasn’t without turbulence.

After controversy surrounding the Cork native expressing pro-Palestine views and accusing the Israeli broadcaster of rule violations, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) appointed an independent expert to review the contest. 

From this, they issued a new code of conduct, which has come into play this year in Basel, Switzerland.

The 24-page document says the contests is a "celebration of diversity and community where everyone involved shares a common desire to respect one another, look out for each other, and affirm that our differences are far outstripped by our commonalities."

Flag policy

The new rules also include a new flag policy this year.

Contestants are now only allowed to display the flag of the country they are representing, both on stage and in other “official spaces” — such as the green room where contestants await results. 

This means a ban on all flags associated with the LGBTQ+ community. 

Meanwhile audience members attending the St Jakobshalle Arena can wave any flag they want, as long as it complies with Swiss law.

This was in contrast to last year’s event, where only the flags of competing countries and the standard six-stripe rainbow Pride flag were permitted in the arena. 

Nemo of Switzerland, celebrates after winning the Eurovision Song Contest last year.

Last year's winner Nemo proudly waved the non-binary flag on stage during the flag parade — a flag that is banned from appearing on stage this year.

So much for the code of conduct and the "celebration of diversity and community".

In the last few weeks several broadcasters across Europe, including RTÉ, asked for a discussion on Israel’s inclusion, in solidarity with Palestine.

In response a spokesperson said: “We all aspire to keep the Eurovision song contest positive and inclusive and aspire to show the world as it could be, rather than how it necessarily is.” 

Sound familiar?

Within this, there continues to be confusion as to what counts as “Europe” in the context of Eurovision — and who has the right to participate.

“How is Australia in the Eurovision?" continues to be the refrain of those who might look down their noses at the world's largest live music event.

The actual participants in Eurovision are the TV broadcasters who are members of the EBU — this comprises 112 broadcasting organisations spread across 68 members in 54 countries in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.

Australia pays to be a member of the EBU. 

The country’s broadcaster, SBS, received special approval to take part in the competition. 

As it stands, they are the only country outside the European Broadcasting Area to have ever competed.

The Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (RTR), meanwhile, was expelled from the EBU in 2021 due to consistent breaches of membership obligations and the violation of public service media values. 

According to the EBU, the Israeli national broadcaster (KAN) has not made similar breaches, despite the country’s horrific war in Gaza.

Should the EBU board of management, headed by former Director General of RTÉ Noel Curran, be the deciders of who or what is right when it comes to international affairs?

“Fuck the EBU,” Bambie Thug exclaimed hours after last year’s Grand Finale. 

“We are what the Eurovision is. The EBU is not what the Eurovision is."

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It was a sentiment echoed by Nemo during the winner’s conference moments before.

“I broke the code and I broke the trophy. The trophy can be fixed, maybe Eurovision needs a little bit of fixing too." 

This time it’s not us that needs to change, it’s the competition.