Eurovision Tightens Rules to Keep Politics Out

The Eurovision Song Contest is making some big changes. They want to keep politics out of the competition. The new rules stop governments and other groups from pushing too hard for certain songs. If they do, they might get in trouble. This year, Israel's entry, Yuval Raphael, came in second. Raphael is a survivor of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack. But some people thought the voting wasn't fair. They said Israel's government pushed too much for Raphael's song. The winner, JJ from Austria, also had doubts about the voting. Critics said Israel's entry got an unfair boost. They also said people voting many times for the same song went against the spirit of the contest. Israel hasn't said anything about these claims. They often say there's a global campaign against them since the Gaza war started. The Eurovision director, Martin Green, said they want to keep the contest about music and unity. He said the contest should stay neutral. Under the new rules, a bigger group of experts will vote in the semi-finals. They will have half the vote. The other half will still come from the public. Fans can now vote for only 10 songs instead of 20. The organizers want people to spread their votes around. Next May, the contest will be in Austria. Before that, members will talk about Israel's part in the contest. Some countries want Israel out because of the Gaza conflict. Israel says it doesn't target civilians in Gaza. They say they are being treated unfairly. Some European lawmakers want to see the voting data from this year's contest. They think it might have been manipulated.