Will Israel be the Downfall of Eurovision?

Steven Perkins: 00:00:00

does this mean for Eurovision: 2026

AJ Clay: 00:00:10

Hello, London, we are ready for your vote. Hello.

Steven Perkins: 00:00:17

It's Monday, 22nd of September, and we are back with a brand new episode, but not the one that I was initially planning to bring you.

AJ Clay: 00:00:24

I was going to pay tribute to.

Steven Perkins: 00:00:25

Next year's host nation with a look at the history of Austria at Eurovision. But then, well, you've probably noticed that a lot of news has happening.

n the Eurovision Song Contest: 2026

AJ Clay: 00:00:46

And at this pivotal moment, it feels right to do a whole episode about what this means for the contest, both.

Steven Perkins: 00:00:51

This year and in the future, generally. And because there's a lot to discuss, I am delighted to welcome back friends of the pod, Adrian Bradley and AJ Clay. Adrian, welcome.

Adrian Bradley: 00:00:59

Thank you. Hi there.

Steven Perkins: 00:01:00

And aj, welcome back.

Speaker D: 00:01:02

Hello. Nice to be here.

AJ Clay: 00:01:04

So, obviously it's been an exciting couple of weeks. There has been a lot happening.

Slovenia were the ones who kind of got the ball rolling when they made their initial statement on the 4th of September.

I think it was where they said at the time they wouldn't be making a decision until December because they wanted to see what the EBU would decide about Israel's participation. It was kind of seen at the time of them saying, well, we're not doing it if Israel are.

And then they later came out and clarified that was indeed what they meant, that they weren't doing Eurovision if Israel were going to be involved. And they also wanted to kind of raise their concerns again about the legitimacy.

Steven Perkins: 00:01:38

And the transparency of the televote.

AJ Clay: 00:01:42

So this was kind of the moment where it all started to kick off. And it's kind of really interesting that Slovenia is the place where it all happened, because they're not really regarded as a Eurovision powerhouse.

Adrian Bradley: 00:01:52

Yeah, possibly.

I think we have to say that there were a number of issues that Slovenia are raising and I wouldn't focus it all, I think, with Slovenia, just on the presence of Israel or not.

I think finances, and I think with a lot of members of EEBU at the moment, finances is also a big part of decision making, kind of going into Eurovision as well. So I think the combination of that had something to do with It.

I also think the timing may have had a bit to do with last week's heads of delegation meeting in Croatia, the idea that they were all going to be getting together soon, likely to be talking about it, and that probably started to get different countries starting to think about the issue.

AJ Clay: 00:02:35

Yeah, it's a good point to raise, actually.

Speaker D: 00:02:36

Sorry, yeah, no, I was just going to agree with, like, the financial thing. I think that's been a bit of an issue for a few years. I think a lot of. I think, especially with a lot of the.

In quotes, you know, poorer countries, it's quite a lot of money to kind of invest in something that, I mean, you might not necessarily be getting good returns out of it. You know, it sounds cold and calculated, but I guess that's how some of the broadcasters might see it.

Steven Perkins: 00:02:58

Yeah.

AJ Clay: 00:02:59

I think the point that was being raised by Slovenia is that a lot of the smaller countries do sort of feel like they are being sidelined at Eurovision, that there isn't really kind of a way for them to win it, almost, and that they are kind of funneling all this money into a project that kind of, as you say, isn't necessarily giving them great returns.

And so, yeah, as a said, we mustn't sort of hold the Israel issue as the sole driving point of this, but obviously that's kind of where it started to take us.

I think it is really interesting that it was kind of Slovenia who got the ball rolling, because obviously no one's going to sit there and think, oh, God, if we haven't got Slovenia at Eurovision, the whole thing collapses.

But at the same time, you just need one country to stand up and say that statement, and then suddenly other countries feel emboldened, or at least will.

Adrian Bradley: 00:03:45

Be asked the question, and once they're then asked the question, then they need to kind of decide what their answer is.

Speaker D: 00:03:51

It did force a lot of people's hands, didn't it? Because even though it's just Slovenia or whatever, a lot of countries went, oh, hang on, yeah, we do need to take a stand on their side. Away.

AJ Clay: 00:04:02

Yeah. I mean, I think that's what's really interesting about it, is that it has kind of.

For the last couple of years, we've had sort of murmurings about it, We've had people saying, oh, yeah, we might pull out, let's see. And kind of nothing's ever really fully come of it, because everyone always, in the end, does go to Eurovision.

And so for Slovenia to actually say, well, do you know what? Actually, we're going to Put our cards on the table here and say, if it carries on like this, we probably won't. Was kind of a moment, I think.

And then of course, we got, we'll move on to Ireland with the next country to announce.

And that was , I believe, the 11th of September, where they basically came out with a very unequivocal statement saying, we are not going to Eurovision if Israel are allowed due to the situation in Gaza.

And again, Ireland aren't the Eurovision powerhouse that they once were, but they are a country with a huge presence at Eurovision, I suppose a huge history with the contest. And that, I think, was when we saw Ireland jumping on as well, and in very, very clear terms about what they meant by it.

That's when I think people started to think, oh, hang on a minute, something's happening here.

Speaker D: 00:05:06

Yeah, no, agree their glory days are gone, but they have such a long standing relationship with Eurovision and I think people really love it in Ireland. But then I have noticed that as a country, they do seem to have taken a stand on the Israel issue anyway.

So I think, to me, it was kind of inevitable that they kind of go, yeah, no, we're not going to do it, not with Israel.

AJ Clay: 00:05:30

Yeah.

It did feel very much like it was coming from RTE specifically saying, this is our policy as a broadcaster and we cannot have kind of this policy for the news, but then this policy for Eurovision, we have to make these two things meet in the middle and that's why we're doing it.

Adrian Bradley: 00:05:45

Yeah.

And I think given kind of what we were saying about Savino and like you say, I think the island statement was the one where it's very clear this is what we're talking about, not there's no other issues, all other things being equal, we will be at Eurovision next year. And that, you know, stands out. And I.

That, to me did feel that combined with some governments stuff going on in Spain at pretty much the same time as the island statement. So the.

The Spanish cultural Minister was starting to talk about it a lot then at a point, you know, I've been making kind of very clear in other entities being the whole point of the EBU process is that it's not up to governments and it is up to governments. That's the point where countries get themselves kicked out the ebu.

So whilst the minister, the Spanish Prime Minister can say what they like, ultimately it was the Spanish broadcaster that needed to decide. Which I'm sure we'll get to.

AJ Clay: 00:06:38

Yeah, exactly. I mean, I think that was really interesting.

We kind of had the rumours about Spain for several days before an official statement came from their broadcaster, because the Culture Minister was weighing in and there was all this talk on a political level about it. And I think.

I think the bit where perhaps obviously the Ireland statement felt like a big line in the sand, but then suddenly, a day later, Netherlands make their statement.

And that one, I think, hit very, very hard, because that was them saying not only we don't want to be at Eurovision if Israel are there, but also very, very specifically saying in their statement, and we know that there was interference with the televote last year.

Speaker D: 00:07:16

That was bold. I mean, when I saw that written down, I just thought, oh, yeah, well, they've just.

They just thrown the cards on the table there and I really respect that. That's kind of taken the level of discourse, I guess, up a notch, isn't it?

Adrian Bradley: 00:07:28

Yeah.

I mean, the other interesting thing from that statement, however, was the fact that they're carrying on all their preparations and kind of expect, you know, they're not behaving as if they don't expect to be in Eurovision next year, which I think is also perhaps something to do with a lot of these statements all kind of coming at once.

We know, for example, that this process that was kind of kicked off in July, this independent senior producer speaking to members, trying to kind of gather opinions, has been going on. You feel that's probably at quite an advanced stage by now, you would have thought.

And it's quite possible that a lot of the members may have a very good idea of what that report is likely to say and may even have seen, I don't know, I'm speculating, but may even have seen drafts of a report as well. So that could have a lot to do with some of the positions being put out right now.

It's possible that that was something that was discussed at the heads of delegation meeting as well in Croatia. Again, we don't know, but there's a lot of speculation around that. So that could also have something to do with the timing.

AJ Clay: 00:08:28

Yeah, I think that's a really good point.

One of the things I did have on my list to talk about was, is there a risk of the EBU calling these countries bluff and saying, well, actually, if that's your position, then so be it?

Personally, I feel that the fact that these statements are coming out in the first place suggests that they don't think there is a particularly high risk of that, because these are countries who probably do want to go to Eurovision, do want to broadcast the contest, don't suddenly want to have to find an extra kind of eight hours of programming in May at short notice. Yeah.

Adrian Bradley: 00:08:57

And ultimately it's a vote of a member, so it's not going to be a decision from on high.

The only thing that would be a decision from on high would be if a decision has been made to quietly get Israel to drop out before it gets to any vote, which there's been speculation in some press and some areas of that might be what EBU are trying to do and would like to happen, to kind of get it to go away. But ultimately, if it gets as far as December in the General assembly meeting in December, that will be a vote of other countries.

So the members will have a good will. Probably have a good idea now of how they think which countries are going to vote and where that vote is likely to go. I'd have thought.

Speaker D: 00:09:37

Yeah, I think they are secretly banking on. I think the kind of ideal situation for them would be just Israel quietly shuffled out the back door. Whether that's what's going to happen.

Yeah, I don't know. It would be. I mean, it'd be fairly scandalous, I guess, if, like a Big Five wasn't there and especially from a financial point of view as well.

Obviously there'd be like a big financial contributor to it. I'm not sure if that will happen, but it would certainly be shocking.

Adrian Bradley: 00:10:04

And of course, there are other factors at play as well.

So a bill that's gone through the Israeli Parliament and has been passed but not enacted, which would privatise, can and effectively stop it being a public service broadcaster, which at that point would make it ineligible to be a member of EBU as well.

So there are a number of things that could happen that would result in Khan no longer being a member of the ebu, no longer being present at Eurovision between now and December as well, where it may not come to a vote. So there are lots of things at play.

For a while it kind of looked like, is it going to be, you know, a continuing kind of snowball of these and are they going to be able to kind of hold off on this discussion until December? At the moment, I don't know it.

I don't know whether maybe it is going to last until December now before there's a decision made on this, unless a number member of a Big Five or one of a really, really senior people, like countries that take part, kind of make a statement now, you kind of feel it. It seems to have gone quiet. I think the big players now have kind of put their cards on the table.

I suppose what's interesting is, despite kind of earlier reports and some interesting quoting of people, I don't think we've seen any country absolutely come out and say in strong terms that they will leave if Israel is excluded. Although we have had.

I think both Germany and possibly Italy have said things along the line, Germany specifically, of wanting to ensure that there is a proper due process that kind of goes on in this decision making. That is as far as Germany has gone, which isn't as far as some reporting had it, I think, earlier, earlier in the year.

That's as far as they've gone on the record. We don't know what went on in discussions in July in London and we, you know, that ultimately led to this report being commissioned.

And we don't know what. What might happen between now and then.

But that is the thing that could start to kind of complicate things a little bit if you get other members having the counter view, which then leaves. Could leave a contest in a very difficult position.

And the people you absolutely have to feel sorry for are the organizers in Vienna now trying to put together what is supposed to be the 70th anniversary contest. And they already have an incredibly short window to put on a huge show.

And realistically now, December, it's going to be two months short of a window to actually know what it is they're doing, who's taking part, what it's going to look like, all of that sort of thing.

Steven Perkins: 00:12:34

Yeah.

AJ Clay: 00:12:34

There's an interesting point as well that you raised a little bit earlier I do want to pick up on, which is about Cannes and the fact that the ebu, I think their position is driven partly by the fact that their whole job is to protect public service broadcasters. The last thing they want is for Cannes to be privatised and to become a government propaganda tool.

And obviously, if Israel is pushed out of Eurovision, that does kind of play into the government's hands.

And that, I think, is what they are trying to avoid, which isn't necessarily an argument for keeping Israel in Eurovision, but you can at least see why it has been drawn out the way it has, why they are kind of, particularly with Germany, trying to follow due process, trying to make sure, because they have to stick up for these broadcasters and their public service rights because of what can happen if they don't.

Adrian Bradley: 00:13:21

And that absolutely nearly did happen a few years back when the government was trying to privatise Cannes, and it was its membership of EBU and Eurovision that perhaps kept it as a public service broadcaster at that Time and an independent broadcaster at that time. The question is whether it may no longer. It may be that the Israeli government decide actually whether it's an EB or not. They.

They may no longer care before EBU gets to decide whether it wants Canada's a member or not either. So that. That could also happen in the next couple of months. So there's.

There's a lot to go, but certainly I. I feel like one way or another, we're running out of road on a decision to be made with, you know, with so many clear cards on the table, some kind of decision is going to be made soon and I imagine probably within the reference group, within the higher. The higher echelons of the ebu, I imagine they're relatively clear as to what that direction is going to be by this stage.

AJ Clay: 00:14:23

We haven't specifically talked about Spain yet, so let's get Spain onto the table because their statement was also very interesting because that followed on the statement that had come from the Culture Minister, had come from the government with RTV's board.

I think it was the board passing a motion that they would both decline to take part if Israel's participating, and crucially, that they wouldn't be broadcasting it, which. That's a huge deal because that is a large audience that the contest is losing.

And we know how much Eurovision does to brag about its reach, about the number of people that watch every year. If the market of Spain suddenly drops out, that is a big problem for them.

And as well, we have to talk about the fact that countries like Spain, and Spain's a big five country, Netherlands, I believe, is widely considered to be kind of the 6 6th country at Eurovision. These are huge financial contributors to the contest.

If they are not there, that is a massive hole in the budget, which either means you have to shrink the budget of the show or you have to ask everyone else to pay more, which, again, I think they don't really want either of those scenarios, do they?

Speaker D: 00:15:24

No, it kind of feeds into what we were saying earlier.

But if you've got countries that can't really afford it at the moment, if you increase, if you have to turn around and go, sorry, you guys, you've got to pay more in for this to keep going. A lot of them are going to go, nah, sort it.

AJ Clay: 00:15:38

Well, they're going to say, literally, we can't. We can barely afford it as it is.

If the question is either our rates to participate in Eurovision go up or we're not at Eurovision, we're probably going to have to say we're not at Eurovision and it's not because we don't want to be there, it's because we haven't got the money in the budget.

Adrian Bradley: 00:15:54

And it's going to raise questions as well.

From a purely logistical point of view, when you have a certain number of countries pulling out already, we're down to a relatively small number in the semifinals. You know, it could get to like, 13 in each semi final.

And at that point it becomes a very odd semi final to get rid of just three countries, perhaps from each. From each semi final, it starts to feel incredibly unfair, perhaps on those countries as well. So that will be playing into it.

And certainly you don't feel at the moment there are any countries likely to do a Luxembourg to suddenly return to Eurovision that haven't for a long time. There don't seem to be any potential players in that area at the moment.

So that will also be playing into some of the decision making right now, I think.

AJ Clay: 00:16:38

I read there was a few whispers of north Macedonia possibly looking at coming back, but that feels very kind of wafty and in the air and there's no guarantees. And as you say, we are at the point this year there was one semi final where we got rid of five countries, one where we got rid of six.

We are very, very close to being at the point where you can't justify having two semi finals. And again, it goes back to what I was saying earlier.

The Eurovision Song Contest provides all of its member broadcasters with two hours of programming on Tuesday night, two hours on a Thursday night, four hours on a Saturday night.

If you then cannot logistically produce two semi finals and you have to go back down to one semi final, that is a massive amount of relatively inexpensive live programming that they are going to have to replace with something else which they do not want to do.

Adrian Bradley: 00:17:21

I mean, this is the reason that countries like Germany, Spain and the UK pay so much for it, because it is a bargain for the pound per viewer per minute, or whatever it is, is incredibly cheap, incredibly cheap for BBC. So that's why, you know, they are a big five country. And I imagine that's exactly the same in Spain.

That also has huge viewing figures and it definitely is the same in Germany. So there are. There are so many things. And I come back to the issue as well.

Like, next year is the 70th anniversary of Eurovision and the EBU and Eurovision will very much know what they will be wanting to focus on next year, and they won't be wanting distractions and they won't be wanting another story and they won't be wanting a controversy again, especially after what happened in Malmo. So again, you have to think all of this will be playing into the decision making.

The only question on my head is kind of like December is still a long time away and very near to the contest. And if the decision is still unclear by December, I mean, that is going to make things incredibly hard work.

Speaker D: 00:18:27

Yeah.

And it's kind of running into that national final season where people will really want some clarity before they start spending their money on, you know, selection shows, which, again, you know, it's a lot of money, a lot of entertainment that might not be there.

Adrian Bradley: 00:18:41

Yeah. It's worth noting that of the country so far, Ireland are the only one that kind of have a selection show.

Maybe we don't really know exactly what it's going to look like next year.

And notably all the countries that do have big, expensive selection shows, Norway, Sweden, their statements have been much more ambiguous, much less equivocal in their position. And I think that's just because the financial implications of that are so much bigger for Norway to suddenly cancel the unknown.

You could argue that Sweden could carry on a melody festival in without taking part in Eurovision. It would still feel unlikely, but it would be an odd contest. So I equally understand why those countries haven't.

Their statements have been much more. There is a process that the EBU is taking. We will wait for the outcome of that process rather than anything beyond that.

I suppose Iceland, as Iceland do have a relatively, you know, a relatively long standing selection process, but I think Iceland has also made its position incredibly clear.

AJ Clay: 00:19:48

So, yeah, I mean, I wonder, just.

Speaker D: 00:19:52

Going to say, I wonder to what extent they would keep the shows around as kind of, I suppose like San Remo was before Eurovision, just to kind of let's have a celebration of like national, cool national music acts and just kind of keep it in the programming anyway. But just go, well, have a nice prize, but you're not going to Eurovision.

Adrian Bradley: 00:20:09

But like, yeah, yeah, it's possible. I imagine that that will be decisions of.

And I could see that almost more in Sweden than some of the others because I think it is a show that has its own history and sport that doesn't necessarily need Eurovision, whereas the other ones, I'm not so sure.

AJ Clay: 00:20:27

This is the thing, isn't it? I know Spain, I believe, have said Benidormfest will go ahead regardless, but Benidorm Fest is a relatively new show.

It's only been around for a handful of years and it's not an institution like Melfest is, or even less famous level like UMK is.

So you can say, yes, we will still have our selection process, we will still do it as though we are going to head to Eurovision, but whether people will want to a take part in it if there isn't the prospect of going to Eurovision at the end of it, whether viewers will be that bothered about watching it if it's just literally a nice song competition within your country.

I mean, obviously Portugal has its own selection process and I think that's one of the reasons why they've perhaps been a little bit reluctant to take a side one way or the other, because their selection process is very much a Portuguese song long festival and they will want to go ahead with that regardless. And they probably don't want the spectre of but it's not going to Eurovision at the end hanging over it.

So I suppose the other thing is now, as you said, we've had this kind of domino effect of these four countries in very quick succession and it has gone a little bit quiet since the Spain announcement, possibly because I guess you can't really top a big five country making that kind of statement. And of the other remaining countries, they seem much less likely to take a stand one way or the other.

Do we think there is a possibility of anyone else joining in at this point? I know there have been rumours possibly Belgium kind of still on the fence slightly.

We've had Iceland and I forget which other country was basically saying they're still waiting on the decision either way, but they would probably, if they get to December and Israel are still there, they probably don't want to go to Eurovision.

So it feels like at this point that's kind of where we're at, is countries kind of not willing to come up with quite such a strong statement because the point has been made perhaps.

Adrian Bradley: 00:22:13

And I think especially after the EBU extended the deadline to withdraw to December as well. I think a lot of the financial pressure has kind of been taken away from that.

That's kind of been made clear that you don't need to pay your money now, you don't need to necessarily choose one way or the other now, because you can make the decision afterwards.

I think given the Iceland statement calling on Israel to be expelled was in July and their position hasn't really changed, I feel it would be incredibly unlikely that we would end up with a situation where the EBU decides Israel is still going to Eurovision and Iceland still goes. Although I know that they, whilst they haven't said it in so many words, I'm not sure that they feel that they necessarily need to right now.

So maybe, maybe that's me overreading into Iceland's position, but that's kind of where I. Where I kind of see them.

And I guess most of the major countries now have given some kind of statement one way or the other that they're likely to do. Like, for example, we know we're not going to get a statement one way or the other from the uk. The UK statement will absolutely be.

This is a matter for the ebu.

Speaker D: 00:23:19

Yeah, I think that probably feeds into, I guess, current political stuff in the.

Adrian Bradley: 00:23:26

Uk, not just in the uk. I imagine a lot of broadcasters will probably be in the same position where actually they don't want to take a position of it.

Whereas, if you remember before Eurovision last year, Spanish broadcaster RTV broadcast a message about. Yeah, before the thing in Gaza. Right. Right up to the point where the contest started.

So Spain, on the other hand, is, along with Ireland, is being very clear on its stand and its position on this as well. So it will be interesting to see what it plays out. It has.

Now, it is also interesting that it has quietened down a bit since I had a delegations meeting.

So since they've all been in the same room since, perhaps I've heard from a reference group from Martin Green and from others of EEBU as to, you know, what's happening, maybe that has removed some of the pressure from countries to feel the need to run and make another statement or things like that. I don't know. Again, we don't know what happened at that meeting.

Maybe they were just talking about boring things like how long people should get between stage and what the. I imagine was an awful lot of discussions, but at the moment, the next.

Well, then when would, you know, things like the draw, things like the hand, all of those sorts of things feel like, are they in? Are they gonna have to be on hold now until December, until January, until they know exactly who's going to be there?

Speaker D: 00:24:49

Yeah, because that's going to be very close to, like you say, December being the deadline, and it's usually very early in the new year that they do the draws and. Yeah, I mean, I do wonder if it would be really cool if he got like a surprise, like another big five comes out and makes a shocking statement.

I'm not sure we get that, but.

Adrian Bradley: 00:25:05

I'm just thinking of who's left. You've got France, Germany, UK and Italy. I can't see any of those four making decisions.

AJ Clay: 00:25:16

They've all, I think, kind of made, you know, statements to some degree, most of which have been, we will wait to see what the decision is and we will respect the decision, which I think is probably as much as we are likely to get from them at this point.

y were hoping would happen in: 2023

And then the broadcaster was saying, well, we're not going to rewrite it.

y wouldn't have been there in: 2023

When they won the televote, there were statements coming out saying, look, this just shows that the world supports us. So I don't really think Israel unilaterally withdrawing from Eurovision feels like a particularly realistic option.

But if it comes to the point, perhaps where they see the writing on the wall, they see that if you don't withdraw, you are going to be forced to leave regardless, and they would rather have the kind of protect the dignity of making it their decision. Possibly. Maybe that's the thing that happens, I don't know.

Adrian Bradley: 00:26:40

And I suppose the other thing is, if the writing rule comes to, you might be kicked out of the ebu, rather than it just being about the song contest, that might be a thing that kind of pushes the hand to let's make this go away for a year, rather than go the full way of deciding whether we're allowed to be members of the EBU or not. And that could also play into a decision because we don't know exactly what the vote in December is on. Is it purely on Eurovision?

Is it actually on their status as a member within the EBU as a whole, which both have slightly different consequences. So there's a lot that could play out over the next couple of months. Yeah, I feel like if you are at.

In Geneva, at EBU headquarters, you really would love there to be some kind of clear decision before December, but perhaps it may only be December that we find out.

Speaker D: 00:27:34

Yeah. And like you say, there could be a lot more at stake. I guess people forget that it's not just Eurovision that the EBU deal with.

And there's lots of sport and there's lots of, like, the live news, but.

Adrian Bradley: 00:27:47

Access to news, protections for journalists, news feeds. The EBU is a huge organization of women, which Eurovision is a small part of it.

Part of the reason why they've been very clear in their branding that it is the Eurovision Song Contest and not Eurovision, because Eurovision is a brand that the EBU uses for a lot of things, including its broadcast network and stuff like that. So it's quite keen to be very clear as to what Eurovision Song Contest is as well.

So, yeah, it is important to remember, and also important to remember that the EBU is made up of its property broadcasters and it is a democratic body of its broadcasters. So ultimately it isn't a decision from on high, but will be a decision of the member broadcasters of ebu.

AJ Clay: 00:28:30

Yeah, I think that's a key point. I feel like maybe up until now there hasn't necessarily been the will within the member broadcasters to force the issue.

And now it feels like that will is there suddenly, which may be why things have changed. We'll wrap up in a minute.

One thing I did just want to touch on very briefly while we're here is that I know this has been debunked since, but I did just very much enjoy that news story that was floating around, I think, about this time last week, about alternatives that were being considered, one of which was that Israel could compete under a neutral flag.

Speaker D: 00:29:01

This isn't the Olympics, guys.

Adrian Bradley: 00:29:03

I know. Yeah, it was one of those that I kind of looked at and go, this just makes zero sense. Because it's like, we all know who it was.

But also, there's nothing stopping Israeli artists entering. Not. Not representing Khan. It's. It would merely be about the place of Israel at it. So having a.

Having a weird random, this is Israel, but it's not Israel. But what if they want it would. Who would like so many. It raised so many more questions. You listen, it went. That clearly was never a goer.

And you have to wonder where that even came from. But maybe it came from the same place as Eurovision. Asia.

Speaker D: 00:29:42

Well, I think it was very.

I saw that the source was some kind of Israeli news site, so I think I was immediately a bit like, well, a lot of truth to this, but I'm just imagining, you know, someone in a sort of comedy mustache going, this is not Israel. Ignore this. Who could it be? Like, it's never going to fly.

Adrian Bradley: 00:29:57

It's flying the Eurovision logo instead of.

AJ Clay: 00:29:59

Yeah, I think. I mean, as you say, I remember at the time thinking, like, this doesn't feel like a legitimate story.

I'm not going to give it too much, you know, creeds. But it is very funny and I'm going to enjoy it on that level.

I think I was having a conversation with Dudpois from Ese Insight about how you could basically just do Eurovision one year only as a kind of masked singer thing where we don't know any of the. We don't know who anybody is representing. We'll just unmask, we'll do all the voting, then we'll unmask them at the end and find out who wins.

And then obviously it would mean you couldn't have any national finals. It would be 100% internal selection. It's completely unworkable.

But I think, you know, funny though, as a 70th anniversary special, let's just do that.

Speaker D: 00:30:37

Yeah. Like, who knew jellyfish would be Belgium? Like, that would be a brilliant one off thing, wouldn't it? Yeah.

AJ Clay: 00:30:44

Oh, well, on that note, I think so. Let's wrap things up. So thank you to both Adrian and AJ for joining us. Adrian, thank you.

Adrian Bradley: 00:30:52

Thanks for having me.

AJ Clay: 00:30:54

And Ajay, thank you, thank you.

Speaker D: 00:30:56

It's been a pleasure.

Steven Perkins: 00:30:57

That is all from us for this week.

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