The contest has been the subject of considerable criticism regarding both its musical content and what has been reported to be a political element to the event, and several controversial moments have been witnessed over the course of its history. British historian
Tony Judt wrote in 2006 that the contest in the 1970s and 1980s became "the most widely celebrated object of ridicule" on public television, because it "was so stunningly banal in conception and execution as to defy parody." Judt dismissed the artists who entered the contest as "a stream of inept performers" who would in most cases return to "the obscurity from whence they briefly emerged."
Musical style and presentation Criticism has been levied against the musical quality of competing entries, with a perception that certain music styles seen as being presented more often than others in an attempt to appeal to as many potential voters as possible among the international audience. By the 2000s,
power ballads,
folk rhythms, and
bubblegum pop have been considered staples of the contest, leading to allegations that the event has become formulaic. Given Eurovision is principally a television show, over the years competing performances have attempted to attract the viewers' attention through means other than music, and elaborate
lighting displays,
pyrotechnics, and
extravagant on-stage theatrics and costumes having become a common sight; criticism of these tactics have been levied as being a method of distracting the viewer from the weak musical quality of some of the competing entries. While many of these traits are ridiculed in the media and elsewhere, for others these traits are celebrated and considered an integral part of what makes the contest appealing. Although many of the competing acts each year will fall into some of the categories above, the contest has seen a diverse range of musical styles in its history, including rock,
heavy metal,
jazz,
country,
electronic,
R&B,
hip-hop, and
avant-garde.
Political controversies As artists and songs ultimately represent a country, the contest has seen several controversial moments where political tensions between competing countries as a result of
frozen conflicts, and in some cases open warfare, are reflected in the performances and voting. The
conflict between and has affected the contest on numerous occasions.
Conflicts between the two countries at Eurovision escalated quickly since both countries began competing in the late 2000s, resulting in fines and disciplinary action for both countries' broadcasters over political stunts, and a forced change of title for one competing song due to allegations of political subtext. Interactions between and in the contest had originally been positive, but as
political relations soured between the two countries so, too, have
relations at Eurovision become more complex. Complaints were levied against the winning song for , "
1944", whose lyrics referenced the
deportation of the
Crimean Tatars, but which the claimed had a greater political meaning in light of
Russia's annexation of
Crimea. As prepared to host the , 's selected representative,
Yuliya Samoylova, was barred from entering the country due to having previously entered Crimea illegally according to Ukrainian law.
Channel One Russia eventually pulled out of the contest after offers for Samoylova to perform remotely were refused by the broadcaster, resulting in the EBU reprimanding the
Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine (UA:PBC). In the wake of the
Russian invasion of Ukraine and subsequent protests from other participating countries, was barred from competing in the , which went on to win. The planned entry from , "We Don't Wanna Put In", caused controversy as the lyrics appeared to criticise
Vladimir Putin, in a move seen as opposition to the then-
Russian prime minister in the aftermath of the
Russo-Georgian War. After requests by the EBU for changes to the lyrics were refused, the
Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) subsequently withdrew from the event. The planned entry from , "
Ya nauchu tebya (I'll Teach You)", also caused controversy in the wake of
demonstrations against disputed
election results, resulting in the
Belarusian Television and Radio Company (BTRC) being disqualified when the aforementioned song and another potential song were deemed to breach the contest's rules on neutrality and politicisation.
Israeli participation promoting a boycott of the in Israel's participation in the contest has resulted in several controversial moments in the past, with the country's first appearance , less than a year after the
Munich massacre, resulting in an increased security presence at the venue in
Luxembourg City. Its first win proved controversial for
Arab states broadcasting the contest which would typically cut to
advertisements when Israel performed due to a lack of
recognition of the country, and when it became apparent Israel would win, many of these broadcasters cut the feed before the end of the voting. Broadcasters from Arab states which are eligible to compete have largely not participated, with the only Arab state to have entered Eurovision, competing for the first, and to date only time, in when Israel was absent. Israel's participation has been criticised by those who oppose current
government policies in the state as well as on the
Israeli–Palestinian conflict, with calls raised by various political groups for a boycott ahead of the in
Tel Aviv, including proponents of the
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement in response to the country's policies towards
Palestinians in the
West Bank and
Gaza, as well as groups who take issue with perceived
pinkwashing in Israel. Others campaigned against a boycott, asserting that any cultural boycott would be antithetical to advancing peace in the region. Following the outbreak of the
Gaza war in October 2023, the Israeli–Palestinian conflict once again impacted the contest, with
renewed calls for Israel's exclusion ahead of the . "
Hurricane", Israel's entry for that year's contest, was accepted by the EBU, although it was required to undergo rewrites as the EBU objected to the political nature of the original lyrics, which made reference to the
7 October attacks. Israel's second-place finish and win in the public vote in was contested by several participating countries, with Israel having conducted a large advertising campaign to encourage voting for its entry. Both editions saw protests against Israel's participation. After Israel was permitted to compete in , , , the , , and announced they would boycott, and 2024 winner
Nemo and 1994 winner
Charlie McGettigan returned their trophies in protest of the decision. Numerous studies and academic papers have been written on this subject, which have corroborated that certain countries form "clusters" or "cliques" by frequently voting in the same way; one study concludes that
voting blocs can play a crucial role in deciding the winner of the contest, with evidence that on at least two occasions bloc voting was a pivotal factor in the vote for the winning song. Other views on these "blocs" argue that certain countries will allocate high points to others based on similar musical tastes, shared cultural links and a high degree of similarity and
mutual intelligibility between languages, and are therefore more likely to appreciate and vote for the competing songs from these countries based on these factors, rather than political relationships specifically. Analysis on other voting patterns have revealed examples which indicate voting preferences among countries based on shared religion, as well as "patriotic voting", particularly since the introduction of televoting in , where
foreign nationals vote for their country of origin. Voting patterns in the contest have been reported by news publishers, including
The Economist,
The Times, and
BBC News. Criticism of the voting system was at its highest in the mid-2000s, resulting in a number of calls for countries to boycott the contest over reported voting biases, particularly following the where Eastern European countries occupied the top 15 places in the final and dominated the qualifying spaces. The poor performance of the entries from more traditional Eurovision countries had subsequently been discussed in European national parliaments. In response to this criticism, the EBU introduced a second semi-final in 2008, with countries split based on geographic proximity and voting history, and juries of music professionals were reintroduced in 2009, in an effort to reduce the impacts of bloc voting.
LGBTQ visibility , the contest's first
trans participant, and winner of the 1998 contest for Israel Eurovision has had a long-held fan base in the
LGBTQ community, and contest organisers have actively worked to include these fans in the event since the 1990s.
Paul Oscar became the contest's first openly
gay artist to compete when he represented .
Dana International, representing , was the contest's first
trans performer, and became the first LGBTQ artist to win the contest. In ,
Nikkie de Jager became the first trans person to host the contest. Several open members of the LGBTQ community have since gone on to compete and win:
Conchita Wurst, the
drag persona of openly gay Thomas Neuwirth, won for .
Marija Šerifović, who won for , subsequently came out publicly as a lesbian in 2013. Openly
bisexual performer
Duncan Laurence was the winner for the ; and rock band
Måneskin, which won for , features openly lesbian
Victoria De Angelis as its bassist, who at the time of the contest also identified as bisexual.
Nemo, who represented , was the first
non-binary winner. Past competing songs and performances have included references and allusions to
same-sex relationships; "
Nous les amoureux", the winning song for , contained references to the difficulties faced by a homosexual relationship;
Krista Siegfrids' performance of "
Marry Me" for included a same-sex kiss with one of her female backing dancers; and
Ryan O'Shaughnessy's performance of "
Together" for featured two male dancers portraying a same-sex relationship.
Drag performers, such as
Verka Serduchka for ,
DQ for ,
Sestre for , have appeared, including Wurst winning in 2014. Various political ideologies across Europe have clashed in the Eurovision setting, particularly on
LGBTQ rights. Dana International's selection for the 1998 contest was marked by objections and death threats from orthodox
religious sections of Israeli society, and at the contest her accommodation was reportedly in the only hotel in
Birmingham with bulletproof windows. (TRT) from , once a regular participant in the contest and a one-time winner, first pulled out of the contest in 2013, citing dissatisfaction in the voting rules; more recently when asked about returning to the contest it has cited LGBTQ performances as another reason for its continued boycott, refusing to broadcast the 2013 event over Finland's same sex kiss. LGBTQ visibility in the contest has been cited as a deciding factor for the non-participation of (MTVA) from since 2020, although no official reason was given. The rise of
anti-LGBTQ rhetoric in Europe led to a marked increase in
booing from contest audiences in protest, particularly since the introduction of a
"gay propaganda" law in Russia in 2013. Conchita Wurst's win was
met with criticism on the
Russian political stage, with several
conservative politicians voicing displeasure in the result. Clashes on LGBTQ visibility in the contest have occurred in countries which do not compete, such as in China, where broadcasting rights were terminated during the 2018 contest due to
censorship of "abnormal sexual relationships and behaviours" that went against Chinese broadcasting guidelines. == Cultural influence ==