Eurovision songs with political controversy

This article is about Eurovision songs with political controversy.

Rules

The rules of the Eurovision Song Contest state that political entries are not allowed. Despite that rule, the reference group of the European Broadcasting Union, the organizer of the event, has approved multiple songs over the years whose political content is disputed.

List of songs

Italy 1974

Italy participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 1974 with the song "Sì" by Gigliola Cinquetti. The Italian broadcaster RAI censored the live performance of the song because of the Italian referendum on divorce, which took place one month later. The lyrics of the song were seen as a subliminal message to influence voters. In the song, Cinquetti sings about her love for a man and her exhilaration when she finally says "yes" to him. The titular phrase "sì" ("yes") is repeated sixteen times throughout the song. Italy came 2nd with 18 points.

Israel 2007

Israel participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 with the song "Push the Button" by Teapacks. The meaning of the lyrics was considered ambiguous by some, but a reference to the fear of a nuclear war with Iran by others. The opening lyrics of the song are "The world is full of terror. If someone makes an error he's gonna blow us up", seen as a reference to the former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Some other lines from the song are "He's gonna push the button" and "Missles are flying and are also falling on me". The song was eventually allowed to participate. Israel performed in the semi-final on May 10, 2007 and came 24th in a field of 28, thus missing out on qualification for the grand final.

Georgia 2009

In 2008, the Georgian broadcaster GPB announced that they would be withdrawing from the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow, Russia. They later confirmed participation after all and hosted a national final on February 18, 2009, which was won by the group Stephane & 3G and the song We Don't Wanna Put In. The words "put in", which were pronounced "put een" in the song were seen as a reference to the Russian president Vladimir Putin by some. On March 11, 2009, Georgia withdrew from the competition, not willing to change the song lyrics, as they thought the decision to ask Georgia to change the lyrics was a result of political pressure from Russia.

Russia was at war with Georgia in 2008, resulting in the birth of the de-facto countries Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which Georgia sees as their land. Russia recognizes these two de-facto countries' independence. See also Russo-Georgian War.

Armenia 2015

Armenia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "Face the Shadow" (Originally titled "Don't Deny") by the group Genealogy, featuring members of the Armenian diaspora from five different continents and one member from Armenia. The lyrics, especially the original titular phrase "Don't Deny" were seen by some to be a reference to the Armenian genocide denial, especially because 2015 marked the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide. Due to outside pressure, the Armenian broadcaster AMPTV changed the song title to "Face the Shadow" on March 17, 2015. Armenia came in 7th place with 77 points in the 1st semifinal on May 19, 2015, thus qualifying for the final two days later, where they came in 16th place with 34 points.

Ukraine 2016

Ukraine participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "1944" by the Crimean Tatar-Armenian singer Jamala. The strophes were performed in English, but the chorus was performed in Crimean Tatar. The opening lyrics of the song are "When strangers are coming, they come to your house, they kill you all and say we're not guilty, not guilty". Due to its lyrics, the choice of using the Crimean Tatar language, due to the singer's nationality and the title being "1944", the song was seen as a reference to the deportation of the Crimean Tatars in the year 1944. The lyrics remained unchanged. Ukraine came 2nd in the 2nd semifinal on May 12, 2016 with 287 points and thus qualified for the grand final, which Jamala won with 534 points, bringing the country its second victory at the competition. Therefore, Ukraine hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 2017.

The Crimean Tatars call Crimea their homeland. This area was controlled by Ukraine until 2014 when it was annexed by Russia and subsequently incorporated into the latter. Ukraine considers Crimea Ukrainian territory. See also Annexation of Crimea by Russia.

Russia 2017

Russia originally planned to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Kyiv, Ukraine with the song Flame Is Burning by Yuliya Samoylova. On March 13, 2017, the Security Service of Ukraine announced that they might ban Samoylova from entering Ukraine due to her visit of Crimea, which is unlawful in Ukraine due to the Annexiation of Crimea by Russia in 2014. Ukraine sees Crimea as their territory. This was seen by some as a controlled move by the Russian broadcaster Channel One to portray Ukraine as a bad country. On April 13, 2017, Russia withdrew from the competition.

As a consequence, Russia sent Samoylova again the following year with the song I Won't Break. In the second semifinal on May 10, 2018, Russia failed to qualify for the grand final for the first time since the introduction of the semi-finals. Russia came in 15th place in the semifinal with 65 points.

References

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