An Irish television channel will broadcast a Eurovision-themed episode of the sitcom Father Ted in place of the singing contest's final, as part of a boycott over Israel's participation. On Saturday night, RTÉ, Ireland's national broadcaster, will air the iconic 1996 episode 'A Song For Europe', in which priests Ted and Dougal enter the 'Eurosong' contest—a parody of Eurovision—to represent Ireland. The pair perform a disastrous minute-long song called 'My Lovely Horse' and end up receiving 'nul points' after plotting to stop Ireland from winning and having to host the competition the following year.
Eurovision 2026 Amidst Controversy
The Eurovision Song Contest began today in Vienna, Austria, but divisions over Israel's participation are hanging over the event's 70th anniversary. Host city Vienna has been decorated with hearts and the contest's 'United by Music' motto, with singers and bands from 35 countries competing for Europe's musical crown. However, Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Iceland have decided to boycott the competition over Israel's inclusion. Ireland has won Eurovision seven times, making it the most successful country in the competition's history alongside Sweden. But RTÉ said it would not be competing in Eurovision for the first time in 61 years last December, citing the 'appalling loss of lives in Gaza'.
Boycotting Broadcasters' Alternative Programming
RTÉ's decision to air the Father Ted episode has been praised by the Irish website Extra.ie, which described it as 'genius trolling'. Meanwhile, Slovenia said it would broadcast a documentary about Palestine. 'Instead of the Eurovision circus, the national television programme will be coloured by the thematic program series 'Voices of Palestine',' Slovenian broadcaster RTV stated. Spain's RTVE will run its own musical special, 'The House of Music.'
Financial and Political Implications
The boycotts are a financial blow to Eurovision, which is funded largely by participating broadcasters, and to public broadcasters at a time when many are under financial pressure from government funding cuts and competition from social media. Long a forum for good-natured and sometimes pointed national rivalries, Eurovision has found it hard to separate pop and politics in recent years. Russia was expelled in 2022 after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Tensions rose again after Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which killed some 1,200 people, and Israel's subsequent campaign in Gaza that has left more than 70,000 people dead.
Protests and Security Measures
The last two Eurovision contests have seen pro-Palestinian protests both outside and inside the venues, forcing organisers to clamp down on political flag-waving. Several performers and countries have called for the exclusion of Israel, which has competed in Eurovision since 1973, one of a few non-European countries to do so. The 2024 contest in Malmo, Sweden, and last year's event in Basel, Switzerland, saw pro-Palestinian protests that called for Israel to be expelled over the conduct of its war against Hamas in Gaza and allegations it ran a rule-breaking marketing campaign to get votes for its contestant after Israel finished second last year. When organisers declined to kick Israel out, five countries announced in December that they would not participate this year.
Voting Rule Changes
The European Broadcasting Union, which runs Eurovision, has toughened voting rules in response to the vote-rigging allegations, halving the number of votes per person to 10 and tightening safeguards against 'suspicious or coordinated voting activity.' Israel last year got 83 per cent of its points from the public for its song 'New Day Will Rise' and came second overall. The winner, Austria's 'Wasted Love', got just 41 per cent of its votes from the public, relying on national juries to power its way to the top. Posts and photos from the Israel X account run by Israel's foreign ministry, dated on the day Israel competed in last year's semi-final, encouraged people to vote for its singer Yuval Raphael, adding that 'you can vote up to 20 times'. Eurovision Song Contest Director Martin Green told Reuters, 'We saw some activity last year which we could describe as disproportionate marketing and promotional activity that we felt was out of sync with the nature of the show, so we put some rules in about that,' without referring directly to the posts. Several pro-Palestinian demonstrations are planned in Vienna during Eurovision week, and security is tight, with police officers from across Austria deployed in the capital and support from forces in neighbouring Germany.
