{"id":668432,"date":"2026-07-01T18:46:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T18:46:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/668432\/"},"modified":"2026-07-01T18:46:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T18:46:12","slug":"eurovision-boss-on-canada-israel-and-bollocks-financial-struggles-claims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/668432\/","title":{"rendered":"Eurovision Boss on Canada, Israel and ‘Bollocks’ Financial Struggles Claims"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\t2026 is shaping up to be a big year for the Eurovision Song Contest<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tAs well as celebrating its 70th anniversary in May, which saw singer Dara score a first-ever win for Bulgaria<\/a>, and preparing for the inaugural Eurovision Asia<\/a> to be held in Thailand this November, the all-singing, all-dancing pan-European extravaganza has now welcomed a new extra-continental member in the form of Canada.<\/p>\n

\n\tLast week the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), an alliance of public service media broadcasters that owns and runs the contest, voted in the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) as a full member, making them eligible to join Eurovision, and today both CBC and the EBU have confirmed that the country is set to take part in next year\u2019s cycle, which will be held in Bulgaria (traditionally the winning country hosts the following year\u2019s competition).<\/p>\n

\n\tGiven Eurovision is the biggest singing competition on the planet (this year\u2019s grand final in Austria drew 131 million viewers globally and saw more than 148 countries participate in the vote), the contest has unsurprisingly fielded its share of controversies too, from a failed attempt to launch an American version in 2022 (NBC\u2019s American Song Contest) to boycotts over Israel\u2019s participation amid the war in Gaza this year and rumors of financial struggles (due to the boycotts).<\/p>\n

\n\tJust before news broke that Canada was planning to join the festivities, Eurovision director Martin Green sat down with Variety in an exclusive interview to discuss all of the above and more.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tCanadian Celine Dion wins the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest for Switzerland<\/p>\n

\t\tHow long has Canada joining Eurovision been in the works?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI believe the conversation started a while back, because the key thing was that CBC wanted to become a full member of the EBU and it\u2019s worth dwelling on that for a moment, because the EBU is a membership organization of public service broadcasters at a time when public service broadcasting is under attack, really.<\/p>\n

\n\tThen, obviously, through that journey, one of the things is that as a full member you have the right to join Eurovision and I think that became very attractive to the broadcaster there.<\/p>\n

\n\tNow that they\u2019ve formally said that they want in, we\u2019ll get them ready and welcome them with open arms. It\u2019s very exciting.<\/p>\n

\t\tWith Australia, Israel and Canada now participating, all of whom are outside Europe, could Eurovision change its name?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tNo, Eurovision stands for many things now [including] that it was very firmly a European proposition grounded in Europe to bring Europe together.<\/p>\n

\n\tWe\u2019re right up there with the Olympics and the Oscars in terms of global brand recognition, and I think, in a way, the more we go to other places, the more we do other things, the fact that the name has within it this honor of its birth and why it was created is fantastic.<\/p>\n

\t\tAre we going to see more countries outside of Europe joining \u2014 perhaps the U.S.?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI don\u2019t know the detail on that, because I don\u2019t run member services. But I think what I would say is that, again, because public service broadcasting is in such a precarious time, I think more and more people around the world are seeing the value of being together and having a more powerful, combined voice.<\/p>\n

\t\tThere was a report before this year\u2019s competition claiming Eurovision is in a precarious financial state, partly because of the five countries boycotting this year. Do you have any comment on that and is bringing Canada in partly because of the financial situation?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tLet me dispel those [rumors]. I\u2019ll use the technical term first, which is: it\u2019s bollocks. Eurovision has a really robust model and it has over the 70 years weathered what the world tried to throw at it. So we\u2019ll be around for many, many, many, many, many years to come. I understand why it\u2019s an inevitable question, but no, Canada have been talking for a while about joining the EBU, knowing that that gave them a right to [join Eurovision]. We had 35 countries in Eurovision last year, I expect there to be a few more next year. As everyone can see it makes for a fantastic show, so our doors remain open. And again, the purpose of Eurovision is to bring the world together, and we\u2019re delighted to see Canada joining us.<\/p>\n

\t\tLast winter the EBU decided that Israel should be allowed to remain in the competition. Is there likely to be another vote about its participation?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tNo, that\u2019s done. The membership spoke conclusively. Almost 70% made their decision that they believe that public service broadcasters are not responsible for the actions of their government, and that [Israeli broadcaster] Kan should be allowed to participate.<\/p>\n

\t\tShortly before this year\u2019s competition the New York Times ran a story implying Israel was manipulating the vote, having finished in the top five for the past three years. What was your take on that and was there an internal review into possible vote manipulation?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tWe reviewed everything earlier. Unfortunately, I thought it was just a sort of rehash of lots of bits and pieces.<\/p>\n

\n\tWe had a fully validated vote again this year. We saw no evidence of undue large scale paid promotion, we saw no evidence of anything untoward in our voting at all. We know that the availability of [the audience each] being able to vote 10 times doesn\u2019t make any difference to the outcome.<\/p>\n

\n\tOur vote is fair and true and validated, and it\u2019s like any vote, really. If you\u2019re not that keen on the outcome, then next year vote more and vote for something else.<\/p>\n

\t\tAre you hearing that some of the countries that boycotted this year might return next year?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tTo be fair, even if we knew that we\u2019d keep that to ourselves because it\u2019s their story to tell and I would never speak on their behalf.<\/p>\n

\t\tIs there a suggestion that other countries might boycott next year?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tNot that I\u2019m aware.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tDara wins the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest for Bulgaria<\/p>\n

\t\tThis year\u2019s Eurovision also featured three countries that were returning after taking a break from the contest, including Bulgaria, which came back after a three-year absence and won first place. Are there other reasons countries decide not to participate year to year?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tPeople may not know that you elect to come into Eurovision on an annual basis.<\/p>\n

\n\tWe have a deadline in September every year where countries can tell us and countries will have different reasons [they might decide not to participate]. They might just want to take a break for a couple of years \u2014 it\u2019s bloody hard work, right? Or something might be going on in their organization or there might be something else.<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s not until the October of every year when we do the confirmation of who\u2019s taking part that we actually know who\u2019s coming the year after. And it\u2019s something I actually love about it, that it is not so rigid that they\u2019ve signed 10-year contracts and therefore you know exactly who\u2019s going to be there. There is a bit of jeopardy every year when we announce the full list about who\u2019s coming.<\/p>\n

\t\tIt was very moving to see Dara lift the trophy this year given it was Bulgaria\u2019s first ever Eurovision win \u2013 how are preparations going for next year\u2019s contest?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tThey\u2019ve got a good team and I think it\u2019s going to be very special, not least because Eurovision has never been to Bulgaria, and I think this is again the power of global events. There\u2019ll probably be quite a lot of our fans and viewers who have never been to Bulgaria and suddenly they\u2019re going to learn an awful amount, and obviously that pays dividends in terms of future tourism and just getting to know a country and the people of the country you may have not got to know before. It\u2019s literally the power of the major event.<\/p>\n

\t\tYou\u2019re also preparing for the inaugural Eurovision Asia, which is taking place in Thailand this November. How is that coming along?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tWe\u2019re very excited. We\u2019ve never had another continental version of Eurovision. It\u2019s the first time ever but we\u2019re going to start small and grow, because we didn\u2019t want to rush in and do anything too big, although I think we\u2019ve still got more countries than took part in the first ever Eurovision.<\/p>\n

\t\tIt seems like a great time to go to Asia given the global interest in K-pop.\t<\/p>\n

\n\tExactly and I think that\u2019s why we had open ears to it, because without doubt one country is dominating popular music so I think there was a lot of the broadcasters over there who thought this was a fantastic opportunity to get other voices and other artists platformed on a global platform, and show that there\u2019s more than one [type of] pop music in Asia.<\/p>\n

\t\tWill it be televised outside Asia?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tAt the very least, we\u2019ll be putting it through the Eurovision YouTube channel.<\/p>\n

\n\tWe\u2019re very much hopeful that new fans, diaspora fans, current fans, future fans will have a look and celebrate our new baby\u2019s arrival.<\/p>\n

\t\tWill people outside Asia be able to vote?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tYes, there\u2019ll be a \u201crest of the world\u201d vote.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tConchita Wurst wins the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest for Austria<\/p>\n

\t\tThe U.S. version of Eurovision \u2013 2022\u2019s American Song Contest on NBC \u2013 wasn\u2019t as successful as hoped. Did you learn any lessons from that?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tYes, I think so: we shouldn\u2019t do one-country Eurovisions. I stopped all the conversations that were going on about one-country Eurovisions when I arrived, because I think our brand is that we bring broadcasters from different countries together and artists from different places together through music.<\/p>\n

\t\tCould we see a North or South America Eurovision?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI think if the conversations are there to be had, we won\u2019t not have them, but again, you don\u2019t want to take things too fast. Let\u2019s see how Asia works out.<\/p>\n

\t\tEurovision recently celebrated its 70th anniversary: when thinking about some of the winners over its history, like drag artist Conchita Wurst, who won for Austria in 2014, or Israel\u2019s Dana International, who became the first ever trans winner in 1998, or Nemo as the first non-binary winner in 2024, it\u2019s remarkable how consistently ahead of its time Eurovision has been.\t<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s what we\u2019re really proud of and I think we forget this at our peril. Eurovision has always been a place where the dispossessed found a home, and where the disenfranchised found love, and where people who felt they didn\u2019t fit in suddenly found they profoundly did fit in and, more than that, they were center stage, singing their hearts out, and that is continuing. That will continue. And it sits as something very, very precious at the heart of this that we want to protect as much as we can.<\/p>\n

\t\t2026 is a big year for Eurovision as a brand: as well as the 70th anniversary in May there\u2019s the 23rd Junior Eurovision in Malta in October (where performers are aged 9 to 14) and the inaugural Eurovision Asia in November. Plus the Broadway adaptation of Will Ferrell\u2019s 2020 movie \u201cEurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga\u201d is also in development. Are there any other big projects in the works?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tWatch this space. I hope we\u2019ll be talking about some really fun and interesting stuff before the year is out.<\/p>\n

\n\tThis interview has been edited and condensed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"2026 is shaping up to be a big year for the Eurovision Song Contest. As well as celebrating…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":668433,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[96,14709,391,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-668432","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-entertainment","tag-eurovision-song-contest","tag-tv","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/668432","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=668432"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/668432\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/668433"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=668432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=668432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=668432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}