Eurovision: Spanish television threatened with "punitive fines" after reporting on Gaza victims

By The New Obs with AFP

Published on May 17, 2025 at 5:52 p.m. , updated on May 17, 2025 at 7:14 p.m.

Google News

Reading time: 1 min.

Spanish public radio and television group RTVE, which broadcasts Eurovision in Spain, has been reprimanded by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) for comments on the Gaza offensive made during its broadcast of the event, the EBU reported on Saturday, May 17.

Also read

Eurovision: Petition signed by 10,000 people in Finland calls for boycott of Israel

According to the Spanish daily newspaper " El Pais ", which revealed the information, this formal notice was sent by letter to the director of content production at RTVE, Ana María Bordas, who is also head of the Spanish delegation at Eurovision.

In the letter, the EBU, which organizes Eurovision, asserted that "political statements that could compromise the neutrality of the contest are prohibited" and threatened RTVE with "punitive fines" if comments about Gaza were to be repeated on air during the final on Saturday evening.

"We can confirm that we have spoken to RTVE about this issue and made it clear to them that commentators must maintain their neutrality during the broadcast of the Eurovision Song Contest," the EBU confirmed in a short message sent to AFP.

According to El Pais, the EBU was annoyed by RTVE presenters' reminder of the number of people who have died as a result of the Israeli offensive in Gaza during Israeli candidate Yuval Raphael's appearance in the second semi-final of the competition on Thursday evening.

Also read