As they did last year after the hectic and eventful week of Eurovision 2024 in Malmö, Slovenian broadcaster RTV SLO once again asks the EBU for more transparency and for concrete actions regarding the Eurovision Song Contest. For the first time, RTV SLO’s director even mentions the possibility of withdrawing from the competition, and list Israel’s participation and the lack of transparency in the voting process as part of their concerns.
Questions over Israel’s participation
Ksenija Horvat, director of the broadcaster, sent a letter to fellow members of the EBU to describe RTV SLO’s concerns following the 2025 edition of Eurovision.
As the director of Television Slovenia, I am once again addressing you with serious and growing concerns regarding Israel’s continued participation in EBU events, especially the Eurovision Song Contest.
Ksenija Horvat in her letter to eBU members
She is indeed addressing the members “once again”, as the broadcaster already asked the EBU serious questions about the contest last year. At the time, these were focused on the handling of the Joost Klein incident, as well as several issues regarding the voting process, including the nature of online votes, and the necessity of the Rest of the World segment.
Unfortunately, the response we received did not contain convincing or concrete explanations, nor did it reflect the urgency and seriousness of the issue we are addressing. During this time, the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories has worsened, and public concern – both in Slovenia and throughout Europe – has increased significantly.
Ksenija Horvat in her letter to eBU members
Israel’s participation was not mentioned in last year’s message. This year, their participation is being called into question directly by RTV SLO, as it has been by other broadcasters earlier in the season (RTVÉ from Spain, RÚV from Iceland, for example). Although not mentionning it as such, the fact that Horvat mentions public concern about the issue would put RTV’s position close to those calling for Israel being excluded from the contest because their participation would bring it “into disrepute”. This was the official argument used to exclude Russia in 2022.
Concerns about voting transparency and politicisation
The topic of Israel also transitions, in the letter, to the topic of the public voting in Eurovision. “New Day Will Rise”, from Israel, won the televote in the midst of a very strong advertisement campaign paid for by the Israeli government (and not the broadcaster), with several broadcasters calling out the method and considering that it brought politics into the voting, thus attacking the apolitical nature of the contest.
[The results of the public vote] further reinforced public distrust.
[…]
Many viewers in Slovenia and elsewhere expressed serious doubts about the credibility and transparency of the voting, especially in the political context surrounding the contest. The feeling that political interests could influence decisions on participation or the final results of the vote shook the public’s trust in the impartiality of the EBU.
We are particularly interested in comparing telephone votes with online votes, as we believe this is essential to restoring trust in the integrity of the voting process. As public media, we have a duty to provide our audience with accurate and verifiable informationKsenija Horvat in her letter to eBU members
Last year, RTV SLO already called out the EBU about the online votes, and was surprised at the number of online votes that were received. Figures from Belgium’s VRT (and RTBF) and from Spain’s RTVE have shown that when a mix of voting medium exist, online votes usually represent the absolute majority of them, and have made the numbers of votes rise instead of simply replacing more traditional modes of voting.
Last year, the Slovenian televote gave 10 points to Israel, and this year, 6 points. In previous years, however, Slovenia’s public votes did not particularly go to Israel, even in 2023 (when Noa Kirel finished fifth in the televote ; no points from Slovenia) and 2018 (when Netta won the contest ; no points from the Slovenian public either).
A possibility to “reflect on” participating in the contest
The letter ends with a clear message: these concerns are serious and must be addressed, with RTV Slovenia ready to mention the possibility of withdrawing from the contest if the answers are not up to what they expect.
As a public media outlet responsible to the public, Television Slovenia is under increasing pressure to respond to such concerns. If the EBU does not take concrete steps and address the issues, we will reflect on our participation in future Eurovision events.
Ksenija Horvat in her letter to eBU members
We will be forced to do so if the EBU continues to fail to address these key issues from both an ethical and public interest perspective.
This is one of the clearest and most public threat of withdrawal we have seen in the past few years, coming close to those of broadcasters ready to withdraw if Russia was allowed to compete in 2022. But this time, the idea is not that Slovenia would withdraw if a specific country remains in the contest (despite a growing outspoken opposition to Israel’s participation from the broadcaster): they would think about withdrawing if the EBU does not take concrete actions to answer the concerns of members.
To do so, Horvat calls on the EBU to convene “an open, inclusive and urgent debate among its members – including music performers and civil society representatives – on voting transparency, engagement policies and ensuring that the EBU’s values are consistently and credibly implemented.”
[RTV SLO hopes to receive] a serious and substantive response and to restore trust in the transparency, accountability and values to which the EBU is committed .
Ksenija Horvat in her letter to eBU members
What do you think about RTV Slovenia’s very public statement? Do you think other broadcasters will join them to ask for more transparency and for a debate on Israel’s participation? Can the public vote be trusted in the current conditions? Tell us more in the comments below or on social media, at @escxtra!
