EU accuses Eurovision bosses of handing gift to ‘enemies of Europe’ with flag ban

The European Broadcasting Union’s decision to ban EU flags during Saturday’s Eurovision final was a gift to “the enemies of Europe,” Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas said.

“It’s mind-blowing, what the EBU did,” Schinas told POLITICO's Brussels Playbook after the song contest’s widely watched conclusion was overshadowed by political controversy.

The commissioner said the EBU’s decision to for “the first time” exclude flags other than those of participating countries was ill-timed given next month's European election, and at a time when thousands of Georgian protesters were massing in the streets of Tbilisi in support of the democratic values the EU represents.

A spokesperson for Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also criticized the EBU’s move, saying: “It is certainly regrettable to ban the flag that is the flag of all the EU members and other Council of Europe members taking part in the contest and often flies alongside national flags on public buildings.”

Schinas told Playbook: “I cannot find the logical explanation for why the EBU is doing this. And what does this serve?”

“Less than a month from the European elections, who wins from banning the EU flag from Eurovision?” the commissioner added. “Only the Euroskeptics and the enemies of Europe.”

A spokesperson for the EBU said the Eurovision flag policy this year was “the same as in 2023,” with fans only permitted to bring flags of “participating countries and the rainbow/pride flags.” But recordings of last year’s event clearly show scores of EU flags in the audience.

Schinas said he would raise the matter with EBU management on Monday. “I will talk to them. I won’t let this pass,” he said. “I will seek explanations and clarifications.”

Nemo, a 24-year-old Swiss rapper who sang about their self-discovery as a non-binary person, won Eurovision 2024.

But this year’s competition, held in Malmö, Sweden, was one of the most contentious in its history, unable to escape the specter of conflicts in Gaza, Ukraine and elsewhere.

Ahead of the final, thousands of protesters gathered in Malmö, many waving Palestinian flags. When Israel’s contestant, Eden Golan, took the stage, she received a mixture of boos and cheers.

Nemo, the winner, remarked at the press conference after the show that they had accidentally broken their trophy. “The trophy can be fixed,” they said. “Maybe Eurovision needs a little bit of fixing too.”