With the song contest kicking off today, don’t expect to see your favourite LGBTQ+ acts waving a Pride flag…
With the first Eurovision semi-final airing today, fans might notice a lack of Pride/LGBTQ+ specific flags being held by the artists.
Swiss broadcaster SRG SSR, with input from the European Broadcasting Union, is tightening rules on flags for artists this year. Performers can only bring their national flags into “official spaces,” like the stage and green room, meaning Pride flags and those representing a gender identity or sexuality can not be shown.
A statement about the change reads, “Together we wanted to strike a balance to ensure that our audiences and artists can express their enthusiasm and identities, whilst at the same time provide more clarity for the delegations when it comes to official spaces.” The rules are said to be “in line with other international competitive events.”
Fans, on the other hand, will be able to bring “legally permitted” flags into the stadium such as the Pride flag. According to European media, the Palestinian flag will also be allowed. Flags featuring racist or discriminatory content or symbols inciting hate, offense or defamation will be banned as it violates Swiss law.
Last year, as IN Magazine reported, winner Nemo had to secretly bring the non-binary flag into the Malmö arena. At a press conference after their win, the artist said “I had to smuggle my flag in because Eurovision said no.” They went on to say Eurovision “needs a little bit of fixing.” The song contest did post an image to Instagram of Nemo and the flag after, but faced a slew of criticism.
Ahead of this year’s contest, Nemo spoke out again about the flag controversy calling the move “stupid as fuck.”
“You can’t be known for like the queerest thing in the world…A contest that has been associated with queerness and gay culture for so long, and then be like ‘oh, we don’t allow Pride flags for the artists’” they said. Nemo added how they found the decision dumb and confusing.
The flag debate was one of many issues plaguing last year’s contest, which saw the disqualification of The Netherlands and artists calling for a boycott on Israel’s participation due to the conflict in the Middle East.
The Eurovision Grand Final will air on Saturday, May 17, 2025. Canadians can tune in at 3:00 p.m. EST (12:00 p.m. PST) on Eurovision’s YouTube Channel.
POST A COMMENT