How will countries boycotting Eurovision affect the contest?

Broadcasters from The Netherlands, Ireland, Iceland, Spain and Slovenia are all boycotting May’s Eurovision Song Contest because Israel is participating.

Sources within Israel’s broadcaster say calls for it to be banned are unjustified, and organisers of the contest insist it must remain politically neutral, describing the event as "a platform for displaying the importance of peace and unity in a divided world".

More than 160 million watch each year, and it is a competition between public service broadcasters - including the BBC - and not one between governments.

The boycott has sparked one of the biggest crises in Eurovision’s 70-year history.

In several cases, the position to withdraw also reflects wider pressure from politicians and public opinion.

This week on The Inquiry we’re asking: ‘How will countries boycotting Eurovision affect the contest?’

Contributors:
Natalija Gorščak, president of the management board of RTV, Slovenia
Dr Bárbara Barreiro León, lecturer in film and visual Culture, University of Aberdeen, UK
Dr Heather Dichter, associate professor of sport history and sport management, De Montfort University, UK
Dr Dean Vuletic, author Postwar Europe and the Eurovision Song Contest, Luxembourg

Presenter and Producer: Daniel Rosney
Editor: Tom Bigwood
Technical Producer: James Bradshaw
Production Management: Phoebe Lomas and Liam Morrey

(Photo: Eurovision flags. Credit: Georg Hochmuth/Getty Images)