Eurovision to bar countries at war from hosting: What that means

The organisers of the Eurovision Song Contest have announced that any country involved in an “armed conflict” or “sensitive geopolitical situation” will no longer be allowed to host the annual tournament.The announcement on Wednesday by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organises Eurovision, comes as Russia’s war on Ukraine and Israel’s war on Iran, genocide in Gaza, occupation of Lebanon and raids and arrests in the occupied West Bank continue.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Israeli minister blasts Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal for Palestinian flag wavelist 2 of 3Eurovision braces for new protests over Israel’s participationlist 3 of 3Where did Eurovision go wrong?end of listWhile Russia was barred from competing in the contest at all in February 2022 over its invasion of Ukraine, Israel was permitted to continue both hosting and competing despite multiple protests and the boycotting of the contest by several countries last year.Now, while Israel may not be able to host the event – which it did in 2019 as winner of the 2018 contest – it can still take part.Here’s what we know about what this all means.What is Eurovision?The Eurovision Song Contest, which began ...