Eurovision 2025.Photo: Eurovision.
From 9 to 11 December, the board of RTV Slovenia discussed important issues, including the country’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 and the role of Israel in the context of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. According to the Time Ukraine Israel portal, citing Eurovision fun, this issue was one of the hottest on the agenda.
A decision on Israel’s participation in the song contest under these conditions has not yet been made. RTVSLO adopted a number of important recommendations for the company’s management, including the revision of the financial plan and programme for 2025, which also includes participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. The board approved a resolution requiring RTVSLO to submit a request to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to exclude Israel from the contest.
According to the documents provided, the RTVSLO board identified three possible scenarios:
- RTVSLO should immediately appeal to the EBU to exclude Israel from participating in Eurovision 2025. If Israel does participate, Slovenia will refuse to participate and will not broadcast the event.
- RTVSLO must submit a request to the EBU demanding the exclusion of Israel, but if it participates, Slovenia will stop broadcasting Israel’s performance.
- The RTVSLO should demand that the EBU expel Israel from the Eurovision Song Contest, with all information about these actions being made available to the council and the public.
The Council voted in favour of the third option, although it is worth noting that the outcome of this request seems to be a foregone conclusion. A few days ago, the EBU announced the participants of Eurovision 2025, and Israel remained on the list. The organisers of the contest also said they were preparing changes for next year, but did not provide any notifications about the exclusion of participants. The EBU has confirmed that it is committed to creating the best possible conditions for all participants.
Slovenia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2025: Preparing for the National Selection
Slovenia is already preparing to select its representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 through the national EMA final, which will be held on 1 February 2025. This will be the return of the EMA after a two-year break. The selection will take place in two stages of voting. At the first stage, five special committees will evaluate the participants using a system similar to that used at Eurovision (1-8, 10 and 12 points). Each committee will consist of five people representing different professional fields, including:
- Music jury (singers, musicians, producers)
- Television jury (editors, presenters, directors)
- Radio jury (radio editors, journalists)
- OGAE Slovenia jury
- The international jury of the Eurovision Song Contest (bloggers, online journalists)
After the songs are evaluated by the committees, the two best songs will go to the superfinal, where the winner will be determined by the general vote.
Slovenia’s representative at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024
It is worth mentioning that last year, Slovenia was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 by Raiven with the song “VeronikA”, which took 23rd place in the contest. Therefore, participation in the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest 2025 is likely to be particularly important for Slovenia, as the country strives to achieve better results.
