The European Commission has expressed anger over a ban on EU flags at the Eurovision Song Contest and demands explanations.
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00:00Brussels is hitting back after the Eurovision Song Contest banned the display of European
00:06flags.
00:08Fans who carried the blue flags for the grand final on Saturday were told to relinquish
00:13them in order to be allowed entrance into the venue.
00:17The European Commission says the decision is completely regrettable and is demanding
00:21explanations from the organiser, the European Broadcasting Union.
00:26In a statement, the EBU says this year's policy did not include an express ban on the
00:32European flag, but that the rules against flags had been more rigorously enforced due
00:37to heightened geopolitical tensions.
00:40This was an apparent reference to the Israel-Gaza war, the protests in Georgia and Russia's
00:45invasion of Ukraine.
00:47The Commission maintains that the EBU should avoid making geopolitical assessments.
00:53It is in moments where geopolitical situations can be seen as complicated that we must reaffirm
01:00these values and their attachment, and these are values, values of freedom, values of cultural
01:08diversity, values of understanding between peoples, which are precisely the values that
01:13have been carried for decades and with a lot of talent by the Eurovision Song Contest.
01:19I think that it is precisely at this moment that we must be able to show these values,
01:26to illustrate them, including with the European Union flag.
01:35The controversy over flags follows a string of controversies that marked this year's Eurovision,
01:41including the divisive participation of Israel and the last-minute expulsion of Dutch entry
01:48Joost Kline.