Spain could face huge Eurovision fine after breaching show warnings (2025)

Spanish broadcasters ignored warnings and risked receiving a massive fine from the Eurovision Song Contest.

While many people stayed up to watch Austria win the Eurovision Song Contest last night, broadcasters in Spain risked receiving a huge fine from the show after ignoring warnings. The highly anticipated final of the contest took place last night in Basel, Switzerland.

Spain's entry to the competition was a singer-songwriter and dancer called Melody, who impressed those across Europe with her upbeat track. Unfortunately, the singer placed 24th after the juror and public votes.

However, before the final even began, Spanish broadcasters displayed a statement that went against warnings from the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), reports the Mirror. Showing a black screen, the broadcasters showed text in white with both a Spanish and English translation.

The statement, which stayed on screen for 16 seconds, said: "When human rights are at stake, silence is not an option. Peace and Justice for Palestine."

The message, which was broadcast on Spain's equivalent to the BBC (RTVE), was also posted on X and it was quickly spread by social media users.

Even before this statement was made, there was controversy surrounding this year's Eurovision contest. Many pro-Palestine protesters had rallied together to try and stop Israel's inclusion in the show. This was then followed by more problems after Israel's performance.

While receiving a mixed response from the audience in Basel, UK commentator Graham Norton was quick to make a jibe at the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and Switzerland.

He said to the UK viewers: "I'm not sure what you're hearing at home, but it was a mixed response." This response highlighted the difference in what the studio audience and at home viewers were hearing.

The Eurovision Song Contest has come under fire as it reportedly covered the boos from the audience for the controversial entry by adding a fake applause.

Reports have suggested that the show's bosses had chosen to drown out the booing in the arena after the rehearsal performance on Friday night of her song 'New Day Will Rise'.

A statement regarding crowd noise was released. It said: "For the Eurovision Song Contest, the host broadcaster SRG SSR is working with the 'audio sweetening' method, which is common practice for major international productions.

"This process helps to harmonise the sound of the transitions between moderations, video clips and the individual acts and to create a consistent soundscape for the TV audience. It is used exclusively for the technical rounding off of the programme.

"This process is used equally and identically for all acts. The competition and its results are not affected in any way."

Further trouble occurred during the Israel performance as organisers have said that two people in the arena attempted to rush onto the stage.

A spokesperson for SRG SSR revealed: "At the end of the Israeli performance a man and a woman tried to get over a barrier onto the stage.

“"They were stopped. One of the two agitators threw paint and a crew member was hit. The crew member is fine and nobody was injured. The man and the woman were taken out of the venue and handed over to the police."