Broadcasters across Europe challenged the voting system for the Eurovision song contest, winning Saturday in a tense finale after overwhelming vote for Israel’s entries. Waste love was eventually won by Austria's JJ.

"We will ask if it's time for the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to update these rules or at least review whether the current rules allow for abuse," said the Finnish public broadcaster. Spanish public broadcasters called for a "full review" to avoid "external interference."

The RTé in Ireland requires that these numbers be broken down, and the Netherlands and Iceland are also those who ask questions. Competition director Martin Green said it was "serious".

Israeli public service broadcaster Kan will rise, winning the public vote in full after 34 scores in 38 national and international telephone votes. Its performer Yuval Raphael is a survivor of the Nova Music Festival terrorist attack.

Previous Israeli entries ranked second in public votes and finished fifth in the 2024 competition. Kan had previously been forced to change the lyrics for October rainfall, which is believed to directly refer to the Hamas attacks inside Israel on October 7, 2023. Performer Eden Golan sang the Decline of Hurricane.

Public Spotify and YouTube streaming data show that Raphael's tracks lag behind other competitors in terms of popularity. New Day Rise Will Rise will be the 19th most popular song in the competition's Spotify competition this year, but with the highest score Twelve o'clock Public votes from 13 countries.

The Israeli government's social media channels have been encouraging people to vote for representatives, allowing up to 20 times. The Israeli Embassy in London posted on social media during the finals, encouraging people to vote for Raphael 20 times.

Israeli marketing seems to encourage people to submit multiple votes, not even listening to songs or watching performances. At present, this does not violate the rules of European TV.

Belgian broadcaster VRT provided data to community news website Songfestival.Be. Their statistics show that the number of votes voted in Belgium increased from 1.3 million in 2023 to 2m in 2024, and then increased by 2.2 million in 2025. However, the show has only half the audience in 2025, and like Belgium, which did not win the final.

Dutch broadcaster Avrotros issued a statement this week saying it is "very important, which is very important to the non-political and binding value of the European TV song competition" but is "increasingly affected by social and geopolitical pressures."

The results made some quarters happy. The Jewish Chronicle describes the 2025 result as a "rejection" against anti-Israel activists and media experts, and writes: "European TV fans ignore the ruthless campaign against the Jewish state."

Ewan Spence, senior editor at ESC Insight, reported to Eurovision throughout the year, told The Guardian that as the conflict in Gaza continues, there are potential problems with any future Israeli victory. “If Kan wins the Eurovision Song Contest under the Israeli flag, it is expected to be held the following year, which will cause a significant security challenge.

“If the competition has to be held elsewhere, the reputation of the Eurovision network within Israel will be damaged, and the co-host broadcaster will face reputation PR issues to co-hosts.”

German broadcaster ARD is likely the first port EBU approaches someone’s co-host with Israel, just like the way Britain co-hosts at Liverpool in 2023 on behalf of Ukraine. But Benjamin Netanyahu's administration, which has almost been seeking privatization Kan, can almost put pressure on the Israeli side. Broadcasters will face boycotts of competitions hosted or co-hosted by Israel, while conflicts in Gaza continue.

Some in the Eurovision community believe that the competition is affected by changes in the EBU to accommodate Israeli participation. Now, the number of people in the arena seems to be lower to prevent Israeli actions or pro-Palestine TV broadcast booing and bring stricter rules for fans with flags in the arena. A security incident occurred during Raphael's performance that resulted in a European TV staff member being hit by paint, and on the day of the game, pro-Palestinian protesters clashed with police in the center of the host city of Basel.

"If Kan wins Eurovision on Saturday, the song contest will face loss of engagement from the community media and the wider fan base," Spence said.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez made it clear that Israel had deported Israel from European TV networks on Monday, comparing the situation with Russia's exclusion from international events, saying: "(Russia) had to participate in international competitions and therefore could not participate... So Israel should not participate because what we cannot allow is the double standard of culture."

EBU has been contacted for comment.