Chinese broadcaster loses Eurovision rights over LGBT censorship
Mango TV blacked out segment featuring two male dancers during Irish performance in semi-final
A leading Chinese state broadcaster has been banned from broadcasting the rest of the Eurovision song contest after it censored LGBT content from the first semi-final, including Together by Ireland’s Ryan O’Shaughnessy.
The European Broadcast Union (EBU), an alliance of public service broadcasters, said in a statement the contract allowing the Chinese broadcaster to televise the 2018 contest was terminated immediately, “leaving Mango TV unable to air the second semifinal on Thursday and the Grand Final on Saturday”, says the Daily Telegraph.
Mango TV “was criticised on social media for apparently blurring rainbow flags and censoring tattoos during Tuesday's first semi-final”, says the BBC.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The video-streaming site linked to a Chinese state broadcaster Hunan TV, blacked out the performance of Ireland’s O’Shaugnessy, during which two male dancers depicted a fraught relationship. The broadcaster also pixelated a rainbow flag waved during another performance.
The EBU said on Friday it had terminated its partnership with Mango TV because the censorship was not in line with its “values of universality and inclusivity and our proud tradition of celebrating diversity through music”.
Conservative attitudes towards LGBT issues in China are slowly changing. “Homosexuality was decriminalised in 1997 and removed from the government’s list of mental disorders in 2001, but discrimination and practices such as forced gay conversion therapy are still used” says The Guardian.
Although “Eurovision is not widely popular in China”, adds the paper, news of the censorship circulated around social media today. One Weibo user wrote: “Is this really that sensitive? If things keep going this way, soon even rainbows in the sky will have to be blurred out.”
O'Shaughnessy told the BBC that he welcomed the EBU's decision.
“From the very start we've said love is love - whether it's between two guys, two girls or a guy and a girl so I think this is a really important decision,” he said.
The Eurovision Song Contest, featuring musicians from 43 countries, is popular in countries outside of Europe. This year it is being held in Lisbon, Portugal.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
6 queer poets to read whenever but especially now
The Week Recommends April is National Poetry Month
By Scott Hocker, The Week US Published
-
How women's pain is often ignored in health care
the explainer The gap in care is especially glaring compared to how men are treated
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
6 serene homes in Vermont
Features Featuring a four-level Shaker barn in Hartland and a Scandinavian-inspired home in Stowe
By The Week US Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Gaza hospital blast: What the video evidence shows about who's to blame
Speed Read Nobody wants to take responsibility for the deadly explosion in the courtyard of Gaza's al-Ahli Hospital. Roll the tape.
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Giraffe poo seized after woman wanted to use it to make a necklace
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Helicopter sound arouses crocodiles
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Woman sues Disney over 'injurious wedgie'
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Emotional support alligator turned away from baseball stadium
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Europe's oldest shoes found in Spanish caves
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Artworks stolen by Nazis returned to heirs of cabaret performer
It wasn't all bad Good news stories from the past seven days
By The Week Staff Published