Hungary’s right-wing government withdraws country from ‘too gay’ Eurovision Song Contest branding the annual event ‘a homosexual flotilla’ that damages mental health
- Pro-government television in Hungary said Eurovision was ‘a homosexual flotilla’
- Right-wing regime pulled out of Eurovision song contest because it is ‘too gay’
- Source in Hungarian public broadcaster said LGBTQ+ culture was behind move
Hungary has pulled out of the Eurovision song contest because it is ‘too gay’ for the country’s right-wing leadership, it was claimed last night.
No official reason was forthcoming from prime minister Viktor Orban but a pro-government television said Eurovision was ‘a homosexual flotilla’ and that Hungary’s mental health would be better off if it was out of the competition.
A source inside the Hungarian public broadcaster, MTVA, told the Guardian that employees believed the long association with LGBTQ+ culture was behind the move.
Eurovision has long been a celebration of camp fun, with Austrian drag queen Conchita Wurst winning in 2014.
‘I was not surprised. It comes from the organisational culture of MTVA,’ said the source.
Bearded Austrian drag queen Conchita Wurst (pictured) winning Eurovision in 2014, is said to be one of the reasons Hungary’s right-wing government has pulled out of the song contest
Positive coverage of LGBT rights was discouraged, the source said, except for annual coverage of Budapest Pride.
Hungarian website index.hu quoted unnamed sources in public office that saw Eurovision as ‘too gay’.
In a statement, MTVA said: ‘Instead of taking part in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2020, we will support the valuable productions created by the talents of Hungarian pop music directly.’
It would not elaborate on the reason behind the withdrawal.
Since Orban started a second stint as prime minister in 2010, free speech and democracy in Hungary have been slowly eroded.
Members of his ruling party have openly compared homosexuality to paedophilia and called for a boycott of Coca-Cola after an advert featured a gay couple.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban addresses the 2nd International Conference on Christian Persecution in Budapest on Tuesday. His country has has pulled out of the Eurovision song contest because it is ‘too gay’
András Bencsik, the editor of a pro-government magazine, said: ‘I welcome the decision, including from a mental health perspective, that Hungary will not take part in the homosexual flotilla that this international song competition has been reduced to.
‘Many young people thought that this is something for people under 18, but at this event the destruction of public taste takes place with screaming transvestites and bearded women.’
Russia, which has struggled with rampant homophobia, nearly left Eurovision in 2014 after a similar call by its MPs six years after it won the competition.