EBU bans living animals on stage

by Victor Hondal 1,315 views

The Eurovision Song Contest rules are being changed from next year with a specific banning for living animals on stage. This is the European Broadcasting Union answer to all those acts intending to take part in the national finals together with their “pets”.

The Eurovision Song Contest is more than a mere musical competition: year by year, the Eurovision stage implements more and more elements in order to offer a complete and innovative show.To date, no-one has attempted to bring live animals on stage as part of their performance.

According to our partner site belgovision.com, several performers trying to enter their countries' national finals together with living animals on stage will have to change their plans, as the EBU has decided to modify the rules for the 2008 ESC with the aim of preventing this. So from 2008 on, bringing living animals to the Eurovision stage will be explicitely forbidden.

After this new rule comes into force, the Eurovision Song Contest will remain as open to innovation as before, but only for human artists – as well as the occasional monstersand dummies such as the switzerland 2007 props, not for living animals. Cardboard animals, like those featuring in theAustrian 2003 performance, could still appear in the Contest.