The European Broadcasting Union put down a formal written complaint against the lyrics of Silvia Night's song Congratulations, this year's Icelandic entry to the competition. Svante Stockselius, executive supervisor of the contest, wrote the following letter to them, which is also available at silvianight.com.
With reference to our recent exchange of mails and telephone calls, I hereby inform you the firm position of the EBU, not to accept any foul language in the Icelandic song, or any other of the entries to the Eurovision Song Contest.
Should your artists use any foul expression in the song, it would immediately mean a violation of two of the rules for the Eurovision Song Contest 2006:
- Section Five, § 12) where no changes of the lyrics is possible after the official delivery of the song and lyrics at the meeting of the Heads of Delegation in Athens on 20-21 March2006.
- Section Five, § 13) where it says that the lyrics and/or the performance of the songs shall not bring the Contest Final or the Eurovision Song Contest as such into disrepute. A violation of these rules could lead to disqualification from the contest.
I strongly urge you, as the responsible Head of Delegation for your country, to consider these
rules and make sure that your artists will obey them.
Be aware that the EBU and their broadcasting members would consider a violation of the kind we are discussing as serious and strongly offensive.
Yours sincerely,
Svante Stockselius
Eurovision Song Contest Executive Supervisor
Official album
Although the EBU has the formal right to forbid any lyrics that bring or might bring the contest into disrepute, the song including the lyrics "I'll fucking win" is on the official album of this year's Eurovision Song Contest.
Silvia Night herself already replied, saying "I fucking say what I fucking want!". For sure, to be continued!
