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Hungary has reportedly pulled out of the Eurovision Song Contest amid speculation the competition is “too gay” for the country’s right-wing government.
While Hungary’s state broadcaster has not given an official reason for withdrawing from the competition, it follows the launch of measures by Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government earlier this year to encourage traditional families to boost birth rates.
He said action to increase financial aid and subsidies for families with multiple children would “ensure the survival of the Hungarian nation”.
According to The Guardian, a source inside state-owned MTVA said positive coverage of LGBT+ rights at the broadcaster was discouraged, adding they were “not surprised” at the decision.
EU chief negotiator Guy Verhofstadt tweeted on Wednesday, saying Hungary’s decision was “an attack on our European way of life and it must stop”.
Local media reported sources at the broadcaster said the reason the country had withdrawn from the song contest was because Eurovision is “too gay” – a claim refuted by a government spokesperson in response to Mr Verhofstadt’s tweet.
Mr Orban has been accused of being an autocratic leader who has taken steps to increase his office’s power, curb civil liberties and restrict freedom of speech.
Within his government, MPs have previously compared same-sex marriage with paedophilia and called for boycotts of companies that promote LGBT+ content.
Andras Bencik, TV commentator and editor of a pro-government magazine, said the Eurovision Song Contest is a “homosexual flotilla”, adding that the mental health of Hungarians would be better if the country steered clear of the competition.
He said: “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.”
The participants list published by the competition organisers the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) last week did not feature the country for the first time since 2010.
MTVA had previously announced that a televised competition that is normally used to decide which artist and song makes it through to Eurovision would instead focus on the Hungarian song of the year – seen as an initial indication that the country would not take part this year.
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In a statement to Sky News, the EBU said: “It is not uncommon for EBU members to have breaks in participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. Since they first competed on screen in 1994, Hungary has not been present in the competition on eight different occasions.
“We hope to welcome their broadcaster MTVA back to the Eurovision Song Contest family soon.”
Hungary failed to qualify for the final in 2019, after Joci Papai’s song Origo finsihed in eighth place.
The 2020 finals for the contest will take place in Rotterdam, after the Netherlands won in 2019 with the song Arcade, performed by Duncan Laurence.
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