The audience at this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Switzerland is welcome to wave any flags they want – including pride flags and the Palestinian flag.
The artists on stage, however, are only allowed to hold their own country's flag. This is reported by DR, which has taken part in the organizer EBU's new flag policy.
The updated guidelines mean more freedom for the audience and less for the artists. Ahead of last year's competitions, held in Malmö, Sweden, stricter flag rules were introduced due to the tense political climate, where Israel's participation was the subject of a heated debate.
According to the organizers, political messages should be avoided this year as well, but the host country Switzerland "values freedom of expression highly" and therefore the audience is allowed to bring any flag they want into the hall – as long as they do not break Swiss law.
