European Broadcasting Union

On 11 June 2013, the Greek government shut down the state broadcaster Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) on short notice, citing government spending concerns related to the European debt crisis.[14] In response, the EBU set up a makeshift studio the same day near the former ERT offices in Athens in order to continue providing EBU members with the news-gathering and broadcast relay services which had formerly been provided by ERT.[15] The EBU put out a statement expressing its "profound dismay" at the shutdown, urging the Greek Prime Minister "to use all his powers to immediately reverse this decision" and offered the "advice, assistance and expertise necessary for ERT to be preserved".[16] Starting on 4 May 2014, the new state broadcaster New Hellenic Radio, Internet and Television (NERIT) began nationwide transmissions, taking over ERT's vacant active membership slot in the EBU.[17] On 11 June 2015, two years after ERT's closure, NERIT was renamed as Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT),[18][19] which reopened with a comprehensive program in all radio stations (with nineteen regional, two world-range and five pan-Hellenic range radio stations) and three TV channels ERT1, ERT2 and ERT3.

The Belarusian Television and Radio Company (BTRC) has been accused of repressing its own employees, having fired more than 100 people since a wave of anti-Lukashenko protests in 2020 following alleged election fraud. Many of them have also been jailed. Many voices have been raised against the participation of Belarus and the BTRC in the otherwise unpolitical Eurovision Song Contest in 2021, the argument being that the EBU would make a political statement if it did endorse Belarus by essentially and silently saying that democracy is unimportant and so are basic human rights such as freedom of speech.[20]

On 28 May 2021, the EBU suspended the BTRC's membership as they had been "particularly alarmed by the broadcast of interviews apparently obtained under duress". BTRC was given two weeks to respond before the suspension came into effect, but did not do so publicly.[21] The broadcaster was completely expelled from the EBU on 1 July 2021 for a period of three years.[22][23]

The three Russian members of the EBU, Channel One Russia, VGTRK, and Radio Dom Ostankino are all controlled by the Russian government.[24] On 21 February 2022, the Russian government recognized the independence of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, disputed territories that are internationally recognized as part of Ukraine. Ukraine's public broadcaster UA:PBC called on the EBU to terminate the membership of Channel One Russia and VGTRK, and to consider preventing Russia from participating in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022, citing the Russian government's use of both outlets to spread disinformation surrounding the Russo-Ukrainian war.[25] Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, several other public broadcasters joined UA:PBC in calling for Russia's exclusion from the 2022 Contest; Finland's Yle and Estonia's ERR stated that they would not send a representative if Russia was allowed to participate.[26][27] After initially stating that both Russia and Ukraine would be allowed to compete,[28] the EBU announced on 25 February 2022 that it would bar Russia from participating in the Contest.[29]

The three Russian broadcasters announced, via a statement released by Russian state media, that they would withdraw from the EBU on 26 February, citing increased politicization of the organisation.[30] The EBU released a statement saying that it was aware of the reports, but that it had not received any formal confirmation.[31] On 1 March, a further statement from the EBU announced that it had suspended its Russian members from its governance structures.[32] On 26 May, the EBU made effective the suspension of its Russian members indefinitely.[33][34]

Countries with Associate EBU Membership.

Any group or organisation from an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) member country, which provides a radio or television service outside of the European Broadcasting Area, is permitted to submit applications to the EBU for Associate Membership.[41]

It is also noted by the EBU that any country that is granted Associate Member status does not gain access into Eurovision events[42] with the notable exceptions of Australia, who have participated in the Eurovision Song Contest and the Junior Eurovision Song Contest since 2015, Canada in Eurovision Young Dancers between 1987 and 1989 and Kazakhstan, who have participated in Junior Eurovision since 2018, all of which were individually invited.

The list of Associate Members of EBU comprised the following 31 broadcasting companies from 20 countries as of January 2018.[3]

Country	Broadcasting organisation	Abbr.	Year
Australia	Australian Broadcasting Corporation	ABC	1950
	FreeTV Australia	Free	1962
	Special Broadcasting Service	SBS	1979
Bangladesh	National Broadcasting Authority of Bangladesh	NBAB	1974
Brazil	TV Cultura (Fundação Padre Anchieta)	FPA	2012
Canada	Canadian Broadcasting Corporation/Societé Radio Canada	CBC	1950
Chile	Canal 13	C13	1971
China	China Media Group	CMG	2010
	Shanghai Media Group	SMG	2016
Cuba	Cuban Institute of Radio and Television	ICRT	1992
Georgia	Teleimedi	TEME	2004
	Rustavi 2	RB	2003
Hong Kong	Radio Television Hong Kong	RTHK	1983
India	All India Radio	AIR	1979
Iran	Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting	IRIB	1969
Japan	Nippon Hoso Kyokai	NHK	1951
	Tokyo Broadcasting System	TBS	2000
	Tokyo FM	TFM	1986
Kazakhstan	Khabar Agency	KA	2016
Malaysia	Radio Televisyen Malaysia	RTM	1970
Mauritius	Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation	MBC	1980
New Zealand	Radio New Zealand	RNZ	1950
	Television New Zealand	TVNZ	1980
Oman	Public Authority for Radio and TV of Oman	PART	1976
South Africa	South African Broadcasting Corporation	SABC	1951
South Korea	Korean Broadcasting System	KBS	1974
Syria	General Organization of Radio and TV – Syria (Organisme de la Radio-Télévision Arabe Syrienne, الهيئة العامة للإذاعة والتلفزيون – سورية)	ORTAS	1978
United States	American Broadcasting Company	ABC	1959
	American Public Media	APM	2004
	CBS	CBS	1956
	National Public Radio	NPR	1971
	National Broadcasting Company	NBC	1953
	WFMT Radio Network	WFMT	1980

The list of past associate members of EBU comprises the following 29 broadcasting companies from 18 countries and 1 autonomous territory.[43][44][45]

Country	Broadcasting organisation	Abbr.	From	To
Australia	Australian Fine Music Network	AFMN	2008	2010
Barbados	Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation	BB/CBC		2005
Gambia	Gambia Radio & Television Service	GRTS		2010
Greenland	Kalaallit Nunaata Radioa	KNR		2011
Hong Kong	Asia Television Limited	ATV		2010
	Television Broadcasts Limited	TVB		2012/2013
Japan	TV Asahi Corporation	ANB		2010
	Fuji Television Network Inc.	FTN		2012/2013
	National Association of Commercial Broadcasters in Japan	NACB		2012/2013
	Nippon Television Network Corporation	NTV		2009
Mauritania	TV de Mauritanie	MR/TVM	2003	2013
Mexico	Televisa SA de CV	TVA		2005
Nepal	Nepal Television	NTVC		2010
Pakistan	Pakistan Television Corporation	PK/PTV		2010
Palestine	Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation (هيئة الإذاعة والتلفزيون الفلسطينية)	PBC	2002	2014
Qatar	Al Jazeera Children's Channel	JCC	2008	2013
	Qatar Radio (إذاعة قطر‎)	QR	2009	2011/2012
Senegal	Radiodiffusion Télévision Sénégalaise	RTS		2006
Sri Lanka	Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation	SLBC	2007	2010
South Korea	Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation	MBC		2009
United Arab Emirates	Emirates Media Inc.	EMI		2006
	United Arab Emirates Radio And Television – Dubai	UAERTVD		2006
United States	International Broadcasting Bureau	IBB		2007
	Minnesota Public Radio	MPR	2004	2007
	New York Public Radio	NYPR	2012	2012
Venezuela	Radio Caracas Televisión	RCTV		2010
	Radio Caracas Radio	RCR		2010
Zimbabwe	Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation	ZBC		2010

Any groups or organisations from a country with International Telecommunication Union (ITU) membership, which does not qualify for either the EBU's Active or Associate memberships, but still provide a broadcasting activity for the EBU, are granted a unique Approved Participants membership, which lasts approximately five years. An application for this status may be submitted to the EBU at any given time, providing an annual fee is paid.[46]

The following seven EBU broadcast members had status as Approved Participants in May 2022.[47]

The following members previously had status as Approved Participants.[44]

The trophy in 2014

The Eurovision Song Contest (French: Concours Eurovision de la chanson)[48] is an annual international song competition between EBU members, that was first held in Lugano, Switzerland, on 24 May 1956. Seven countries participated – each submitting two songs, for a total of 14. This was the only contest in which more than one song per country was performed: since 1957, all contests have allowed one entry per country. The 1956 contest was won by the host nation, Switzerland.[49] The most recent host city was Turin, Italy, where Ukraine won the competition.

Let the Peoples Sing is a biennial choir competition, the participants of which are chosen from radio recordings entered by EBU radio members. The final, encompassing three categories and around ten choirs, is offered as a live broadcast to all EBU members. The overall winner is awarded the Silver Rose Bowl.

Jeux sans frontières (English: Games without frontiers, or Games Without Borders) was a Europe-wide television game show. In its original conception, it was broadcast from 1965 to 1999 under the auspices of the EBU. The original series run ended in 1982 but was revived in 1988 with a different complexion of nations and was hosted by smaller broadcasters.

Eurovision Young Musicians is a competition for European musicians that are between the ages of 12 and 21 years old. It is organised by the EBU and is a member of EMCY. The first competition was held in Manchester, the United Kingdom on 11 May 1982.

The televised competition is held every two years, with some countries holding national heats. Since its foundation in 1982, the Eurovision Young Musicians competition has become one of the most important music competitions on an international level.

The Eurovision Young Dancers was a biennial dance showcase broadcast on television throughout Europe. The first competition was held in Reggio Emilia, Italy on 16 June 1985.

It uses a format similar to the Eurovision Song Contest, every country that is a member of the EBU has had the opportunity to send a dance act to compete for the title of "Eurovision Young Dancer". The competition is for solo dancers and all contestants must be between the ages of 16 and 21 years and not professionally engaged.

Euroclassic Notturno is a six-hour sequence of classical music recordings assembled by BBC Radio from material supplied by members of the EBU and streamed back to those broadcasters by satellite for use in their overnight classical-music schedules. The recordings used are taken not from commercial CDs but from earlier (usually live) radio broadcasts.[50][51]

Junior Eurovision Song Contest (French: Concours Eurovision de la Chanson Junior),[52] is an annual international song competition, that was first held in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 15 November 2003. Sixteen countries participated – each submitting one song, for a total of 16 entries. The 2003 Contest was won by Croatia. Winner of most recent contest, which took place in Paris, France, is Armenia.[53]

The Eurovision Dance Contest (not to be confused with the Eurovision Young Dancers Competition) was an international dancing competition that was held for the first time in London, the United Kingdom on 1 September 2007. The competition was repeated in 2008 when it was held in Glasgow, United Kingdom, but has not been held since.

The Eurovision Magic Circus Show was an entertainment show organised by the EBU, which took place in 2010, 2011 and 2012 in Geneva. Children aged between 7–14 representing 8 countries within the EBU membership area, performed a variety of circus acts at the Geneva Christmas Circus (French: Cirque de Noël Genève). The main show was also accompanied by the Magic Circus Show Orchestra.[54]

The inaugural Eurovision Choir featuring non-professional choirs selected by EBU Members, took place on 22 July 2017 in Riga, hosted by the Latvian broadcaster Latvijas Televīzija (LTV). 9 countries took part in the first edition. Carmen Manet from Slovenia was the first winner.

The European Sports Championships is a multi-sport event involving some of the leading sports in Europe. The European Governing Bodies for athletics, aquatics, cycling, rowing, golf, gymnastics and triathlon, will coordinate their individual championships as part of the first edition[55] in the summer of 2018, hosted by the cities of Berlin (already chosen as the host for the 2018 European Athletics Championships) and Glasgow (already chosen as the host for the 2018 European Aquatics Championships, and which will now also host the events of the other sports).[56][57]