Turkey TÜRKİYE 2025 - not taking part

[ESC United Mod Team]

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[Mainshow]

“claims that”

So, is @Eurovisn_Turkey the official X account of Turkey’s Eurovision delegation? No. Is there an official statement announced by TRT? No. But of course, there are always some certain members here and in X waiting for an opportunity to unleash their inner Turkophobic even by bringing an entirely unrelated topic like LGBTQ+ into it.

Calling members of this forum "Turkophobic" wasn't necessary.

Thank you for pointing out that an account on X was responsible for this claim. In the caption of the posted article (and on FB groups), one could read that "TRT is about to file a complaint" . The first lines were misleading.
I - and probably the other user/s - commented on the issue based on the information available.

I was pointing out the irony of TRT being invested in an event they don't broadcast/like/stopped caring about 13 years ago because of it being too gay anyway (so what's the matter of complaining anyway?).

But since TRT might not be officially complaining about the Greek entry (and the posted article didn't refer to a credible source), everything said is in vain (for now).

I would be happy to see Turkey back in Eurovision if TRT stopps being salty about the current rules and diversity.

 

[Judas]

stopped caring about 13 years ago because of it being too gay anyway

Turkey not to compete in 2013 Euro song contest

Turkey will not compete in 2013 edition of Eurovision Song Contest, Turkey's state-run broadcaster said. - Anadolu Ajansı

www.aa.com.tr

Just a correction. The official reason for withdrawal is about the voting system. It was not directed at LGBT visibility. And conservative Turks or TRT's view on LGBT is really beside the point to be honest.

 

[Mainshow]

Turkey not to compete in 2013 Euro song contest

Turkey will not compete in 2013 edition of Eurovision Song Contest, Turkey's state-run broadcaster said. - Anadolu Ajansı

www.aa.com.tr

Just a correction. The official reason for withdrawal is about the voting system. It was not directed at LGBT visibility. And conservative Turks or TRT's view on LGBT is really beside the point to be honest.

Yeah that was the official reason.
Turkey ended up #2 I'm 2010, though (the final ranking was the same like the televoting ranking though).
Why didn't TRT come back in 2016 when the voting system has changed and televoters got more power? It's even better now since the semis are televoting-only.

Turkey didn't complain about the Big 5 rules in the late 90's or throughout the 00's.
TRT doesn't come back because of LGBT singers/flags. It was even confirmed by the head of TRT back in 2018. He explicitly stated that they can't broadcast Eurovision in front of kids because of artists like Conchita Wurst and thus, TRT's stance on LGBTQ is the most crucial factor why Turkey isn't coming back (unfortunately):

https://www.reuters.com/article/business/turkey-boycotts-eurovision-song-contest-over-lgbt-performers-idUSL5N1V06QB/

 

[Judas]

Yeah that was the official reason.
Turkey ended up #2 I'm 2010, though (the final ranking was the same like the televoting ranking though).
Why didn't TRT come back in 2016 when the voting system has changed and televoters got more power? It's even better now since the semis are televoting-only.

Turkey didn't complain about the Big 5 rules in the late 90's or throughout the 00's.
TRT doesn't come back because of LGBT singers/flags. It was even confirmed by the head of TRT back in 2018:

https://www.reuters.com/article/business/turkey-boycotts-eurovision-song-contest-over-lgbt-performers-idUSL5N1V06QB/

Again, I am merely responding to the claim that TRT withdrew because of LGBT visibility. If TRT stated their dissatisfaction with the LGBT performers in 2018, what would have stopped them to do the same in 2013?

I am not too comfortable taking things out of context and discussing this in Greece thread. I would be glad to complain about TRT's view and behaviour on LGBT in Turkey thread with you though.

 

[Mainshow]

Again, I am merely responding to the claim that TRT withdrew because of LGBT visibility. If TRT stated their dissatisfaction with the LGBT performers in 2018, what would have stopped them to do the same in 2013?

I am not too comfortable taking things out of context and discussing this in Greece thread. I would be glad to complain about TRT's view and behaviour on LGBT in Turkey thread with you though.

You're referring to a situation in which the withdrawal was caused by an unfair voting system (which has massively changed in 2016 and 2023 anyway) as TRT officially stated.

Many fans (me included) think it was just a "reason in disguise" to leave the contest because of LGTBQ visibility. TRT censoring the short kiss of female dancers during the Finland performance 2013, the head of TRT stating Conchita Wurst (2014) the reason for not taking part/broadcasting the contest anymore in 2018 could explain why Turkey really doesn't come back - despite all the changes to the system (something TRT claimed not the be satisfied with - which is a ridiculous reason after finishing #2 two years before they decided to withdraw).

Ibrahim Eren started working as a deputy director for TRT in 2013 - the year Turkey withdrew.

Yes, LGTBQ visibility wasn't named as a reason for the withdrawal back in 2013 but in 2018, the director confirmed it in retrospect.

I don't think I have more to say on this issue, tbh. And 2-3 comments on that could also fit in this thread, imo, since we're basically referring to the posts on the rumor that TRT would be complaining about the Greek entry but if MODS feel the need to move these posts, it's alright, of course.

 

[Judas]

Ibrahim Eren started working as a deputy director for TRT in 2013 - the year Turkey withdrew.

TRT censoring the short kiss of female dancers during the Finland performance 2013, the head of TRT stating Conchita Wurst (2014) the reason for not taking part/broadcasting the contest anymore in 2018 could explain why Turkey really doesn't come back

You need to check your facts before spreading false information.

Turkey officially withdrew in late 2012 (December), not in 2013. So it was before Ibrahim Eren got his position.

TRT stopped broadcasting the show after they withdrew. They did not stop broadcasting in 2018.

I am not sure where censoring the Finnish performance came from. Allegedly Eurovision media claimed that TRT was going to broadcast the show but they decided not to after the rehearsals. These reports and news are copy paste of one another. But TRT had already released their schedule for May before the rehearsals began, and TRT never intended to broadcast the contest even then, and never sent a delegation to Malmö to begin with. Also no Turkish sources ever mentioned anything related to it.

 

[Mainshow]

You need to check your facts before spreading false information.

Turkey officially withdrew in late 2012 (December), not in 2013. So it was before Ibrahim Eren got his position.

TRT stopped broadcasting the show after they withdrew. They did not stop broadcasting in 2018.

I am not sure where censoring the Finnish performance came from. Allegedly Eurovision media claimed that TRT was going to broadcast the show but they decided not to after the rehearsals. These reports and news are copy paste of one another. But TRT had already released their schedule for May before the rehearsals began, and TRT never intended to broadcast the contest even then, and never sent a delegation to Malmö to begin with. Also no Turkish sources ever mentioned anything related to it.

I'm not writing a bachelor thesis here - I'm not spreading false information per se and I hope that you don't expect me to look for TRT's programming/schedule from May 2013 now.

Turkey took part in 2012 - they officially didn't take part in 2013 - That's what I was referring to - TRT hasn't come back because of LGTBQ issues ever since- we got sources - offical sources from TRT's head.
There's no way to make it sound any better.
(you're right, though, about the kiss, TRT didn't broadcast ESC 2013 - they didn't "censor" the kiss but it is believed that the channel didn't want to broadcast it. Officially, TRT officals stated that a show like "Eurovision wouldn't bring in ratings" - something which isn't really convincing, imo).
You don't expect me to "check" TRT's programming from May 2013 or any Turkish sources, do you? - I can only refer to Eurovision media and Eurovision.de (run by the German broadcaster which also said that Turkey don't take part anymore because of performances like Finland 2013

Die Türkei beim ESC: Chronik einer Eiszeit

Warum nimmt die Türkei nicht mehr am ESC teil? "Dr. Eurovision" Irving Wolther wirft einen Blickt in die ESC-Geschichte des Landes - und findet interessante Hinweise.

www.eurovision.de

Türkei rückt vom ESC- Boykott nicht ab

Die Türkei will auch künftig nicht am Eurovision Song Contest teilnehmen. Angeblicher Grund: der Auftritt von Dragqueen Conchita im Jahr 2014 in Kopenhagen.

www.eurovision.de

I get you - TRT named "rules" as a reason in late 2012 but the rules have been changed - and TRT's officials have changed the narrative themselves and explicitly mentioned LGTBQ visibility as a reason for Turkey to not come back for now.
When I wrote about what fans/I think, I also wrote "I think" - of course, one could be naive and just believe that TRT isn't coming back because of the "rules" (again, something they said in 2012 but debunked in 2018 and clearly, officially and explicitly mentioned "Conchita/gender/men dressing as women" as a reason to not brodcast and participate anymore) but we got a very clear statement from TRT's head commenting on ESC 2014 onwards, at least.

So all in all, Turkey withdrew in Dec 2012 for the 2013 edition because of "rules" but from 2014 onwards, it's because of "morals" which need to be "corrected" so that Turkey could come back as Eren said to a Turkish newspaper (Hürriyet) in 2018.

 

[ArmpitOfEurope]

maybe Asteromata will be the triggering event for the turks to say WAIT theyre talking about us over there, lets go back to the contest so we are not left out?
Turkey knew how to do ESC, I also kinda miss the invisible competition between the turkish and greek entries every year, it was fun
However, I guess that if Turkey had stayed, they would have suffered a fate similar to Greece, Azerbaijan and Romania = televote hit countries failing to adjust to the modern era of the contest.

 

[Mainshow]

maybe Asteromata will be the triggering event for the turks to say WAIT theyre talking about us over there, lets go back to the contest so we are not left out?

Oh, I would love that to happen (+ if TRT changes its stance on LGTBQ issues)! Turkey is deeply missed as a participants.
They've got tons of artists who would also convince the juries and looking back at 2009, 2010, 2012 (the 3 editions in which we got the jury/televoting system in the GF and Turkey qualified), they secured Top 10 placings (I still fail to see why Hadise was #7 with the juries, though); incl. a runner-up - I'm pretty sure they would have followed that route - maybe even totally surprising us with a bold choice like Cem Adrian?
Turkey used to think outside the box a few times as well (e.g. 2004, 2008, 2010)

 

[hijirio]

You need to check your facts before spreading false information.

Turkey officially withdrew in late 2012 (December), not in 2013. So it was before Ibrahim Eren got his position.

TRT stopped broadcasting the show after they withdrew. They did not stop broadcasting in 2018.

I am not sure where censoring the Finnish performance came from. Allegedly Eurovision media claimed that TRT was going to broadcast the show but they decided not to after the rehearsals. These reports and news are copy paste of one another. But TRT had already released their schedule for May before the rehearsals began, and TRT never intended to broadcast the contest even then, and never sent a delegation to Malmö to begin with. Also no Turkish sources ever mentioned anything related to it.

Turkey didn’t withdraw from Eurovision because of women with beards or gay couples kissing, those were rare or even non-existent before 2013.

The real issue lies much deeper in TRT’s stance on moral and cultural conservatism, which goes far beyond LGBT+ representation,it extends to women and men in revealing clothing.
For over a decade, TRT has strictly avoided airing women with exposed cleavage. Eurovision was practically the ONLY occasion of the year where they HAD TO broadcast women in revealing clothes (and not to even mention shirtless men!), and they simply withdrew to cut off that contradiction. In fact, back in 2009, TRT even banned Hadise’s music video for wearing shorts. After that, they deliberately sent only male acts to Eurovision for the next three years to avoid similar controversies.

Today, TRT is a channel that broadcasts Quran reciting competitions (exclusive to male participants) and other content aligned with its Islamic values. Eurovision has no place remotely in its broadcasting schedule.

Saudi Arabia is much more likely to participate in Eurovision than Turkey atm tbh ngl.