Eurovision organizers tightened the song contest's hosting rules Wednesday, barring countries involved in armed conflicts from staging the event under a newly announced policy.
Eurovision is organized each year by the broadcaster from the country that won the previous edition and is a co-production of public broadcasters belonging to the European Broadcasting Union.
Under the new rules, "the winning broadcaster will automatically be ineligible to host the Contest if an armed conflict, a sensitive geopolitical situation, or any other situation materially affects the security, safety or stability of their state or immediate region", they said in a statement.
As the EBU includes members from outside Europe, the contest is not limited to European countries.
The EBU said it could commission an independent security assessment before deciding whether a winning country is capable of hosting the event safely.
