Philip Oltermann European Culture Editor

From ensuring your swearwords are in languages other than English to outrageous euphemisms, contestants in the famously camp extravaganza have ways to avoid being toned down …

When the winner of this year’s Eurovision song contest is announced shortly before midnight next Saturday, it won’t be the first climax of the evening. “I’m coming / I’m coming,” a scantily clad Lithuanian will announce in the chorus of her song. Australia’s male entrant will invite listeners to “sh-sh-shake me good” so they can get “a taste of the milkshake man”. And Malta’s submission is going to prompt the audience to shout the word “Kant” – due to it sounding like a rude English term for female genitalia.

Rightwing opposition party claims some artists will receive benefits having contributed little to the state

Slovenia’s populist opposition has mounted a campaign against “degenerate” artists as it seeks to topple government plans for special pension top-ups for award-winning artists in a referendum on Sunday.

Voters in the central European country will cast their verdict on a government bill that details the conditions and terms under which certain artists can claim an allowance to be added to their pensions.

RTÉ asks European Broadcasting Union for talks after 72 former contestants call for ban on Israeli broadcaster

Ireland’s public broadcaster has asked the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) for a discussion about Israel’s inclusion in the Eurovision song contest, as 72 former contestants called for the Israeli broadcaster Kan to be banned from next week’s event in the Swiss city of Basel.

The director general of Ireland’s RTÉ, Kevin Bakhurst, said in a statement on Wednesday that he was “appalled by the ongoing events in the Middle East and by the horrific impact on civilians in Gaza, and the fate of Israeli hostages”.