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A technical failure disrupted Czechia's performance at the Eurovision Song Contest grand final in Vienna on Saturday, prompting the country's national broadcaster to file a formal claim with the European Broadcasting Union, which was subsequently denied.
Daniel Zizka, performing the song Crossroads at the Wiener Stadthalle, was midway through a routine set inside a chamber of mirrors when his performance was hit by a series of visible glitches.
The screen malfunctioned during the act, and a cameraman fell while filming, with the disruption lasting long enough to draw comment from BBC commentator Graham Norton, who noted the issues had not occurred during rehearsal.
Ceska televize, the Czech public broadcaster, submitted a formal claim to the EBU requesting that Zizka be permitted to perform again, citing the technical failures.
The EBU rejected the request, issuing a statement that described the incident as a minor camera issue and said the performance and audio were not affected. The organization confirmed the song would not be performed again.
Under Eurovision rules, competing delegations are entitled to request a second performance if a technical malfunction disrupts their act. The precedent dates back to the 2010 contest, when Spain's entry Daniel Diges was granted a re-run after a stage invader interrupted his performance.
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The EBU's decision was met with swift and vocal backlash from viewers watching at home, many of whom had already flagged the malfunction in real time on social media. Audience members described roughly 30 seconds of visible technical problems during the performance, calling the disruption anything but minor.
One user called the ruling "completely ridiculous and unfair," while another insisted the issue was not small. A third suggested the EBU had missed an easy opportunity to rebuild goodwill with broadcasters.
The controversy landed particularly hard among fans who had considered Czechia one of the stronger entries heading into the final. The timing of the malfunction, during what many viewers described as a visually ambitious staging, amplified frustration that the act was not given a clean second shot.
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