Marko Veisson, of folk duo Puulup, and Estonia Kohver, of 5Miinust, spoke about their experiences after the two acts were brought together to represent Estonia in 2024.

In response to a suggestion from some quarters of the Finnish media that the Eurovision should drop its requirement for apolitical participation, given that that requirement is not stuck to any way, Veisson said: "By definition, nothing can be apolitical."

"Whenever people interact, politics are involved, no matter what they are doing. It's just a question of where to set the boundaries and what to allow or disallow. It's entirely normal for politics to prompt emotions in people," he went on, speaking to Vikerraadio's "Vikerhommik" morning show.

If political pronouncements made the public more attracted to, or repelled from, any act, then this was inevitable anyway, he added.

"It's part of the artist's image and what you feel or think while watching a song. Whether Eurovision should be amended or canceled for this reason is another question. It seems to me that overthinking things is also a bit pointless here. In the end, it's just a fun singing competition, and I'm not sure if it should be tasked with anything in terms of world revolution."

Asked about the disqualification of Dutch entry Joost Klein just hours before the live final was due to start, and reportedly following a complaint from a production crew member, Estoni Kohver said that little information had been made available on the episode. "No one said anything about it. Everyone knew something happened, but no one knew quite what. Personally, I'm terribly sorry that Joost's competition ended this way, but it is what it is. We still don't know exactly what happened and whether the punishment was warranted," Kohver said.

Neither of the artists reported feeling any pressure to engage in the major political topics of the day, most notably the situation with Israel and Palestine, given the first of these was competing.

"I guess the understanding was that we are a group of men of a somewhat older, more respectable age," Kohver said.

Veisson did encounter a minor issue, when someone ran after him in the hallway asking about the scarf he had wrapped around his arm and if it signified anything political.

In fact it was a scarf left over from a sailing event back home in Estonia.

"I had a neck scarf tied around my arm for the Võrtsjärv week regatta, and it just fit," Veisson chuckled.

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