Hungary has pulled out of next year's Eurovision song contest amid speculation the decision was triggered by a backlash to the competition's LGBT-positive messaging.

While no official reason has been given for the withdrawal, sources within Hungary's public broadcaster reportedly believe it is due to a rise in homophobic rhetoric within the country around the contest, with one pro-government commentator calling Eurovision a "homosexual flotilla".

In previous years, Hungary's state-owned public service broadcaster MTVA has hosted its own song contest with the winner going on to represent Hungary in Eurovision.

But the broadcaster announced last month that the upcoming contest would not serve as a decider for Eurovision, but rather focus on the Hungarian hit of the year.

The announcement was taken as a sign that Hungary was likely to withdraw from Eurovision 2020, a decision confirmed with the publication of the list of competing countries last week.

A source at MTVA told The Guardian that staff within the organisation widely believe that Eurovision's LGBT-friendly ethos was behind the decision to withdraw.