Tag: Eurovision

Dozens of ex-Eurovision contestants demand exclusion of Israel from contest

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Britain’s Mae Muller and Bianca Nicholas joined Charlie McGettigan, Salvador Sobral and dozens of former Eurovision contestants in calling on the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to ban Israel’s public broadcaster KAN from the popular song contest.

Over 70 previous participants, who include songwriters, lyricists and other creatives from across Europe, accuse KAN of being “complicit in Israel’s genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza”.

In a letter published below ahead of the Eurovision finals on May 17, the artists say “by continuing to platform the representation of the Israeli state, the EBU is normalising and whitewashing its crimes”.

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Brian Eno: Israel must not be allowed to use Eurovision as a propaganda tool

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Brian Eno’s op-ed is published in today’s Guardian, and copied below.

“Those of us who make art and culture for a living thrive on free and open communication. So what should we do when we see culture becoming part of a political agenda? “Music unites,” says UK Eurovision entrant Michael Rice. What happens when a powerful state uses art as propaganda, to distract from its immoral and illegal behaviour? Everybody involved in the Eurovision song contest this year should understand that this is what is happening.

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Artists call for boycott of Israel-hosted Eurovision 2019 – UK signatories

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Artists, musicians and writers from 18 different  countries have published an open letter in the Guardian which condemns the purported hosting of Eurovision 2019 in Israel, saying that the contest should be moved to a non-divisive location, and – citing the recent killing of large numbers of Palestinian civilians – to a country with a better human rights record.
  • Personal statements by international artists can be found here.
  • In addition to the selection of international names in the Guardian, see the full list of British signatories attached to the letter here:

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