“As artists, we recognise our collective agency – and the power of refusal.”
Leading figures including Paul Weller, IDLES, Primal Scream, Paloma Faith, Kneecap and Sigur Ros are among more than 1,000 musicians supporting the boycott of Eurovision. In an open letter published today by No Music for Genocide, the signatories say the contest will “whitewash and normalise Israel’s genocide, siege and brutal military occupation against Palestinians.”
The artists, including former Eurovision winners Emmelie de Forest and Charlie McGettigan, say they “stand in solidarity with Palestinian calls for public broadcasters, performers, screening party organisers, crew, and fans to boycott Eurovision” until the contest’s organisers ban Israel, due to what an independent UN Commission of Inquiry has described as its genocide in Gaza.
Following the 95th General Assembly of Eurovision organisers the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) in Geneva last December – where members voted in favour of reforms but did not suspend the Israeli broadcaster KAN – five European broadcasters withdrew.
The musicians supporting the boycott, who include over 30 from the UK such as Brian Eno, Massive Attack, Nadine Shah, and Charlotte Church, said: “We applaud the principled withdrawals of the Spanish, Irish, Icelandic, Slovenian, and Dutch broadcasters, and the many national selection finalists committing to refuse to go to Eurovision. Just as artists stood against oppression in South Africa, we stand together now.”
After the General Assembly, it was revealed by Israeli media that Israeli president Isaac Herzog had launched “an intensive, months-long diplomatic campaign that unfolded largely behind the scenes,” lobbying European broadcasters to support Israel’s inclusion. Responding to the news, José Pablo López, the president of Spanish broadcaster RTVE said: “Israel maneuvered in the shadows for months. What seemed like a democratic debate in Geneva was just a farce cooked up in backroom offices… The government of Israel will continue using the festival as it sees fit.”
The artists, including Young Fathers, Macklemore, Hot Chip, and Roger Waters, highlighted that Herzog was “named in South Africa’s submission to the International Court of Justice for inciting to genocide.” The International Association of Genocide Scholars, meanwhile, has said that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, as have leading human rights organisations, including Amnesty International.
The EBU swiftly banned Russia over its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, saying at the time that “the inclusion of a Russian entry in this year’s Contest would bring the competition into disrepute.” The musicians, including Idles, Young Fathers and Hot Chip say: “Yet more than 30 months of genocide in Gaza – alongside ethnic cleansing and land theft in the besieged West Bank – aren’t considered sufficient to apply the same policy to Israel.”
The letter, whose signatories include Mogwai, 47 Soul and Peter Gabriel, added: “there are moments in time when passive silence is not an option. We refuse to be silent when Israel’s genocidal violence soundtracks and silences Palestinian lives. When children in Israeli prisons endure beatings for humming a tune. When all that’s left of nearly every stage, studio, bookshop and university in Gaza is piles of rubble, under which slaughtered bodies still await recovery and proper burial.”
