Slovenia, Ireland, Spain Refuse to Air Eurovision Song Contest Over Israel’s Inclusion
by Shiryn Ghermezian
A bicycle with the Palestinian and Irish flags is seen at the University College Dublin (UCD) ‘Palestinian Liberation Encampment’ on June 6, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
At least three European countries have now announced that they will not air the 70th Eurovision Song Contest after vowing not to compete because of Israel’s participation.
Ireland, Slovenia, and Spain are protesting Israel’s military actions in the Gaza Strip during its war with Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group that started the conflict with its invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Kevin Bakhurst, director general of the Irish state broadcaster, previously said that “RTÉ feels that Ireland’s participation would be unconscionable given the ongoing and appalling loss of lives in Gaza.”
Slovenia’s public broadcaster, RTV Slovenia, said that instead of broadcasting the world’s largest live music event it will broadcast “Voices of Palestine,” a series featuring Palestinian feature films and documentaries.
Iceland and the Netherlands have also refused to compete in the Eurovision this year but will broadcast the annual competition.
The 70th Eurovision Song Contest will feature 35 countries and is scheduled to take place in Vienna, Austria, from May 12-16. Semi-finals will take place on May 12 and 14, and the final will air on the 16th. Noam Bettan will represent Israel this year with his song “Michelle.”
The Eurovision has been broadcast every year since 1956, except during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. This year will mark the first time that Spain will not broadcast the event since it began participating in the competition in 1961. Ireland has won Eurovision seven times, with the last one being in 1996. Israel has won four times, most recently in 2018 with Netta Barzilai and her song “Toy.”
Bambie Thug represented Ireland in the 2024 Eurovision. The musician wrote in the early medieval Irish alphabet Ogham the words “Ceasefire” and “Free Palestine” on their body as part of their costume for the competition, but the European Broadcasting Union forced the artist to remove the words before stepping on stage. Bambie Thug said last year they would not perform their Eurovision song “Doomsday Blue” until Israel was banned from the competition.
