- Icelandic musicians demand Eurovision boycott
- Calls to exclude Israel
- Concerns over war, civilian deaths
It is our collective responsibility to oppose war and the slaughter of innocent children and civilians, according to Icelandic musicians, who are among those advocating for the application of the same regulations governing Israel that were utilized to exclude Russia from Eurovision in 2022.
Musicians from Iceland have called for a boycott of the Eurovision Song Contest unless Israel is prohibited from participating.
Artists in Iceland are represented by the Association of Composers and Lyricists of Iceland (FTT), which demands that national broadcaster RUV cease its participation in the competition if Israel continues to advance.
Similar demands were made in 2022 when several nations urged Russia to be prohibited in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine.
In cross-border attacks on October 7, Hamas reportedly murdered 1,200 individuals and abducted hundreds more, as reported by Israeli authorities.
Since then, Israel has killed over 18,800 Palestinians, 70% of whom were children and women, according to the Gaza health ministry, administered by Hamas.
“We are all obligated to take a stand against war and the killing of innocent children and civilians,” stated the FTT.
The decision to abstain from associating our names with such matters is consistently available to both individuals and state institutions.
We owe it to nations that employ military force to refrain from participating in an occasion invariably marked by elation and optimism.
RUV reported that a demonstration regarding the issue was scheduled to occur outside its offices on Monday afternoon.
Recent years have been relatively successful for Iceland in the competition. Many have speculated that Dadi Freyr would have won the 2020 competition had it not been canceled. He placed fourth the subsequent year.
Additionally, pro-Palestinian organizations and activists have called for a boycott, and hundreds of emails requesting that RTE of Ireland boycott the competition next year have reportedly been received.
Eurovision 2023 Highlights
Israel placed third in the 2023 competition with the dance-pop composition “Unicorn” by Noa Kirel. Before this, Kirel had completed military service with the Israel Defence Forces.
In the end, Russia was barred from the competition. Liverpool was chosen as the 2023 host after the Ukrainian win with Kalush Orchestra later that year.
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The EBU, an alliance of public service broadcasters, issued the following statement to the Irish online newspaper The Journal: “The Israeli public broadcaster has participated in the Contest for fifty years; it is a competition for broadcasters, not governments.
EBU joins other international organisations that now welcome Israeli contestants in major contests.
Israel and Iceland have both declared their intention to compete in the upcoming contest in Sweden. However, no entries have yet been chosen.
Olly Alexander of the musical group Years and Years will represent the United Kingdom at the competition the following year.
Mae Muller of the United Kingdom placed second-to-last in the 2023 competition in Liverpool. While Loreen of Sweden emerged victorious for the second time.
