4 countries to boycott Eurovision due to Israel’s continued inclusion

[Everexpanding]

In a statement released on Thursday afternoon, the Dutch broadcaster Avrotros said it would also withdraw from next year’s contest. “After weighing all perspectives, Avrotros concludes that, under the current circumstances, participation cannot be reconciled with the public values that are fundamental to our organisation.”

The Slovenian national broadcaster, RTVSLO – the first to threaten a boycott this summer – said participation “would conflict with its values of peace, equality and respect”.

Spain’s culture minister, Ernest Urtasun, backed the decision, adding: “You can’t whitewash Israel given the genocide in Gaza. Culture should be on the side of peace and justice. I’m proud of an RTVE that puts human rights before any economic interest

RTÉ feels that Ireland’s participation remains unconscionable given the appalling loss of lives in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there which continues to put the lives of so many civilians at risk,” the broadcaster said in a statement.

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/dec/04/ireland-spain-and-the-netherlands-to-boycott-eurovision-2026-as-israel-cleared-to-compete

More of this attitude please.

"Everybody has opinions," she said. "I'm really putting everything aside and just concentrating on the most important thing. The slogan this year is 'united by music' and that's what we are here for."

Personally don't give a shit about EV but art / music / storytelling / sport really is an opportunity for opposing sides to come together... I like it when it's the best of humankind rather than more of the worst.

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/dec/11/nemo-eurovision-winner-2024-hand-back-trophy-protest-israel-taking-part-2025

In their statement, Nemo said: “This is not about individuals or artists. The contest was repeatedly used to soften the image of a state accused of severe wrongdoing, all while the EBU insisted Eurovision is ‘non-political’. And when entire countries withdraw over this contradiction, it should be clear that something is deeply wrong. That’s why I’ve decided that I’m sending my trophy back to the EBU headquarters in Geneva.”

‘Live what you claim. If the values we celebrate on stage aren’t lived off stage, then even the most beautiful songs become meaningless.’

www.reuters.com/world/swiss-eurovision-winner-nemo-send-trophy-back-protest-over-israels-participation-2025-12-11/

Hard disagree. Its impossible for the values we celebrate in art to be lived off the stage 100% of the time by 100% of people / nations.
Art brings people together. Art transcends politics and division. Or at least it can, if allowed.

Not that EV is strictly Art... but my point is the same.

More unity, less division.

Last year's song from Yuval Raphael was beautiful. She was inspirational.
On another note (😶) the silliness of the Sauna song and 'Espresso Macchisto' were favourites with my son.

My values include not publicly (or privately) bullying a young woman who has been through trauma. But how many EV performers stepped in to protect and defend her?

I didn't watch but did find it incredibly moving that Yuval made it through the attack and the negativity to perform on stage. She's an absolute hero.

I see that the bloke who won last year at least had the balls to hand it back in protest.

I'm sure Yuval Raphael is in awe of his bravery.

🙄 how on earth is it ballsy to hand back an award? Its PR, that's it. Maybe they can join the next futuila too

Quick jump on the bandwagon!

I agree that it is brave to hand it back. The witch hunt against people who speak out can be dreadful, just ask Ms Rachel.

Got him a bit of attention for 5 minutes anyway 🤷🏼‍♀️

Sorry - them.

Not sure they would appreciate being described as a bloke with balls @Babyboomtastic

Yes Ms Rachel has faced horrific threats, but good on her for standing her ground, she’s wonderful!

My wording wasn't entirely coincidental 😜

Im embarrassed I missed this 😉

She's not the only one unfortunately. A post further up the thread reminded me of all of the vitriol the people on the flotilla received even on here it was astonishing how the people on the flotilla angered some people more than war crimes have. Some people don't like it when attention is drawn to depravity(something that Ms Rachel has been very good at doing) so go into instant attack mode.

Already I see across social media Nemo is being called racist and antisemitic, presumably by the same type of people who lept in to call whole countries racist and antisemitic based on a broadcaster in those countries boycotting a singing contest.

Sorry you didn't enjoy those threads Ever, I thought they were hilarious.

Just to be clear-

Not hilarious- war crimes, death and suffering of children, war and hatred in general.

Hilarious- 'symbolic aid', virtue signaling that backfires, celebrities pretending to wish to enter a war zone and then hypocritically complaining about being rescued while eating the provided sandwiches.

Also hilarious- thinking you're making a moral point by returning a meaningless award and speaking about values while promoting division and hatred.

Yeah, some people do find name calling hilarious.

“There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.” – Elie Wiesel

Oh good Lord. I think Wiesel had bigger things on his mind than a bit of virtue signalling from people who couldn't find it in their hearts to support a Nova survivor.

For Wiesel, an act of protest, no matter how small, is a necessary moral choice and a powerful way to affirm human dignity

He believed indifference was the most insidious danger of all, effectively a form of complicity

Indeed, history has taught us that, but unfortunately people forget.

Bullocks.

I've added below a straight lift from wiki but will summarize for you. Wiesel was a Holocaust survivor who absolutely steadfast in his support for Israel, not surprising considering what he went through. He went further in support of Israel than many on these threads do, backing Netanyahu and the Settlers. He hosted peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis.

I'm sure he wouldn't really care about you co- opting his words in this silly way, but there's absolutely no doubt where his support would lie- whatever you may wish to think.

The boycott is just silly. Imagine how much better if artists were standing together to support Israeli artists in hopes of peace and as an example of reconciliation. Foot stamping and crying 'I won't sing if Israel is'... whats that actually achieving other than more division?

"As a political activist, Wiesel became a regular speaker on the subject of the Holocaust and remained a strong defender of human rights during his lifetime, advocating for justice in numerous causes around the globe, including that of Soviet Jews and Ethiopian Jews, South African apartheid, the Rwandan genocide, the Bosnian genocide, the War in Darfur, the Kurdish independence movement, the Armenian genocide, Argentina's Desaparecidos, Nicaragua's Miskito people, the Sri Lankan Tamils, and the Cambodian genocide. He was also an outspoken advocate for Israel and frequently weighed in to support the country during escalations of the Arab–Israeli conflict and throughout the Iran–Israel proxy conflict. He backed Netanyahu publicly, including his controversial 2015 Congress speech on Iran, and signed ads praising settlers who occupied Palestinian homes in Silwan, East Jerusalem - one of the most provocative settlement activities. He claimed Jerusalem "belongs to the Jewish people" and opposed territorial compromise there.[7][8][9][10][11] He also hosted direct talks to facilitate the Israeli–Palestinian peace process."

Yeah I know, it was his thoughts on the importance of protest which I thought you might find interesting as you seem to view protest as “hilarious “ and pointless do you disagree with him?