No Music For Genocide has issued an open letter signed by over 1,100 cultural workers and artists calling for fans to boycott this year’s Eurovision Song Contest unless Israel is banned from participating.
On December 4, members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) decided that Israel would be allowed to participate in the annual singing contest despite their involvement in the ongoing conflict in Gaza, as well as concerns over the voting process in last year’s contest. Eurovision will be held in Vienna on May 16, following singer JJ’s win for his song ‘Wasted Love’.
Now, the ‘No Music For Genocide’ campaign – which encourages artists and rights-holders to pull their music from streaming platforms in Israel – is calling for artists, broadcasters and fans to boycott the competition.
An open letter shared today (April 21) has been signed by artists including Brian Eno, Massive Attack, Paloma Faith, Paul Weller, Kneecap, Hot Chip, Of Monsters and Men, IDLES, Primal Scream, Sigur Rós, Young Fathers, Mogwai, Black Country New Road, Erika de Casier, Nadine Shah, Dry Cleaning, Ólafur Arnalds, David Holmes, Nemahsis, Macklemore, Roger Waters, Peter Gabriel, Vacations, Smerz, a number of former Eurovision finalists and more.
They are calling on public broadcasters, performers, screening party organisers, crew and fans to refuse to participate in or support Eurovision until the EBU bans Israel from participating, as it did to Russia following its illegal invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Signees of the letter write that they “reject Eurovision being used to whitewash and normalise Israel’s genocide, siege and brutal military occupation against Palestinians.
“We stand in solidarity with Palestinian calls for public broadcasters, performers, screening party organisers, crew, and fans to boycott Eurovision until the EBU bans complicit Israeli broadcaster KAN,” the letter continues.
It comes as four countries have already dropped out of the competition, including Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain. Iceland also withdrew from the competition shortly after news broke that Israel would be permitted to compete. Meanwhile, 11 of the 16 entrants of Portugal’s song selection contest stated in December that they would refuse to perform if they win, putting the country’s participation at risk.
The letter goes on to say that they “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.”
“The EBU’s hypocritical responses to Russia’s and Israel’s crimes have removed any illusion of Eurovision’s claimed “neutrality”. In 2022, the EBU said that Russia’s presence would “bring the competition into disrepute”,” it continues.
“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 goes on to say: “As artists, we recognise our collective agency – and the power of refusal. We refuse to be silent. We refuse to be complicit. We call on others in our industry to join us. And we stand in solidarity with all principled efforts to end complicity in every industry.”
You can read the letter in full here.
Speaking on the letter, Kneecap has said: “We’ve paid a price for speaking out – lost gigs, court cases, visa bans – and we’d do it all again tomorrow. Silence is complicity. We stand with No Music for Genocide and every artist, fan and broadcaster who refuses to let the world’s biggest music event be used to whitewash genocide. No stage for genocide. Free Palestine”.
NMFG organisers added: “Every year, for its entire 53-year tenure as a Eurovision participant, Israel has perpetuated its terrorising systems of apartheid, torture, land theft, and military occupation against Palestinians from the river to the sea with complete impunity.
“While many of us in the industry make light of Eurovision or doubt our own power as cultural producers, genocidal Israel’s leaders speak openly about the contest’s geopolitical value. NMFG stands with and amplifies the incredible grassroots organising efforts across Europe to boycott Eurovision until Israel is banned,” they added.
The ‘No Music For Genocide’ campaign sees artists editing their own release territories or sending geo-block requests to their distributor or label. They are encouraging major label groups Sony, UMG, and Warner to follow suit, particularly given that they blocked their entire catalogues from Russia and closed operations there a month into their invasion of Ukraine.
Massive Attack, Fontaines D.C., Amyl & The Sniffers, and Kneecap were among the first leading names to join the initiative in September, and were soon joined by Paramore, Rina Sawayama, MIKE, Primal Scream, Faye Webster, Japanese Breakfast, Yaeji, King Krule, MJ Lenderman, Mannequin Pussy, Wednesday, Soccer Mommy and MØ.
Other major names to have thrown their weight behind ‘No Music For Genocide’ include Björk, Lorde, IDLES, MUNA, Paloma Faith, Clairo, Wolf Alice, Lucy Dacus and AURORA.
The estate of the late Ryuichi Sakamoto also joined the coalition and removed his music from streaming in Israel, writing at the time: “To the extent possible, the Estate has removed or issued formal requests to labels to remove his music from all DSP (streaming and download) services in Israel. For much of his catalog, this has already taken effect.”
Back in December, it was confirmed that 65 per cent of delegates voted in favour of a rule change in the voting and promotion process and no further discussion of Israel’s participation; while 23 per cent voted against and a further 10 per cent abstained. Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, said the country “deserves to be represented on every stage around the world” and he hopes “the competition will remain one that champions culture, music, friendship between nations, and cross-border cultural understanding.”
In the UK, the BBC said it would broadcast the contest next year, saying it supports “the collective decision made by members of the EBU. This is about enforcing the rules of the EBU and being inclusive.” German broadcaster SWR has also confirmed it’ll be taking part.
Eurovision director Martin Green also shared an open letter to Eurovision fans in December, addressing the decision to include Israel in this year’s competition. He acknowledged that “many of you will be feeling strong emotions at this time” – particularly around “events in the Middle East and how those realities connect to the Eurovision Song Contest”.
However, he cautioned fans who “want us to take a defined position on geo-political events”, explaining: “The only way the Eurovision Song Contest can continue to bring people together is by ensuring we are guided by our rules first and foremost”.
Meanwhile, Nemo, the winner of the 2024 contest, returned their trophy to the headquarters of the European Broadcasting Union in protest of Israel’s inclusion in the 2026 competition.
Prior to the December 4 vote, the EBU also announced that there would be rule changes surrounding voting and promotion following concerns over Israel’s campaign last year. They placed second with performer Yuval Raphael, whose performance of ‘New Day Will Rise’ got a significant push in votes from the public after just garnering 60 votes from the various European juries.
Under the new rules, fans will now have a decreased amount of votes, juries will be reintroduced to the semi-finals and there will be seven jurors total – two more than usual.
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