Thousands in Finland demand boycott of Israel in Eurovision

More than 10,000 people in Finland on Monday urged the country’s public broadcaster Yle to push for Israel to be banned from the Eurovision Song Contest due to the war in Gaza.

The broadcaster received two petitions on Monday demanding it pressure the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which manages the event, to block Israel from participating, the petitions’ initiator — the Finnish Palestine Network group Sumud — said in a statement.

One of the petitions was signed by more than 500 music and cultural industry professionals, while a public petition was signed by over 10,000 people.

With less than two months to go until one of the world’s biggest annual live television events kicks off in the Swiss city of Basel, the signatories urged Yle to withdraw Finland’s contestant from the competition if Israel were to participate.

“It is against our values for a state that has committed genocide and practices occupation policies to be given a prominent opportunity to improve its image under the guise of music,” the signatories said.

Yuval Raphael, a survivor of the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack, has been chosen as Israel’s representative in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.

Thousands protested at last year’s contest in the Swedish city of Malmo against Israel’s participation.