1,400 Finnish artists call for Israel to be excluded from competition

Some 1,400 Finnish artists have joined their Icelandic counterparts in calling for Israel to be excluded from Eurovision 2024. Last month, the Icelandic Association of Icelandic Composers and Lyricists asked its members not to participate in the competition if Israel does not was not excluded.

Finnish artists are also calling on their public broadcaster to boycott the competition, which is to be held in the Swedish city of Malmö in May, if an Israeli candidate presents himself.

“An apolitical event”

“It is not consistent with our values ​​that a country that commits war crimes and continues a military occupation has a public forum to embellish its image in the name of music”indicates the petition signed by the Finnish artists, reports the Guardian.

Among the artists who signed the Finnish petition are Olavi Uusivirta, Paleface and Axel Ehnström, Finland’s representative at Eurovision 2011.

The exclusion of Israel is, however, not envisaged by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), responsible for organizing the competition. “The Eurovision Song Contest is a competition for public service broadcasters across Europe and the Middle East”said a Eurovision spokesperson. “This is not a competition for governments”he added before specifying that the Israeli public broadcaster “has been participating in this competition for 50 years.”

“The Eurovision Song Contest remains an apolitical event that brings together audiences around the world through music,” concludes the Eurovision spokesperson in the columns of the Guardian.
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