Eurovision boycott 2019

Eurovision boycott 2019 is a call by the BDS movement to boycott Eurovision Song Contest 2019 if it's hosted by Israel. 140 international artists, among them 6 Israelis, urged to boycott the Eurovision 2019.

Background

In 2018 the 25 years old Israeli singer Netta Barzilai won the 2018 Eurovision. The Israeli sports and culture minister Miri Regev demanded Israel to host the contest in Jerusalem which is a disputed city between Israel and Palestine. Some artists claimed that this is an attempt by the Israeli government to achieve some political agenda through musical event others claimed that the boycott is because of the allegations of apartheid Israeli policy against Arab minorities in Israel and the West Bank.

Reaction

Australia

The Australian Greens party raised questions about a potential boycott of the Eurovision Song Contest in Israel with Senator Lee Rhiannon stating: “Recent events along the Gaza border have shown that the Israeli army engage in lethal military actions, on days that are seen as ‘significant’ or when Palestinian-protests are planned,” she said. “This means Eurovision‘s activities could impact on who lives and who dies. Will SBS consider these factors when it considers whether to participate in next year’s contest or if it’s held in 2020?” Michael Ebeid, the CEO of Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) stated “Israel has won before, Israel has hosted before and it in the spirit of unity and bringing people together and cultures together I can’t imagine that we would not televise Eurovision next year.” Australia later confirmed their participation on 1 October 2018.

Iceland

Although Iceland confirmed provisional participation in the 2019 contest, 23,000 Icelanders signed a petition calling on the Icelandic national broadcaster Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV) to boycott the event. Icelandic musician Daði Freyr stated that he would no longer participate in the Icelandic national selection Söngvakeppnin and called upon RÚV to boycott the event, tweeting "We can't imagine taking part in the fun that is Eurovision with a clear conscience while the Israeli state and their army use such terrible violence against the Palestinian people." It was then announced that RÚV would stage a meeting deciding if they would boycott the event, following calls from Icelandic fans. On 13 September 2018, Iceland confirmed participation in Eurovision 2019.

Ireland

Former Lord Mayor of Dublin Mícheál Mac Donncha, who is banned from entering Israel due to his support for the BDS movement, stated that Ireland should withdraw from the 2019 contest due to it taking place in Israel. Sinn Féin MEP, Lynn Boylan called for a boycott via Twitter; "Israel wins Eurovision so let's make BDS more successful than ever in 2019". MEP Nessa Childers stated "Jerusalem? The mind boggles. I thought Tel Aviv". Fellow Sinn Féin member Órla Nic Biorna also expressed her discontent. The Irish Alternative called for a boycott. Irish Eurovision winner Charlie McGettigan has also called for RTÉ to boycott the event, stating "Look, we don’t agree with this, to celebrate while other people are dying." Former Irish TV host Mike Murphy has also called for a boycott of the event. Irish television show The Tonight Show aired a segment in regards to Israel's right to host the contest. On the panel was a range of Irish celebrities all of whom spoke in favour of a boycott. This included members of the public. On 21 June 2018, sitting Tánaiste Simon Coveney stated that he did not believe a boycott would advance the Palestinian cause, and rejected the idea of Ireland boycotting the 2019 contest on those grounds. Sinn Féin called on RTÉ to boycott the event. On 16 August 2018 Ireland confirmed their participation in the 2019 edition. In October 2018 a group of Irish celebrities urge national broadcaster to boycott Eurovision 2019 in protest over Israel’s treatment of Palestine.

Sweden

The Left Party of Malmö suggested that Eurovision Song Contest should not take place in Israel, stating: "It's absolutely unreasonable for Israel to host this gigantic music contest while the occupation is in progress. We want Israel to be excluded from Eurovision on humanitarian grounds. We can not continue dancing while the persecution of the Palestinian people continues. Boycott Israel now!" Sweden confirmed participation in the 2019 contest, and competed in both the 1979 and 1999 contests.

United Kingdom

Some Liberal Democrat party supporters have called upon the party and the UK government to boycott the event, claiming that their participation would condone "outrageous human rights violations".

References

This article "Eurovision boycott 2019" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Eurovision boycott 2019. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

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