Boycott call against ESC: Macklemore, Peter Gabriel and Massive Attack demand Israel’s exclusion

As long as the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) allows Israel to take part in the competition, all public broadcasters, artists, organizers of public viewings, crews and fans would be asked to boycott this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.

Right at the start, the letter published by the “No Music for Genocide” campaign draws a comparison with the exclusion of Russia: “For the third year in a row, we will see Israel celebrated on stage despite abruptly continuing its genocide in Gaza. Russia, on the other hand, remains excluded from the competition because of its illegal invasion of Ukraine.”

The first signatories include Brian Eno, Massive Attack, Sigur Rós, Idles, Paul Weller, Mogwai, Macklemore, Roger Waters, Peter Gabriel, Primal Scream and the ESC winners Emmelie de Forest and Charlie McGettigan.

So far there are no well-known names from Germany under the letter.

After weeks of dispute, the EBU decided in December that Israel could take part in the 70th Eurovision Song Contest, which will take place in Vienna in May. Spain, Ireland, Iceland, Slovenia and the Netherlands then announced their withdrawal from the ESC. This is welcomed in the open letter that has now been published.

It continues: “We refuse to be silent while Israel’s murderous violence provides the soundtrack to the simultaneous destruction of Palestinian lives and Palestinian voices are systematically silenced.” The letter also mentions “US-Israeli plans for hyper-surveilled concentration camps in ‘New Gaza.’”

After the EBU decision not to exclude Israel, many musicians had already protested. Among other things, Nemo gave back the trophy for winning the ESC in 2024. To justify this, the Swiss star wrote on Instagram: “It’s about the fact that the competition was repeatedly used to improve the image of a state that is accused of serious misconduct.”

35 participating countries will be represented at the ESC in Vienna. For Germany, which had always supported Israel’s participation, singer Sarah Engels will be at the start with the song “Fire”. The casting show star prevailed in the preliminary round at the end of February.