A gaggle of artists set to carry out within the 2024 Eurovision Tune Contest — together with England’s Olly Alexander — issued an announcement defending their participation amid calls to boycott Israel’s presence on this 12 months’s competitors.
In latest weeks, teams starting from the Palestinian Marketing campaign for the Tutorial and Cultural Boycott of Israel to Queers for Palestine — which particularly referred to as on Alexander, who beforehand stated Israel was an “apartheid state,” to withdraw — have sought to have Israel expelled from Eurovision over the continued battle in Gaza.
In an announcement Friday (by way of NME), the Eurovision performers from international locations like Eire, Denmark, Switzerland, Portugal, and the U.Okay.’s Alexander banded collectively in response to the rising requires boycott, stating, “We firmly consider within the unifying energy of music, enabling individuals to transcend variations and foster significant conversations and connections.”
“In mild of the present state of affairs within the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and significantly in Gaza, and in Israel, we don’t really feel snug being silent,” the assertion shared on Alexander’s social media learn.
“You will need to us to face in solidarity with the oppressed and talk our heartfelt want for peace, a right away and lasting ceasefire, and the secure return of all hostages. We stand united in opposition to all types of hate, together with antisemitism and islamophobia.”
The assertion continued, “We really feel that it’s our obligation to create and uphold this area, with a powerful hope that it’ll encourage better compassion and empathy.”
Israel will probably be represented by Eden Golan’s “October Rain” within the competitors. The track has already undergone “mandatory changes” to its lyrics — which referenced the victims of the October 7 Hamas assault — with a purpose to guarantee their participation on this 12 months’s Eurovision Tune Contest.
In February, a bunch together with Kiss’ Gene Simmons, Sharon Osbourne, Boy George, and Diane Warren signed a Inventive Neighborhood for Peace open letter in assist of Israel’s presence within the Eurovision Tune Contest. That letter was in response to the various open letters from collaborating artists’ international locations calling for Israel to withdraw from the competitors.
“Music unites individuals from all backgrounds,” the Inventive Neighborhood for Peace assertion learn. “It’s the one language that everybody can perceive. It’s an exquisite factor and a good way to deliver individuals collectively. These advocating to exclude an Israeli singer from Eurovision don’t transfer the needle in direction of peace, however solely additional divide the world.”
