A PETITION HAS been delivered to RTÉ’s southern regional studio in Cork calling on RTÉ to boycott this year’s Eurovision Song Contest due to the participation of Israel.
The petition has more than 5,000 signatures and urges RTÉ to refrain from televising this year’s event.
The Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Malmö, Sweden, from Tuesday 7 May to Saturday 11 May.
Bambie Thug will represent Ireland with their song Doomsday Blue.
Olivia O’Sullivan, a representative for Cobh Palestine Solidarity Campaign, delivered the petition to Colm Crowley, head of RTÉ Cork.
She said it is “immoral to allow Israel to compete in the Eurovision” amid the bombardment of Gaza and added that RTÉ “should make clear that what Israel is doing is absolutely unacceptable”.
“Broadcasting the Israeli entry only normalises its actions,” said O’Sullivan, “and the Israeli government will take advantage and claim that its actions have been validated.”
She added: “The majority of Irish people identify with Palestinians and deeply oppose what Israel is doing. Our national broadcaster should listen to our protests. RTE should make a clear stand.”
O’Sullivan also encouraged people to “consider cancelling their TV license payments if RTÉ refuses to listen to our calls not to televise the Eurovision”.
In a statement to The Journal, an RTÉ spokesperson said the broadcaster has “always approached the Eurovision Song Contest in the spirit in which it was founded”.
The spokesperson said it is a “non-political contest designed to unite audiences and bring people together through a shared love of music and entertainment”.
The RTÉ spokesperson added that 37 nations, including Ireland, will take part in the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest and that RTÉ is not aware of any participating Public Service Broadcaster that is planning to boycott the upcoming event.
The Eurovision Song Contest is organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).
The EBU is essentially an alliance of public service media organisations whose countries are within the European Broadcasting Area.
It previously told The Journal that the Eurovision is “a competition for broadcasters – not governments – and the Israeli public broadcaster has participated in the contest for 50 years”.
An earlier boycott campaign aimed at RTÉ noted that Russia was excluded from the competition due to the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, after the Eurovision organisers said that to do otherwise would “bring the competition into disrepute”.
Bambie Thug will represent Ireland at the upcoming Eurovision and previously voiced support for removing Israel from the song contest.
They also joined with several other Eurovision contestants in calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza last month.
Israel’s song entry for this year’s Eurovision has also faced scrutiny from the competition’s organisers, resulting in the lyrics being rewritten due to perceived political lyrics relating to the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
Protests are also planned in Malmö to coincide with the Eurovision Song Contest.
A group called ‘Stop Israel’ said “tens of thousands of demonstrators are expected to march through Malmö” on 9 May when Israel performs in its semi-final.
It will also host an alternative, international music contest at the same time as the Eurovision final on 11 May.
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