After Iceland, Finnish artists also want Israel banned from Eurovision

Over 1,400 Finnish artists want Israel banned from Eurovision after Iceland’s music community last month called on its members not to participate in the contest unless Israel is banned due to Israel’s war crimes since October

More than 1,400 Finnish artists, including Olavi Uusivirta, Paleface and Axel Ehnström, who represented Finland at Eurovision in 2011, have signed a petition to ban Israel from the Eurovision contest in Malmo, Sweden, slated to happen in May 2024.

The artists believe that if Israel participates in the contest, Finland should boycott the contest and the country should refuse to send entries.

Finland’s public broadcaster Yle said it was contacting European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organizes the contest, following requests from the music community.

The move is similar to the one made in 2022 when Russia was banned from participating in the contest after it launched operations in Ukraine in 2022. Yle said Moscow’s aggression was “contrary to all the values that Yle and other European broadcasters stand for.” Subsequently, EBU banned Russia from participating.

Israel’s public broadcaster said that Kan “meets all the rules of the contest” and can participate in Malmo, while Lukas Korpelainen, one of the author’s of the petition, told Finnish publication named Hufvudstadsbladet that it is unacceptable for Israel to participate in Eurovision “to polish its image”.

Since Oct. 7, the Israeli onslaught has left Gaza in ruins, with half of the coastal territory’s housing damaged or destroyed and nearly 2 million people displaced within the densely populated enclave amid acute shortages of food and clean water.

Source: Newsroom