Over 400 Irish artists call for Eurovision boycott

Over 400 Irish artists have signed a letter calling for Ireland’s Eurovision contest, Bambie Thug, to boycott May’s event.

A petition with nearly 17,000 signatures was delivered to RTE boss Kevin Bakhurst calling for Ireland to boycott the Eurovision over Israel’s involvement in the competition.

The letter reads “we are writing to you as Irish artists, writers and poets, many of us queer and trans. We congratulate you on being selected to represent Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024. This is an honour and recognition of your talent and artistry, however, we are asking you to withdraw from Eurovision 2024, to heed the call from Palestinians to boycott the competition due to the participation of Israel.”

“We welcome that you have chosen, along with other participating artists, not to be silent. However, while you say “my heart and solidarity has and will always lie with the oppressed” – by participating in Eurovision you will be standing with the oppressor. Palestinians have called for artists to withdraw from the contest, and if your wish to stand in solidarity is sincere, then you should listen to them.”

The letter called on Bambie Thug to withdraw from the competition, saying that by withdrawing it would send a “powerful” message and “resonate with millions.”

“For almost six months, all over this island, thousands of people have held marches, vigils, and solidarity actions. The Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) national demonstrations have brought hundreds of thousands of people onto the streets. The majority of people in Ireland support the boycott of Israel and want the government to sanction that state. Support for and solidarity with the Palestinian people here is both huge and consistent,” the letter read.

Thug discussed the controversy on last week’s edition of the Late Late Show, with the Cork singer stating “I stand with anyone doing the boycott. I think if I wasn’t in the competition, I would also be boycotting. There are a lot of moving parts.”

They said “at the end of the day, without the group of us who is pro-Palestine, it is less competition for Israel to win and it’s less solidarity there. Obviously, it’s incredibly heavy and I am extremely behind everybody.”

Israel’s hosting of the competition in 2019 was also greeted with controversy, with similar letters being written and protests taking place outside RTÉ calling for Ireland to boycott the competition.

This year’s Eurovision has been overshadowed by controversy following news that Israel would be allowed to compete in the competition despite Russia being banned from the competition in 2022.

Israel’s entry was forced to change lyrics after the original song title October Rain was seen to be too evocative of the October 7th attack on Israel.

The European Broadcasting Union, which oversees the competition, disqualified the song for containing political references, but allowed Israel to compete after “careful scrutiny.”

The EBU said Israel would be allowed to participate in this year’s competition claiming the competition is “a competition of broadcasters and not of governments.”

In 2009, Georgia withdrew from the competition after refusing to change lyrics that mocked Russian president Vladimir Putin.

This year’s contest will take place in Malmo in Sweden, with Ireland taking part in the first semi-final that will take place on May 7th and the final itself taking place on May 11th.