Eurovision Boycott Over Israel’s Inclusion Not An Option For Ukraine, Says Former Winner

Annika Pham Back in Cannes a year after presiding over the main Cannes jury, the two-time Palme d’or winner Ruben Öslund unveiled more details about his next mega-project, English-language “The Entertainment is Down,” which he said should be ready for Cannes 2026. The press conference, attended by the hottest talent and producers from the Nordic region and beyond, was hosted by Film i Väst, one of Europe’s largest regional film funds.

Mystery Jets’ Blaine Harrison has said he has “huge respect” for those boycotting The Great Escape, but insists there is “no shade on those who haven’t”.The 2024 edition of the event – which showcases new and rising artists – is currently taking place across various music venues in Brighton until Saturday (May 18).The Great Escape is sponsored by Barclays, which has been a source of controversy amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza because of the bank’s financial investment in companies that supply arms to Israel.Harrison has weighed in on the topic now, writing in a lengthy social media post: “Huge respect for the 100+ artists who have pulled out of The Great Escape in Brighton this weekend on the grounds of its sponsorship by Barclaycard, who are actively supporting the genocide and horrific war crimes in Gaza by investing in companies supplying arms to Israel.”As The Great Escape kicks off in Brighton today, huge respect for the 100+ artists who have pulled out due to the sponsorship by barclaycard. But no shade on those that haven’t.

Great Escape Festival in solidarity with Palestine, with Massive Attack also speaking out in support of the boycott.The 2024 edition of the event – which showcases new and rising artists – is due to take place across various music venues in Brighton from tomorrow (May 15) until Saturday (18).The Great Escape is sponsored by Barclays, which has been a source of controversy amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza because of the bank’s financial investment in companies that supply arms to Israel.The issue was first highlighted in a petition started by the promoter How To Catch A Pig and the band The Menstrual Cramps – which has since been signed by musicians including Kneecap, Lambrini Girls, Alfie Templeman, Lip Critic, Wunderhorse and Mary In The Junkyard.Last month, Cherym pulled out of The Great Escape as a result of the festival’s connection to Barclays, before record labels Alcopop and Big Scary Monsters joined the boycott and withdrew from the event.Dozens more acts soon followed suit, with over half the line-up demanding that The Great Escape drop its sponsorship deal with Barclays.Speaking about their decision not to play the festival, Lambrini Girls said: “We will not be appearing at The Great Escape festival this year. This is a targeted approach of a cultural boycott, considering Barclays sponsorship.“Barclays provide financial services of over £1BN pounds to companies supplying military technology and weapons to the IDF, perpetuating the horrors unfolding in Gaza.”Now, 106 artists have cancelled their scheduled appearances at The Great Escape 2024 in total – constituting approximately a quarter of the full programme.

Eurovision Song Contest 2024.This year’s competition, which was ultimately won by Switzerland’s Nemo, was surrounded by controversy for allowing Israel to compete amid the ongoing conflict with Hamas in Gaza.A statement shared by the EBU to both The Mirror and The Irish Times read: “We regret that some delegations at the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö didn’t respect the spirit of the rules and the competition both onsite and during their broadcasts. We spoke to a number of delegations during the event regarding various issues that were brought to our attention.It continued: “The EBU’s governing bodies will, together with the heads of delegations, review the events surrounding the ESC in Malmö to move forward in a positive way and to ensure the values of the event are respected by everyone.A post shared by European Broadcasting Union (@ebu_hq)“Individual cases will be discussed by the event’s governing body, the Eurovision Song Contest Reference Group made up of representatives from participating broadcasters, at its next meeting.”The statement’s release comes after the slew of controversies that took over this year’s edition of the song contest.

K.J. Yossman The Ukrainian edition of “The Bachelor” is set to return with 28-year-old war veteran Oleksandr Budko as the lead. Produced by Starlight Media (an STB channel) and Warner Bros.

Eurovision ratings have apparently plunged amidst several controversies and boycott calls for this year’s edition.This year, the contest has faced criticism for its inclusion of Israel due to their role in the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict. Due to this political neutrality clause, the EBU announced they reserved the right to remove Palestinian flags and symbols, and would go on to censor Irish contestant Bambie Thug for wearing the word ‘ceasefire’ and ‘freedom for Palestine’ as a hidden message on their costume.Israel’s inclusion prompted boycott calls from the LGBT+ community towards UK entry Olly Alexander, reasoning that the competition was “providing cultural cover and endorsement for the catastrophic violence that Israel has unleashed on Palestinians.”Over 1,000 Swedish artists called for Israel to be banned this year – including Robyn, Fever Ray, and First Aid Kit – and more than 1,400 Finnish music industry professionals have signed a petition to ban the country from taking part in the contest as well.

Eurovision entry Iolanda’s video was reportedly replaced with previous footage due to “pro-Palestine motifs” on her nails.Last night’s contest saw Swiss entry Nemo crowned as its first nonbinary winner in a year marked with controversy due to the EBU’s struggle to enforce its political neutrality clause. This was especially notable in the inclusion of Israel this year, due to their role in the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict.

Bambie Thug has accused Eurovision organisers of “not supporting them” over claims that the Israeli broadcasters “incited violence” against them.In an interview after their performance at Eurovision 2024, the Irish singer-songwriter claimed the Israeli broadcaster KAN “incited violence against me twice, three times.”“We brought it up to the EBU,” they told reporters. “They said they’d follow up.

Bambie Thug has given an update on their Eurovision complaint, claiming that the EBU confirmed Israli broadcaster KAN had “broken the rules of conduct”.Earlier today, it was reported that the Irish Eurovision entry lodged a complaint with the Eurovision organisers due to commentary made by a broadcaster on KAN. The comments, which told viewers to “prepare your curses” and claim Bambie’s performance was “the most scary” of the night, were labelled “in breach of the rules” of the EBU by Bambie.Now, the Cork singer has taken to their social media to claim that the EBU “confirmed” KAN had breached the rules, which “contradicts” a statement they had seen from the EBU Director General Noel Curran.“Over the last few days I have raised multiple complaints to the EBU regarding instances I have experienced this week.

Bambie Thug has given a special message at the end of their gripping Eurovision performance – watch it below.The Irish Eurovision entry has been tipped as one of the favourites to win this year, with them ranking fourth on the bookie’s odds to win the contest.However, the Cork singer has also faced significant challenges throughout the competition due to their pro-Palestinian stance. It was revealed they were forced to remove the words ‘ceasefire’ and ‘freedom for Palestine’ in a medieval script from their costume due to Eurovision’s political neutrality clause.Though they were prevented from saying the words ‘ceasefire’, Bambie seemed to allude to the Israel-Palestine conflict at the end of their powerful performance.

Eurovision entrant was booed during her live performance on the show last night, while other parts of the audience reacted with cheers.The 68th Eurovision Song Contest took place last night (May 11) in Malmö, Sweden, and was won by Switzerland’s Nemo, whose song ‘The Code’ won the jury vote and came fifth in the public vote.Israel’s entry ‘Hurricane’ by Eden Golan did not score high with the jury, but received one of the highest scores in the public vote. Her performance came early in the night, and was met with a decidedly mixed reaction from the live audience.As fan footage from inside the room appears to show, there was a somewhat negative reaction from parts of the audience during Golan’s rendition of her song, with cries of “Free Palestine” being audible.

Switzerland has won the 68th Eurovision Song Contest, which took place Saturday evening in Malmo, Sweden.

At the end of a nail biting week of musical performances, the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 finally declared its winner on Saturday evening when Switzerland's Nemo won with their song The Code. The winning performance came after a tense week of surprising mishaps, in which controversy had dogged the 68th edition of the annual song contest for months in the run up to the live shows.

As music lovers around the world tuned into the Eurovision Song Contest’ s grand final on Saturday night, all eyes were on the 25 acts that were hoping to secure victory. Initially 26 countries had been due to compete, but following a controversial decision by the European Broadcasting Union to ban Dutch entrant Joost Klein, only 25 made it to the stage on Saturday evening.

Olly Alexander, the former Years and Years singer, has been urged by fans to withdraw from the Eurovision Song Contest just hours before he is due to represent the UK on stage.

Bambie Thug has called on Eurovision organisers to “show some humanity” over its handling of political issues as controversy related to Israel’s inclusion continues.The conversation around this year’s edition of the singing competition has been dominated by the controversial decision not to ban Israel from the contest despite the ongoing situation in Gaza, with many fans vowing to boycott Eurovision this year as a result.Israel is being represented by Eden Golan with the song ‘Hurricane’. Her qualification into the final came shortly after thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered in the streets of Malmö, Sweden, where the contest is being held, to show their support for Gaza.

Olly Alexander has responded to his odds of winning the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest.The singer revealed to BBC that he had taken a look at what the bookies were saying about his chances of winning the contest. “My odds for winning are at one per cent,” he told the outlet.

Eurovision 2024 entrant Joost Klein has been placed under investigation by the contest’s organisers due to an unexplained “incident”.The singer was not allowed to perform his song ‘Europapa’ during the final dress rehearsal in Malmö, Sweden on Friday (May 10), and it is currently unknown whether he will be able to perform in the grand final on Saturday (May 11).The European Broadcasting Union said in a statement: “We are currently investigating an incident that was reported to us involving the Dutch artist. He will not be rehearsing until further notice.“We have no further comment at this time and will update in due course.”Klein’s most recent public appearance was during the flag parade at the start of the Friday rehearsal, but he did not appear during his performance slot approximately 30 minutes later.Klein is scheduled to perform in the fifth slot in the ceremony, one place before Israel’s Eden Golan.

With mere hours left to go until the Eurovision Song Contest gets underway on Saturday evening, the annual musical extravaganza has been thrown into chaos following an incident involving Dutch act Joost Klein.The performer, who qualified for the grand final earlier this week with his song Europapa, was “pulled” from rehearsing for tomorrow’s show “until further notice.” In a statement to the PA news agency, the European Broadcasting Union who televise the show said: "We are currently investigating an incident that was reported to us involving the Dutch artist. He will not be rehearsing until further notice.” "We have no further comment at this time and will update in due course." In preparation for the grand final, all 26 competitors have been taking part in a dress rehearsal ahead of the performance, however while Joost did appear during the Flag Parade, he didn’t perform his song Europapa when the time came.

Eurovision final following days of protests in support of Gaza.Eden Golan, Israel’s entrant in the songwriting competition, qualified for the final following a public vote. Her win into the final came shortly after thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered in the streets of Malmö, Sweden, where the contest is being held, to show their support for Gaza.The singer was booed during dress rehearsals and was booed again, this time with a mix of cheering as well, during the semi-finals on Thursday (May 9).