More than 1,100 international musicians have signed a manifesto in which they request a boycott of the Eurovision Song Contest while Israel continues to participate in the competition. Among the signatories are artists such as Macklemore, the group Kneecap, Massive Attack or the Spanish representative Blanca Paloma.
In the text, the artists accuse the Unión Europea de Radiodifusión (UER), organizer of the contest, of “covering up” and “normalizing” the current situation by allowing Israel's participation in the music festival.
The manifesto is part of a growing pressure movement within the cultural sector, which questions the role of international institutions in the current geopolitical context. The signatories consider that Eurovision, as an event of great media impact, should not remain outside this type of debate.
For the moment, the EBU has not announced changes regarding Israel's participation in the festival, which continues with its usual organization. Meanwhile, the controversy continues to grow a few weeks before the celebration of the contest, with an increasingly present debate both in the music industry and among the public.