Cultural influencers call for Israel out of the Eurovision Song Contest, or Yle out of the competition

The petition, launched by the Finnish Palestine Network, has been signed by nearly 500 music and cultural professionals and more than 10 000 citizens.

More than 10 000 citizens and hundreds of music and culture professionals call on YLE to exclude Israel from the Eurovision Song Contest.

The petition was handed over to Yle on Monday in the lobby of Yle’s Media House in Pasila.

– We demand that Yle demands that the EBU exclude genocidal and apartheid Israel from the Eurovision Song Contest or stay out. In practice, we demand that Yle does what it did with Russia in 2022,” actress-screenwriter Noora Dadu said in an interview with Yle at the handover ceremony.

According to Dadu, the situation in Gaza is hopeless.

– I don’t know if you even need it here. It is shocking, it is terrible, it is overwhelming. People in Gaza are currently sending messages to their loved ones that they no longer think they can survive.

– We understand that Finns are concerned about the situation in Gaza. It is a good thing to hear what the debate is about in the Eurovision Song Contest, he says.

However, Törn-Mangs points out that the European Broadcasting Union EBU decides which countries will participate in the Eurovision Song Contest.

-Yle does not boycott the Eurovision Song Contest because the Israeli TV company is allowed to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest. However, this does not mean that we accept military action or the resulting human suffering, he says.

According to the signatories of the petition, YLE should require the European Broadcasting Radio Union (EBU) to exclude Israel out of the Eurovision Song Contest.

If EBU allows Israel to participate, YLE should, according to the petition, boycott the song competition.

The petition is launched by the Palestinina network in Finland.

Finnish-Palestinian actress Noora Dadu is chairman of Sumud.