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Germany slams Eurovision boycott threats over Gaza

AFP
AFP - news@thelocal.de
Germany slams Eurovision boycott threats over Gaza
Wolfram Weimer arrives for the federal committee meeting of Germany's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party in April. Photo: Tobias SCHWARZ/AFP.

Germany's culture minister on Saturday slammed threats by several European countries to boycott next year's Eurovision song contest if Israel took part as politicising a cultural event.

Spain said this week it would boycott the world's largest live televised music event in May if Israel participated, and Ireland, Slovenia, Iceland and the Netherlands have made similar threats.

"Eurovision was founded to bring nations together through music. Excluding Israel today goes against this fundamental idea and turns a celebration of understanding between peoples into a tribunal," said Wolfram Weimer in a statement.

"It's precisely because Eurovision was born on the ruins of war that it should not become a scene of exclusion."

Austria, which is hosting the next Eurovision, had on Friday expressed regret over the threats.

Other countries like Belgium, Sweden, and Finland are also considering a boycott and have time till December to decide.

"Eurovision is based on the principle that artists are judged on their art and not on their nationality. The culture of cancellation is not the solution -- the solution is diversity and cohesion," Weimer said.

"It's precisely because Eurovision was born on the ruins of war that it should not become a scene of exclusion," he added.

The European Broadcasting Union, the organiser of Eurovision, is set to decide whether Israel will take part in the 2026 edition at its general assembly in December.

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This year's edition in Basel in Switzerland drew in 166 million viewers across 37 countries.

Pro-Palestinian activists protested in Malmo, Sweden in 2024 and in Basel in May over Israel's participation amid its devastating offensive in Gaza.

The war was sparked by Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures.

Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 65,174 people, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the territory's health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.

READ ALSO: Eurovision boycotts 'dumb', 2026 host Austria says

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P Shevlin Bonn, DE
Hypocracy. If this is so why are the Russians excluded?
Kirsten M.
Just curious, when did Israel become a European country? I thought it was a Middle East country. Can any country outside of Europe be in the Eurovision contest?
JC
Accuracy please - Israel's offensive in Gaza cannot be called a "war", as the word denotes two nations actively participating in armed conflict. In addition, the slaughter of innocents in Gaza started well before October 2023.

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