'Boycott Eurovision' demos to be held across Scotland in protest at Israel's inclusion in song contest
Demonstrators will gather in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Selkirk and Dumfries on Saturday urging the BBC not to broadcast the event
Last updated 8th Apr 2024
Protests are taking place across Scotland on Saturday, urging the BBC to boycott the Eurovision Song Contest unless Israel is excluded from taking part.
Demonstrators will gather in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Selkirk and Dumfries to put pressure on the broadcaster.
It is being organised by the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which is calling for a cultural boycott of Israel due to the country’s actions in the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
A statement from SPSC says: “The European Broadcasting Union have taken the shameful decision to include Israel in the Eurovision song contest, a stance that is being supported by the performers involved, despite calls from The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), and other civil society groups, to remove Israel from the competition as they did with Russia following their invasion of Ukraine.
In the UK, the BBC will be showing the competition as usual and various venues are hosting Eurovision screenings and parties. It must be highlighted that this cultural cover cannot be provided to a state that is committing plausible genocide.
In response, SPSC are calling to organise actions at BBC locations across Scotland on Saturday ideally at 1pm. On the 6th April to make a show of solidarity outside our local BBC offices.
We will gather to highlight that in airing the Eurovision song contest this year the BBC is complicit in the artwashing of the ethnic cleansing of Palestine, as well as their biased and harmful reporting on the genocide, and their refusal to acknowledge the murder of Palestinian journalists in Gaza.”
The demonstrations come after the UK’s Eurovision entry for 2024, Olly Alexander, was also urged to pull out from the competition due to Israel’s participation.
In a statement on his social media the former Years and Years singer said: “I wholeheartedly support action being taken to demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, the return of all hostages and the safety and security of all civilians in Palestine and Israel.
“I know some people will choose to boycott this year’s Eurovision and I understand and respect their decision. As a participant I’ve taken a lot of time to deliberate over what to do and the options available to me. It is my current belief that removing myself from the contest wouldn’t bring us any closer to our shared goal.”
Instead, he wrote, he would collaborate with other Eurovision contestants on how to “use our platform to come together and call for peace”. He thanked Queers for Palestine and stated his hope “that we can continue to work together in creating a better world for all of us”.