As the Eurovision Song Contest marks its 70th anniversary this year, its organizers, the Geneva-based European Broadcasting Union (EBU), have chosen to maintain Israel’s participation despite its devastating military campaign in Gaza and elsewhere. This decision has sparked widespread anger and organized resistance across Europe, with Palestinian songwriter Bashar Murad performing a mournful rendition of “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free” in English and Arabic before hundreds at a "United for Palestine" event in Brussels on Tuesday evening.
Murad’s performance was part of a protest movement directly challenging the legitimization of Israel’s actions through its inclusion in Europe’s annual pop music competition. Murad stated, “It’s always amazing to be in the same room with people who believe in the same things as you and people who believe that we can’t just let the show go on.” This sentiment highlights the refusal of workers and the dispossessed to accept the normalization of imperial aggression through cultural spectacle.
The State and Cultural Capital
Israel, which joined Eurovision 53 years ago in 1973, has won the contest four times, granting the country significant visibility at a high-profile event that celebrates diversity. This visibility functions as a form of cultural capital, used to project an image that contradicts the reality of its military actions. Israel’s President Isaac Herzog welcomed the EBU’s decision to keep Israel in the contest, stating at the time that “Israel deserves to be represented on every stage around the world,” revealing the state’s interest in maintaining its international image despite the ongoing carnage in Gaza, the occupied West Bank, Lebanon, and Iran.
Many Israelis have expressed feeling unfairly ostracized by the boycotts and protests. However, Amnesty International secretary general Agnès Callamard directly challenged the EBU’s stance, arguing that Eurovision should expel Israel, as it did Russia 4 years ago in 2022 after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Callamard asserted, “Songs and sequins must not be allowed to drown out or distract from Israel’s atrocities or Palestinian suffering.” This exposes the EBU's decision as a political act that prioritizes the interests of a state engaged in military violence over the human cost.
Labor and Organized Resistance
Alternative concerts are taking place across Europe this week, including the “United for Palestine” event in Brussels, where European musicians performed alongside Murad and other Palestinian artists. Katrien De Ruysscher, founder of the activist group SOS Gaza, which organized the Brussels event along with rights group 11.11.11, explained the necessity of these actions: “We have to create an alternative because the participation of Israel is problematic.” These events represent a grassroots, organized response from below, directly confronting the EBU's complicity.
Pro-Palestinian protests have been a consistent feature, with demonstrations calling for Israel’s expulsion at the 2024 Eurovision contest in Malmo, Sweden, and last year’s event in Basel, Switzerland. These protests have also included allegations that Israel’s government broke the contest’s rules to support its contestant, further highlighting the political nature of its participation. Murad’s mother and father, a founding member of the influential Palestinian music group Sabreen, unsuccessfully petitioned the EBU 19 years ago in 2007 to admit Palestine to the contest, demonstrating a long history of Palestinian efforts to gain recognition and challenge the existing power structures within the event.
Managing Contradictions
Despite widespread outrage and massive popular protests, the EBU declined to kick Israel out. In response to vote-rigging allegations, the broadcasting union tightened voting rules this year, a superficial measure that manages the system's contradictions without addressing their foundations. This liberal approach focuses on procedural adjustments while preserving the core issue of Israel's participation. Five nations—Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Iceland—have boycotted the contest, a limited state-level response that underscores the EBU's power to override such dissent.
Spanish public television, which previously broadcast Eurovision, plans to air alternative programming on Saturday evening, titled “La Casa de la Música,” featuring veteran and newcomer musicians. Organizers of the Brussels concert confirmed similar events are taking place in Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Italy, and Spain. While these alternative events will not draw an audience comparable to Eurovision, which attracted 166 million viewers 1 year ago in 2025, Murad expressed hope that they can spark reflection on the pop cultural juggernaut’s original mission to unite people through song. He stated, “The purpose of these alternative programs that are happening is to remind Eurovision what it’s actually about and to try to hopefully bring it back, to correct its course and make it actually live up to the things that it claims to be about,” adding, “A lot of people in the world feel that the competition has lost its meaning.” This reflects a growing understanding that the institution, in its current form, serves to legitimize state power rather than foster genuine unity.