Swiss singer Nemo, winner of the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest, announced they would return their trophy in protest against Israel’s continued participation amid the war in Gaza, Reuters reported.
Nemo, identified as a non-binary performer, said Israel’s inclusion contradicts the contest’s ideals of unity, inclusion, and dignity.
The move comes after the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) cleared Israel to compete in next year’s contest in Austria, prompting withdrawals by Iceland, Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, and Slovenia.
“Eurovision says it stands for unity, for inclusion, and dignity for all people. And these are the values that make this contest so meaningful for me,” Nemo wrote on Instagram, as quoted by Reuters.
“But Israel's continued participation, during what the UN's Independent International Commission of Inquiry… has concluded to be a genocide, shows there's a clear conflict between those ideals and the decisions the EBU is making.”
Nemo said the withdrawals show “something is deeply wrong,” adding they would send the trophy back to EBU headquarters in Geneva.
“This is not about individuals or artists. It's about the fact that the contest was repeatedly used to soften the image of a state accused of severe wrongdoing, all while the EBU insists that this contest is non-political,” Nemo said.
A growing number of countries have threatened to boycott the 70th edition of Eurovision, scheduled to take place in Vienna in May, unless Israel is excluded due to the war in Gaza.
In late October, Austria’s Chancellor Christian Stocker came out strongly against calls to exclude Israel from Eurovision, saying, “I would consider it a fatal mistake to exclude Israel.”
He added, “Based on our history alone, I would never be in favor of that,” referencing Austria’s shared responsibility for crimes committed during the Holocaust in World War II.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said that Germany should withdraw from the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna if Israel is excluded from participation.
Asked whether Germany should voluntarily forgo the contest under such circumstances, Merz replied, “I would support that. I think it's a scandal that this is even being discussed. Israel belongs there.”
(Arutz Sheva-Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)