Nemo, the artist who won the 68th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2024 representing Switzerland, stated that “it does not make sense for Israel” to participate in the contest due to the ongoing offensive in the Gaza Strip.
“Personally, I don’t think it makes sense for Israel to be part of this Eurovision. And of Eurovision in general, at the moment,” Nemo said during an interview with HuffPost, when asked about his opinion regarding a open letter from 70 former participants requesting Israel’s exclusion (which included Salvador Sobral).
“I don’t know if I want to go into details, but I would say I do not support Israel being part of Eurovision right now,” he added. “I support the call for Israel’s exclusion from the Eurovision Song Contest.”
Nemo emphasized that “Israel’s actions are fundamentally at odds with the values that Eurovision aims to uphold – peace, unity, and respect for human rights.”
Israel’s participation in Eurovision last year was heavily criticized due to the conflict in the Gaza Strip. Prior to the event, the organization defended that Eurovision “is a contest for broadcasters – not governments – and the Israeli public broadcaster has participated in the contest for 50 years.”
When asked about Russia’s expulsion from the festival in 2022 following the invasion of Ukraine, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) explained that the country led by Vladimir Putin had violated its “obligations” as a member and breached “the values of public service media.”
This year, the Israeli television station selected Yuval Raphael, a survivor of the October 7 Hamas attack, as its representative. Meanwhile, Portugal will be represented by Napa with ‘Deslocado’.
Regarding the EBU’s decision to restrict flag usage by artists at Eurovision, allowing “only the official flags of the country they represent in the contest,” Nemo considered it a “stupid” measure.
The measure, it should be noted, prohibits the use of LGBTQ+ flags, and last year, Nemo, who identifies as non-binary, brought the non-binary flag on stage.
“That’s so stupid,” he said. “I don’t understand. Sometimes it’s so random. I feel like… why? Do you get what I mean?”
The use of flags by artists has become more restricted, allowing “only the official flags of the country they represent in the contest.”
Notícias ao Minuto | 12:13 – 02/05/2025
It should be noted that this year, the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 will take place from May 13 to 17 in Basel, Switzerland, following Nemo’s victory with ‘The Code’ in last year’s edition.
