Ireland and Slovenia have confirmed their withdrawal from the list of participants following a meeting of the European Broadcasting Union’s General Assembly, which brings together 56 public broadcasters responsible for organizing the competition, according to Western media reports. The meeting witnessed heated discussions regarding concerns about participation opposed by some countries in light of the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
Earlier, several member states had supported a vote to adopt stricter voting rules following allegations of vote manipulation in favor of Israeli contestants. However, the union did not issue any decision to exclude any channel from the competition, leading to an escalation of the dispute within the organization.
Germany, last September, expressed its strong criticism of European calls to boycott the Eurovision Song Contest, scheduled to be held in Vienna next May, if Israel is allowed to participate. Weimer’s statements came in response to the announcement by countries such as Ireland, Slovenia, Iceland, and the Netherlands of their refusal to participate in the contest if Israel is allowed to attend. Other countries, including Belgium, Sweden, and Finland, are considering similar steps, with a deadline until December to make a final decision.
Weimer, who belongs to the conservative trend, asserted that “Eurovision is based on evaluating artists based on their artistic creativity, not their nationalities,” emphasizing that “cancel culture is not a solution, but diversity and solidarity are the way forward.”
The conflict in Gaza, which lasted for more than two years, resulted in the deaths of about 68,000 Palestinians and injured approximately 170,000 others, according to official data. Egypt hosted a peace summit in Sharm El-Sheikh last October, chaired by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his American counterpart Donald Trump, with the participation of leaders and delegations from about 20 countries.
Over two years of continuous Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, the region has been destroyed from the far south to the north, with the medical sector, schools, universities, places of worship, infrastructure, and vital resources supporting life in the area all being destroyed. Fifteen vital sectors in Gaza were devastated, leaving a large number of Palestinian civilians dead and injured.
