No Music For Genocide (NMFG) has published an open letter signed by over 1,100 musicians and cultural workers calling for a boycott of Eurovision until the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) bans Israel’s public broadcaster KAN from the contest.
The letter was released this morning (21 April) and is backed by a broad coalition of prominent names including Brian Eno, Massive Attack, Paloma Faith, Paul Weller, Hot Chip, Of Monsters and Men, IDLES, Primal Scream, Sigur Rós, Young Fathers, Mogwai, Black Country New Road, Nadine Shah, Dry Cleaning, Roger Waters, Peter Gabriel, and Macklemore, among many others. Former Eurovision finalists also feature among the signatories. You can sign the letter here.
This May marks the third consecutive year Israel will appear at Eurovision, the world’s largest music event, drawing 166 million viewers last year, while Russia remains banned following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The letter draws a direct comparison: in 2022 the EBU stated that Russia’s presence would “bring the competition into disrepute,” and the signatories are demanding to know why the same standard has not been applied to Israel amid what they describe as over 30 months of genocide in Palestine.
The letter also highlights Israel’s actions beyond Gaza. Since March 2026, the letter states, Israel has escalated what it describes as a full-scale ethnic cleansing campaign in Lebanon, killing more than two thousand people including hundreds of children, displacing more than one million, and drawing condemnation from UN experts, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch for systematic violations of international humanitarian law. The signatories also point to Israeli strikes on Iran, condemned by over 100 international law experts as violations of the UN Charter, as further evidence of unchecked aggression.
The open letter calls on public broadcasters, performers, screening party organisers, crew, and fans to refuse to participate in or platform Eurovision until KAN is removed from the contest. It specifically applauds the withdrawals of broadcasters from Spain, Ireland, Iceland, Slovenia, and the Netherlands, and acknowledges national selection finalists in Portugal and Italy who pledged not to represent their countries in Vienna had they won.
Kneecap, who have long been among the most vocal artists on this issue and who headlined the Wide Awake Festival in 2025 and are set to headline AVA Belfast this May, issued a characteristically direct statement alongside the letter: “Russia was banned from Eurovision in 2022. Israel has been murdering Palestinians for decades and is now committing genocide, and for the third year running, they’re welcomed back onto the stage. That’s not neutrality. That’s a choice. We’ve paid a price for speaking out, lost gigs, court cases, visa bans, and we’d do it all again tomorrow. Silence is complicity. We stand with No Music for Genocide and every artist, fan and broadcaster who refuses to let the world’s biggest music event be used to whitewash genocide. No stage for genocide. Free Palestine.”
The Belfast trio’s statement references the significant personal cost of their activism. The censorship and political controversy surrounding Kneecap’s appearances at UK festivals last year brought the issue of pro-Palestinian expression in music to the centre of public debate, with the band facing BBC censorship, government pressure, and legal proceedings as a result of their outspoken stance.
NMFG organisers added: “Every year, for its entire 53-year tenure as a Eurovision participant, Israel has perpetuated its terrorising systems of apartheid, torture, land theft, and military occupation against Palestinians from the river to the sea with complete impunity. While many of us in the industry make light of Eurovision or doubt our own power as cultural producers, genocidal Israel’s leaders speak openly about the contest’s geopolitical value. NMFG stands with and amplifies the incredible grassroots organising efforts across Europe to boycott Eurovision until Israel is banned.”
No Music For Genocide is a cultural boycott initiative launched in September 2025 in which over 1,000 artists and labels have removed their music from all streaming platforms in Israel. The movement draws inspiration from the successful cultural boycotts of apartheid South Africa and has grown to include Björk, Lorde, Hayley Williams, Wolf Alice, Fontaines D.C., Clairo, Denzel Curry, and Faye Webster, among many others. The campaign has received widespread coverage from outlets including NPR, NME, Pitchfork, The Guardian, Rolling Stone, and Al Jazeera.
The 70th Eurovision Song Contest takes place in Vienna, Austria this May.
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In this article: Eurovision Song Contest 2026, Vienna, Austria, Wiener Stadthalle, No Music For Genocide, European Broadcasting Union, Israel, Russia, Ukraine, Brian Eno, Massive Attack, Paloma Faith, Paul Weller, Kneecap, Hot Chip, Of Monsters and Men, Idles, Primal Scream, Sigur Rós, Young Fathers, Mogwai, Black Country New Road, Erika de Casier, Nadine Shah, dry cleaning, Ólafur Arnalds, David Holmes, Nemahsis, Macklemore, Roger Waters, Peter Gabriel, salute, Vacations, Smerz, Mechatok, Olof Dreijer, The Knife, Spain, Ireland, Iceland, Slovenia, Netherlands, Portugal, Italy, Isaac Herzog, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, United Nations, Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions. Generated by Wikidata Schema Link Builder.
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