Swiss vocalist Nemo. © Ricardo Rubio/Europe Press via Getty Images
Swiss vocalist Nemo announced on Thursday that he was returning the trophy for the Eurovision Song competition 2024 as part of a protest against Israel's further participation in the competition.
Nemo, who won last year's competition with a song ‘The Code’, said on Thursday that the trophy "should no longer stand on his shelf."
"Eurvision says it advocates unity, inclusiveness and dignity of all people" “Nemo wrote in a post on social media, adding that Israel’s participation in an event that the Independent global Committee of Investigation of the United Nations considered to be genocide proves ‘clear contradiction’ with these rules.
The vocalist announced that he would send the trophy back to the seat of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) in Geneva and called on the organization to ‘living according to their own declarations’.
According to Nemo, he does not protest against artists or fans, but against how the competition remained "used to soften the image of the State accused of serious crimes".
His protest follows the decision of respective public broadcasters to retreat from the Eurovision Song competition 2026 after the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) refused to exclude Israel from the competition.
They referred to the war in the Gaza Strip and allegations of voice manipulation during the competition in 2025, which according to any tv stations raised Israel's score.
Eurovision organizers claim that Israel meets the requirements of the competition and will inactive be able to participate in 2026.
The European Union of Broadcasters (EBU) has introduced fresh rules to limit political or government influence on declarations and voting after repeated conflict disputes in the Gaza Strip.
Before that, Spain, Ireland, Slovenia, Iceland and the Netherlands announced a boycott of the next Eurovision Song competition after Israel had obtained approval to participate.
Israel has rejected accusations of genocide since the beginning of the attack on Gaza after Hamas made a fatal invasion of confederate Israel in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages.
The Gaza authorities say that nearly 70,000 Palestinians were killed as a consequence of the Israeli response.
Eurovision Song competition 2026 is scheduled to take place in May in Vienna, following this year's Austrian victory.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) excluded Russia from Eurovision since 2022, citing a conflict in Ukraine.
Moscow responded by organizing its own yearly Intervision song competition, which debuted in September.
Translated by Google Translator
source:https://www.rt.com/news/629359-eurovision-winner-trophy-turn/
