Singer’s assertion follows walkout by 5 international locations after organisers cleared Israel to take part in subsequent 12 months’s contest.
Printed On 12 Dec 2025
Swiss Eurovision winner Nemo stated they are going to return their 2024 victory trophy as a result of Israel is being allowed to compete within the pop music competitors.
The singer, who gained the 2024 version with operatic pop monitor, The Code, posted a video on Instagram exhibiting them inserting the trophy in a field to be despatched again to the Geneva headquarters of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).
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“Eurovision says it stands for unity, for inclusion and dignity for all folks,” Nemo stated, including that Israel’s participation amid its ongoing genocidal warfare on Gaza confirmed these beliefs have been at odds with organisers’ choices.
The EBU, which organises Eurovision, cleared Israel final week to participate in subsequent 12 months’s occasion in Austria, prompting Spain, the Netherlands, Eire, Slovenia and Iceland to announce they’d be boycotting the competition.
“When complete international locations withdraw, it needs to be clear that one thing is deeply mistaken,” Nemo stated on Thursday.
On Friday, contest director Martin Inexperienced stated in an announcement despatched to The Related Press that organisers have been “saddened that Nemo needs to return their trophy which they deservedly gained in 2024”.
“We respect the deeply held views Nemo has expressed and they’ll all the time stay a valued a part of the Eurovision Tune Contest household,” he added.
Subsequent 12 months’s Eurovision is scheduled to happen in Austria’s capital, Vienna, after Austrian singer JJ gained the 2025 contest in Basel, Switzerland. Historically, the profitable nation hosts the next 12 months.
“This isn’t about people or artists. It’s about the truth that the competition was repeatedly used to melt the picture of a state accused of extreme wrongdoing, all whereas the EBU insists that this contest is non-political,” stated Nemo.
“Reside what you declare. If the values we have a good time on stage aren’t lived off stage, then even probably the most stunning songs change into meaningless,” they added.
Israel’s genocidal warfare on Gaza has killed no less than 70,369 Palestinians, in accordance with the territory’s well being authorities.
The nation’s navy has continued to assault the enclave regardless of a ceasefire with Palestinian group Hamas reached again in October.
