Eurovision: Roger Waters and the others who want Israel out

Protests related to Israel’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026, which will take place from May 12 to 16 in Vienna, Austria, are escalating. After the positions taken in recent months, including that of the reigning winner Nemo, by artists who asked for the exclusion of Tel Aviv from the competition, the organization No Music For Genocide has now published an open letter signed by over 1,100 cultural operators and artists through which spectators are invited to boycott Eurovision unless Israel is excluded from the competition: among the signatories there are also Roger Waters, Brian Eno and Paul Weller.

The move comes five months after the meeting last December at which the members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) decided that Israel could have participated in the Eurovision Song Contest, despite its involvement in the ongoing conflict in Gaza and concerns expressed about the voting process at last year’s edition.

The letter was signed not only by Waters, Eno and Weller, but also by Massive Attack, Paloma Faith, 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, Peter Gabriel, Vacations, Smerz and numerous former Eurovision finalists.

The signatories call on public broadcasters, artists, organisers, crews and fans to refuse to participate in or support Eurovision until the EBU bans Israel from participating, as it did with Russia following the illegal invasion of Ukraine in 2022.