Yle on Wednesday announced the participants of the New Music Competition (UMK). The winner will represent Finland at the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö in May.
At the same time, a growing number of artists and citizens across Europe are demanding that Israel, which is at war in Gaza, be kicked out of the Games. A group of Finnish artists will deliver a speech next week calling for a boycott of Yleisradio.
After Russia invaded Ukraine in the spring of 2022, Yle was at the forefront of calling for Russia's exclusion from the competition. So far, it has made no such demands regarding Israel.
Finland has never boycotted Eurovision for political reasons.
This article answers five questions about Eurovision, politics and Israel.
This topic was discussed on Wednesday's episode of Uutispodcast.
Could Israel be banned from Eurovision because of the Gaza war?
Can Israel be kicked out of Eurovision?
The European Broadcasting Union EBU has provisionally announced its support for Israel's participation in the competition. The situation may change if the boycott claim gets stronger.
A Finnish gnostic Tomas Lasinharjun There are good reasons to exclude Israel. Israel's military operations in Gaza have killed more civilians than any other conflict of the 21st century.
– We see war pictures from Gaza and read about Israel's barbaric and brutal military operations. We know tens of thousands of civilians have died and the entire area is becoming uninhabitable and uninhabitable. If Russia can be excluded, the move raises the question of whether Israel should also be excluded from Eurovision.
However, according to Lasinharju, the lead calling for a boycott is still not enough for the EBU to reverse its decision.
– If more countries take the fact that they don't want Israel to participate in Eurovision as a threshold question, the EBU will have to answer.
Head of creative content and media at Yle Villa Villan Yle says he has contacted the EBU about boycott claims that have arisen in Finland and the Nordic countries.
– We have informed the EBU about the boycott requests and we await its reaction.
According to Vilén, if the conflict in Gaza continues to worsen, Finland's exit from the tournament is possible.
– I think at that time the EBU will discuss whether it is better not to participate with Israel or to exclude the belligerent state from the competition altogether.
So far, Yle has not demanded that the EBU boycott Israel.
Editor of Aftonbladet, a Swedish afternoon newspaper specializing in Eurovision Torbjörn Ack If the fighting in Gaza does not end, the protests are expected to escalate. If other participants threaten boycotts, Israel can make a decisive decision.
– If demands become stronger, Israel may withdraw from the competition, says Ek.
According to Torbjörn Ek, boycott requests in Sweden are currently mainly seen as social media discussions.
Why is Israel participating in Eurovision, even though it is not a European country?
All members of the EBU European Broadcasting Union can participate in the song contest.
Eurovision is an annual song contest organized by the EBU. Despite its name, the EBU includes many non-European countries from the Middle East and North Africa. The Israel Broadcasting Corporation joined the EBU in 1957. The country competed in Eurovision in 1973 as the first non-European entry.
How common is it to exclude a country from Eurovision?
Only Russia and Belarus have been kicked out of the Games before.
Immediately after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the EBU announced that the country could still compete in Eurovision. EBU justified His decision with the apolitical nature of the event.
Finland's Yleisradio announced that it would withdraw from the competition if Russia participated. Norway and the Netherlands also called for Russia to be excluded from the competition. Due to pressure The EBU changed its position, and excluded Russia from the competition. Russia withdrew from the EBU in protest.
The decision to exclude Russia is not the first such decision.
In the spring of 2021, Belarus was not allowed to participate due to its sending to the tournament Alexander Lukashenko A performance that glorifies totalitarian rule. In the same summer, Belarus was completely expelled from the EBU. The reason is that the country has fallen into a dictatorship where there is no room for freedom of speech.
Can you watch politics at Eurovision?
Eurovision and politics have been intertwined for decades, even when the song contest claims to be a non-political event.
For decades, countries' political tensions have been reflected not only in programs but also in voting behavior.
Israel has participated in Eurovision for 50 years. Its participation provoked repeated objections from EBU members.
Loud boycott campaigns were last seen when Israel organized a song contest in Tel Aviv in 2019. Many parties called for a boycott of the competition because of Israel's Palestinian policy.
Broadcasters from Arab countries belonging to the EBU have generally withdrawn from the competition because of Israel's participation. For example, Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya and Tunisia did not participate in the tournament, although they could if they wanted to.
Who has ever announced a boycott of Israel?
So far, no participating country has decided to boycott Eurovision. UMK contestant Jesse Markin will not represent Finland at Eurovision if Israel is involved.
In Iceland The music industry has requested About boycotting Eurovision if Israel is involved. Also in Ireland Citizens insisted A public broadcaster should avoid competition for the same reason.
In Finland, the music industry is collected Petition Israel must be driven out of intelligence. It had collected more than 1,400 signatures as of Wednesday.
Broadcasters in Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands and Greece have announced that they will follow the EBU's lead in this regard. Greece is ready to discuss the boycott, if any other visa country's exclusion of Israel is a threshold question for their participation.
According to the rules of Eurovision, a country that boycotts the competitions can be charged not only the participation fee, but also significant fines.
New Music Competition Finalist (UMK). Jesse Markin He announced on Thursday that he would withdraw from Eurovision if Israel participated. However, Markin is fully involved in UMK.
Another UMK finalist Vandalism here said To Sanomat of Helsing He said he would think about his position if UMK wins.
