BELGRADE, Serbia — A group of demonstrators assembled outside Serbia’s national television headquarters on Tuesday, calling for their country to withdraw from the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest due to Israel’s inclusion in the competition.
The annual musical competition featuring 35 nations is set to take place May 12-16 in Vienna. Serbia’s representative will be Lavina, a metal group with six members.
In Belgrade’s city center, demonstrators displayed Palestinian flags and carried signs condemning Israel for alleged war crimes in the Gaza conflict. They urged the state broadcaster RTS to cancel coverage of the event and asked Serbian citizens to avoid watching.
Organizers of the demonstration released a statement saying “A Eurovision without Israel would mean defending the ideals that this event proclaims.”
RTS has not yet responded to the protesters’ demands. Serbia maintains strong diplomatic relations with Israel.
While Eurovision aims to prioritize entertainment over political matters, the contest has frequently become entangled in global conflicts. Russia faced exclusion in 2022 following its full-scale military action against Ukraine.
Contest officials made the decision in December to permit Israel’s participation, leading to withdrawals by Slovenia, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands and Spain. Slovenia’s state broadcaster RTV Slovenia announced plans to air programming focused on Palestinian issues during the Eurovision broadcast time slot.
