Dozens of protesters gathered outside Serbia’s state broadcaster RTS in Belgrade on Tuesday, calling on Serbia to pull out of the Eurovision Song Contest and urging the public not to watch or for RTS not to broadcast the show because of Israel’s participation, according to organizers’ statements carried by the Associated Press.
Protesters waved Palestinian flags and held banners accusing Israel of atrocities during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The demonstrators’ message was directed at RTS, which they criticized for plans to cover the competition despite the war in the Middle East.
The Eurovision Song Contest’s main event is scheduled for May 12-16 in Vienna, with 35 countries set to compete. Serbia is planning to take part in the competition with Lavina, a six-member metal band.
A statement by the protest organizers said: “A Eurovision without Israel would mean defending the ideals that this event proclaims.” The Associated Press reported that there was no immediate reaction from RTS to the protest.
Serbia has close ties with Israel, the report said, and the contest’s organizers have previously positioned Eurovision as a pop-music event that tries to keep politics from taking center stage. However, the Associated Press report said Eurovision has repeatedly become entangled in world events.
The report said Russia was expelled from Eurovision in 2022 after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It also said organizers decided in December to allow Israel to compete, a decision that prompted walkouts by Slovenia, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands and Spain.
In Slovenia, the Associated Press reported, the public broadcaster RTV Slovenia has said it will air a Palestinian program at the time of the Eurovision contest.