Skip to main content
Scottish Greens call on BBC to join Eurovision boycott if Israel is included
Displaced Palestinians fleeing northern Gaza carry their belongings along the coastal road toward southern Gaza, Septemner 11, 2025, after the Israeli army issued evacuation orders from Gaza City

THE Scottish Greens have called on the BBC to follow other broadcasters’ lead and boycott the Eurovision Song Contest should Israel take part.

The call comes after Spanish culture minister Ernest Urtasun threatened to withdraw from the contest altogether, while Irish broadcaster RTE and Slovenia’s RTVSLO have already made clear their plans to boycott the event if Israel is not banned for its ongoing assault on Gaza and its people.

Urging the BBC to take the same approach, the party’s culture spokesman Patrick Harvie said: “Eurovision is a celebration of diversity, love and unity. I want people to be able to truly enjoy it, but that’s not possible if it’s being used to whitewash genocide.

“We must never normalise war crimes. When Gaza is being obliterated, and the Palestinian people collectively punished and deliberately starved, we all need to take a stand. That includes Eurovision.

“As one of the ‘big 5’ Eurovision broadcasters, the BBC carries a loud voice and should use it to join RTE and others in speaking out against Israel’s inclusion and joining the boycott.”

The BBC was contacted for comment. 

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
Thaer Abu Daraz carries the body of his infant daughter, Sewar, who was killed along with her mother in an Israeli airstrike that struck a tent camp for displaced Palestinians in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, June 30, 2026
Gaza Genocide / 30 June 2026
30 June 2026

The electoral cost of Labour’s stance on Gaza is impossible to ignore – the new leadership must take heed, argues PETER LEARY

A Palestinian man carries a wounded girl into al-Shifa Hospital following Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025
Gaza Genocide / 29 November 2025
29 November 2025

On International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, HUGH LANNING warns that the US-led “Comprehensive Plan” entrenches decades of Western complicity in Israel’s domination and denial of Palestinian land and rights

Israeli ambassador to the UK Tzipi Hotovely arrives at BBC Broadcasting House in London, to appear on the BBC One current affairs programme, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg. Picture date: Sunday June 15, 2025
Gaza Genocide / 10 August 2025
10 August 2025