Ireland Will Boycott 2027 Eurovision Song Contest Over Israel’s Participation

Filed 53m ago · Via HuffPost · The Buffoon Desk

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Ireland's national broadcaster RTÉ announced it will boycott the 2027 Eurovision Song Contest in Bulgaria for a second straight year, citing the ongoing loss of life and humanitarian crisis in Gaza tied to Israel's participation.

RTÉ joins the Netherlands, which announced its own boycott last month, in sitting out a contest that has already seen Iceland, Slovenia and Spain skip this year's edition over the same objection. Eurovision Director Martin Green said organizers regret the decision but respect it and hope to welcome RTÉ back eventually.

The contest, founded in 1956 partly to unite postwar Europe, has instead become a recurring flashpoint, with pro-Palestinian protests and heightened security marking the last three editions in Sweden, Switzerland and Austria. Next year's show goes on in Burgas regardless, following Bulgaria's win this year.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.

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A contest built to patch a continent back together after a war is now getting picked apart, one broadcaster at a time, over another one. Nobody at Eurovision headquarters seems willing to make the call that would end the yearly walkout, so instead they issue polite statements about hoping to see everybody again next year. That's not leadership, that's a hostess sending invitations to a party half the guests keep RSVPing no to.

Source: Read the original at HuffPost → Scored: Medieval Loop One · Alexander Nakarada · CC BY 4.0

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