Why a boycott means so much more to me than Eurovision glory

It’s a strange time to be an Irish Eurovision superfan. Since my 20s, the song contest has become my passion. I have worked at the show, I have attended the last two contests, in Turin and Liverpool. I spend months leading up to it dissecting songs, performances and odds, and have met many close friends through it.

And finally, after years of heartache, Ireland are in with a shot after Bambie Thug qualified for this year’s live final with their song Doomsday Blue. It was a risky choice of song, but it has been elevated by Bambie’s fantastic performance and creative staging.

This should be an exciting week for a superfan like me. However, like many others, I will not be tuning in. It’s hard for me to boycott something I love so much, but it’s not a boycott if you only boycott things you don’t like. In a situation where more than 34,000 people are reported to have been killed in Gaza, it’s pretty much the least we can do to not watch a song contest.

But many people, including Bambie and other Eurovision entries such as the UK’s entrant Olly Alexander, have chosen to engage so as to have more pro-Palestinian and anti-war voices at the event.

This week’s events are proving that no meaningful protest would be as powerful as a boycott.

During Tuesday’s semi-final, Bambie was lauded on social media for daubing ancient ogham text on their face and legs which, when translated, read “Ceasefire” and “Free Palestine”. It turns out the symbols didn’t mean that at all, because the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) banned Bambie from wearing these “political” slogans.

Earlier in the night, former Swedish contestant Eric Saade performed on stage with a Palestinian keffiyeh around his arm. The EBU immediately said it “regretted” the gesture that it claimed “compromised the non-political nature of the event”. Saade is half-Palestinian, and was wearing a symbol of his heritage, like many artists at the Eurovision. But because of where his heritage stems from, it is now considered political.

The EBU maintains Israel should be allowed to compete as Eurovision is a politically neutral event. And sure, over the years, it has refused to allow political lyrics in songs. But then we have Ukraine winning in 2016 with a song about the deportation of the Crimean Tatars, or riffing on the phrase “Russia goodbye” with nonsense lyrics in 2007. And in 2022, after pressure from competing countries, the EBU removed Russia, following the invasion of Ukraine, from the contest, saying it would “bring the contest into disrepute”.

So what has its decision in 2024 done for the contest? Disrepute is an understatement. Fans have been banned from bringing Palestinian flags into the venue in Malmo; artists’ extremely minor protests are being censored; yet Israel will compete this week with a song originally written referencing Hamas attacks of October 7 with the lyrics slightly tweaked.

I wish Bambie Thug all the best, and they deserve this success. But any joy that comes from a potential win will be tainted and, as much as I love Eurovision, I’d have more national pride in us taking a stand.