The Irish Boycott Eurovision 2024 Coalition staged a powerful protest outside of RTÉ studios on Thursday, May 2, calling for a boycott of the Eurovision Song Contest due to Israel’s participation in the competition.

The event was MC’d by queer artist Ciarna Hackett and featured Irish artists, activists and individuals who believe Ireland should boycott the contest, and not play on a stage alongside Israel. Human rights activists and healthcare workers wearing scrubs staged a ‘die-in’ to depict how Eurovision is art-washing Israel’s war crimes.

Award-winning actor Stephen Rea read Refaat Alareer’s poem ‘If I Should Die’ while artists and musicians, including legendary blues singer Mary Coughlan and jazz chanteuse Honor Heffernan, created a visual spectacle and mini-concert from 4:30-6:00pm.

‌Irish Boycott Eurovision 2024 Coalition Spokesperson and IPSC Chair, Zoe Lawlor said: “Israel’s President Yitzhak Herzog has stated ‘it’s important for Israel to appear in Eurovision.’ We say the opposite. It’s vital to exclude the genocidal apartheid state of Israel from this global cultural platform.”

Zoe added: “Ireland has shown the way in the 1980s in exposing the crimes of Apartheid South Africa. It can do the same now, by withdrawing its participation, and standing on the side of humanity, equality and human rights. Boycott Eurovision 2024!”

🪁Let it be a tale…
Powerful reading by Stephen Rea of ‘If I Must Die’ by Refaat Alareer, the Palestinian poet and professor murdered by apartheid Israel’s #GazaGenocide at our protest at RTÉ
We must #BoycottEurovision2024
Video Joan O’Sullivan pic.twitter.com/8dUXtSyelF

— IPSC (@ipsc48) May 2, 2024

The protest was organised by the Irish Boycott Eurovision 2024 Coalition which is made up of the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Irish Artists for Palestine, Apartheid-Free Arts, and Palfest Ireland. Protestors chanted, “Free free Palestine, Boycott Eurovison!”

Prior to the protest, the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign wrote to RTÉ Director General Kevin Bakhurst, asking the board to honour the Palestinian boycott request, and 16,500 people in Ireland signed an accompanying petition.

Last month, at least 400 artists, including Derry Girls actor Siobhán McSweeney, musicians Erica-Cody and Elaine Mai, visual artist Pradeep Mahadeshwar, and drag performers Viola Gayvis, Lavender, and Veda Lady, wrote to Irish participant Bambie Thug asking them to take a historic stance and refuse to participate in Eurovision.

The letter states: “You have the chance to be on the right side of history and to be remembered as an artist of conscience, who, in a time of genocide, chose to do no harm, to truly stand with the oppressed. History will celebrate you if you withdraw from Eurovision 2024.”

Even though Eurovision excluded Russia after it invaded Ukraine, no measures were applied to Israel. Following Eurovision’s decision to include Israel in this year’s event, over 60 LGBTQ+ organisations have called for a 2024 Eurovision boycott.

Despite these efforts, the European Broadcasting Union has ignored pressures to expel Israel from this year’s Eurovision competition. Eurovision Song Contest organisers have even said they will remove Palestinian flags and pro-Palestinian symbols from the show.

Most recently, drag queen Panti Bliss has stated that the 2024 Eurovision contest will not be screened in her iconic Dublin pub due to Israel’s involvement.

Even though it’s usually one of the pub’s biggest nights of the year, Panti shared: “This year I just felt I can’t see us all just cheering and having a wonderful time. It just wouldn’t have felt right, so with great regret, we’re not showing it.”

Instead, Panti will be supporting the Shine on Palestine fundraising event organised as “an act of protest at the inclusion of Apartheid Israel in this year’s contest while it is committing a genocide of Palestinians.”

In the past seven months, Israel has killed at least 34,500 people in Gaza, many of which were children. Israeli forces recently invaded Rafah where 1.5 million Gazan civilians are taking refuge after being forced from their homes by Israeli forces. Every day, in addition to the relentless bombing, Palestinian people are dying from starvation.