Five nations, including Spain and Ireland, are boycotting the kitschy extravaganza<\/a> as performers from 35 countries compete in Europe\u2019s annual pop music competition, which marks its 70th anniversary this year.<\/a> Ten countries including Israel and favorite Finland won places Tuesday<\/a> in Saturday\u2019s final of the contest, whose motto is \u201cUnited by Music.\u201d<\/p>\n Alternative concerts are taking place across Europe this week, including the \u201cUnited for Palestine\u201d event in Brussels, where European musicians performed alongside Murad and other Palestinian artists.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s always amazing to be in the same room with people who believe in the same things as you and people who believe that we can\u2019t just let the show go on,\u201d said Murad, who came close to being Iceland\u2019s competitor in 2024.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Murad\u2019s mother and father, a founding member of the influential Palestinian music group Sabreen, unsuccessfully petitioned the Geneva-based European Broadcasting Union, which runs Eurovision, to admit Palestine to the contest in 2007.<\/p>\n Since joining in 1973, Israel has won four times, giving the country visibility at a high-profile event that celebrates diversity. Many Israelis have said they feel they are being unfairly ostracized with the boycotts and other protests.<\/p>\n But Amnesty International secretary general Agn\u00e8s Callamard said she believes Eurovision should throw Israel out of the competition like it did Russia in 2022 after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n \u201cSongs and sequins must not be allowed to drown out or distract from Israel\u2019s atrocities or Palestinian suffering,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n New boycotts and calls for reform<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s place in the contest has become contentious as outrage has grown over the carnage in Gaza, the occupied West Bank, Lebanon and Iran, with massive popular protests<\/a> and European Union politicians mulling new sanctions<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to create an alternative because the participation of Israel is problematic,\u201d said Katrien De Ruysscher, founder of the activist group SOS Gaza, which organized the Brussels event along with rights group 11.11.11.<\/p>\n The 2024 Eurovision contest in Malmo, Sweden<\/a>, and last year\u2019s event in Basel, Switzerland<\/a>, saw pro-Palestinian protests<\/a> that called for Israel to be expelled and allegations<\/a> that Israel\u2019s government broke the contest\u2019s rules to support its contestant.<\/p>\n Performers are judged by juries in participating nations and viewers around the world, and this year the broadcasting union tightened voting rules in response to the vote-rigging allegations.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776705083_25_.jpeg\")
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