Eurovision | Yle barely commented on the musicians' demand to boycott Eurovision

Set well-known Finnish musicians demands in a public petition Yleisradio to boycott Eurovision if Israel participates in the song contest. The petition also demands that Yle should pressure the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to exclude Israel from Eurovision.

Yle's communications and brand director Jere Nurminen comment on the appeal to HS in a short e-mail message. Yleisradio's head of creative content and media Ville Vilén was not available to comment on the matter.

“The petition is known to Yle. Its author has been in contact with Yle regarding handing over the petition, and we are trying to find a common time for it. It is clear that the situation in Gaza is shocking and it distresses and worries many”, Nurminen writes by email.

In addition to this Nurminen states that Yle currently has nothing new to comment on regarding the Eurovision Song Contest.

“We have been in contact with other Nordic broadcasting companies. Currently, no country has reportedly announced a boycott. The EBU makes decisions about who will participate in Eurovision. So far, the EBU has not taken a separate stand on the matter. It is likely that some kind of line drawing from the EBU will be required,” Nurminen writes.

In December, the EBU told the British for the Sky News news channelthat Israel is allowed to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest, even though several countries have called for it to be removed from the competition.

“Eurovision is a competition of public broadcasters – not governments – and Israel's public broadcaster has participated in the competition for more than 50 years,” the EBU's response stated. It also announced that Israel's public broadcaster Kan meets all requirements for a participant.

Jere Nurminen repeats Vilén for HS the view presented earlier that Yle is currently focusing on organizing the New Music Competition (UMK).

“UMK is a significant performer of domestic new music, the purpose of which is to celebrate domestic artists and music.”

Domestic ones artists have shared a boycott petition in their social media publication, for example Isa, Paleface, Alexandra, Vesta, Knife Girl and was also a Jussi candidate Elsie Sloan.

The petition had more than 1,300 signatures on Saturday. There are also names of other well-known Finnish musicians on the list. HS could not verify the authenticity of all the signatures, as the petition can be signed without strong identification.

Looking at the list of signatures, you can also see that some names are on the list several times. Based on the titles added to the signature, there are also non-music professionals among the signatories, even though the title of the petition says it is aimed only at music professionals.

HS interviewed on Friday, a freelance musician Lukas from Korpela, who is part of the working group that started the petition. According to Korpelainen, the working group monitors signatures and their number.