Norwegian broadcaster NRK has told the Norwegian newspaper Dagebladet that it’s letting the European Broadcasting Union take the lead regarding Israel’s participation in Eurovision 2024.
The news comes after the EBU revealed that 37 countries have confirmed for the song contest in Malmö, including Israel.
The country’s participation is highly controversial and a major talking point on social media, with many Eurovision fans saying Israel’s response to the October 7 attacks has overstepped, pointing to the staggering civilian death toll in Gaza. Many Israelis counter that their country was attacked and has every right to defend itself and to pursue Hamas terrorists.
Dagebladet asked NRK whether it had a position on Israel’s participation. Responding by e-mail, NRK’s director of entertainment Charlo Halvorsen said:
“It is natural that questions about participation in the Eurovision Song Contest for a country at war arise. We have not yet taken a position on this matter, but are following what the EBU decides.”
Dagebladet asked the EBU’s press team whether the issue of Israel’s participation had been discussed and received this vague answer.
“We are in the process of finalizing the list of public broadcasters that will participate in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2024. When the preparations are complete, the entire list of participants will be published in full.”
They said they had no comment beyond that.
NRK was among the first public broadcasters who called for Russia to be excluded from Eurovision 2022 following its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Broadcasters in Ukraine, Sweden, Denmark, The Netherlands, Lithuania, Iceland, Finland, and Estonia issued similar statements.
So far no public broadcasters have made public calls to remove Israel, suggesting that their participation is not currently under threat.
