Iceland’s Public Broadcasting Considering Withdrawal From Eurovision

RÚV, Iceland’s public broadcasting, will hold a meeting on whether or not to withdraw from Eurovision, in light of a petition with over 22,000 signatures calling for a boycott at the time of this writing.

As reported, the petition was started by Icelander Árni St. Sigurðsson just after news broke about the recent massacre in Gaza, and the petition is directed at RÚV, which oversees the Icelandic participation in Eurovision.

Vísir now reports that RÚV met the day before yesterday to discuss the matter, and will hold another meeting in June.

“This has been discussed within the programming department and we will of course examine this issue,” RÚV programming director Skarphéðinn Guðmundsson told reporters. He added that they will have discussions with television stations in other Nordic countries before any decision is taken.

The petition has been circulating wildly across Icelandic social media, and continues to garner signatures.

“Following the human rights violation perpetuated by Israel towards the Palestinian nation it is unethical for us to participate in such a glamorous competition like Eurovision in the shadow of Israel’s violence against their neighbours,” reads a statement under the petition. “In the past few months, the State of Israel has killed dozens individuals just for protesting the situation.”