'Integrity costs something': Eurovision winners want Israel out of the contest

'Integrity costs something': Eurovision winners want Israel out of the contest Submitted by Alex MacDonald on Wed, 05/06/2026 - 14:43 Former champions call for boycott of event over 'catastrophe' in Gaza and say show cannot be separated from political reality 2013 Eurovision winner, Danish singer Emmelie de Forest, performs on stage during the song contest 2014 Grand Final in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 10 May 2014 (Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP) Off The organisers of the Eurovision song contest have always maintained that they want to keep politics out of the event. In practice, however, politics has always played a major role, with rows over international affairs, human rights and domestic unrest popping up each year. The 1974 Carnation Revolution in Portugal that overthrew the country's dictatorship and led to independence for its African colonies was sparked off by the airing of Portugal's Eurovision entry for that year, E depois do adeus ("And After the Farewell"), by Paulo de Carvalho.