An alternative song festival titled “United for Palestine” will be held in Brussels as a protest against Israel’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest, organizers announced Friday, Anadolu reports.

The event, scheduled for May 12, will coincide with the Eurovision semi-finals in which Belgium and Israel are expected to appear on the same evening.

It is being organized as a reaction. culturally against what participating NGOs and unions describe as the contest’s decision to include Israel amid the ongoing war in Gaza, the Brussels-based NGO 11.11.11 said in a statement.

Under the slogan “Don’t watch Eurovision. No stage for genocide”, the festival will include former Eurovision contestants, Belgian musicians and Palestinian artists, combining musical performances with spoken word segments and messages of solidarity, according to organizers.

The list of participants includes former Belgian Eurovision representatives Gustaf, Laura Tesoro, Geike Arnaert and Walter Verdin from the group Pas de Deux, along with several other Belgian artists.

Organizers said the initiative is part of a wider European movement, with similar alternative events said to be being prepared in several countries, including Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy and Slovenia.

The European Broadcasting Union’s decision to allow Israel to participate in this year’s competition in Vienna has sparked strong reactions in various parts of Europe.

Following the decision, broadcasters in five countries — Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain — announced they would withdraw from the 2026 competition.

Most recently, more than 1,000 musicians signed an open letter calling for a boycott of the contest, while several public broadcasters in Europe decided not to broadcast the contest.

The Eurovision Song Contest, organized by the European Broadcasting Union, is one of the largest televised music competitions in the world and has banned Russia from 2022 due to the war in Ukraine.

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Source: prizrenpost