Eurovision operators rule Israel is allowed to compete in 2024 contest

European Broadcasting Union’s decision follows calls for country to be excluded over Gaza war

Calls for Israel to be banned from this year’s Eurovision song contest because of the war in Gaza have been rejected by organisers. 
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) came under pressure to exclude Israel from the event in the same way Russia was barred from the competition following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The EBU said it had conducted a review and concluded Eurovision was not a “contest between governments” and that Israel had not broken any rules.
Russia has been excluded from recent contests because of the way its broadcasters had flouted “membership obligations”, it added.
Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza after Hamas invaded its territory and massacred hundreds of its citizens on Oct 7.
Now in its fifth month, Israel is adamant the war will not end until it has eradicated Hamas – but there is international concern about the mounting death toll and displacement of Palestinian civilians.
“The Eurovision Song Contest is a non-political music event and a competition between public service broadcasters who are members of the EBU,” Noel Curran, the EBU’s director general, said. “It is not a contest between governments.
“Israeli public broadcaster Kan met all the competition rules for this year and can participate, as it has for the past 50 years.
“In the case of Russia, the Russian broadcasters themselves were suspended from the EBU due to their persistent breaches of membership obligations and the violation of public service values.
“The relationship between Kan and the Israeli government is fundamentally different to the relationship that exists between those Russian members and the state.”
Eden Golan, 20, who grew up in Russia, will represent Israel at this year’s contest in Malmö, Sweden in May. Her song has yet to be announced.
Israel has qualified for every final since 2015. It came third last year, with its most recent win coming in 2018 with Netta Barzilai’s song  Toy.
Russia has been barred from Eurovision since it invaded Ukraine in early 2022.
The EBU initially insisted it would be allowed to compete before changing course and saying it would bring the contest into “disrepute”. 
Ukraine went on to win the contest in Turin.
Olly Alexander, Britain’s entrant in Eurovision 2024, has come under pressure to drop out after it emerged he had signed a letter calling Israel an “apartheid regime”.