Eurovision: NI musician and songwriter Phil Coulter says UK should withdraw from song contest if Israel remains as participant in next year's show
Northern Ireland musician and songwriter Phil Coulter said he was “100% behind” RTE’s decision to boycott Eurovision if Israel remains as a participant.
And the Londonderry man also said the UK should withdraw from Eurovision 2026 if Israel takes part.
Coulter, who co-wrote the UK’s winning 1967 entry, Puppet On A String by Sandie Shaw, said there was a “double standard” because Russia and Belarus had previously been expelled from the contest.
Speaking on the BBC’s Good Morning Ulster radio programme, he said: “We can’t normalise what’s going on in Gaza.
“It’s not a question of disapproval, it’s a question of absolute disgust.”
Coulter said he recognised that a song contest was “not going to change the world” but added: “We we musicians, songwriters, performers, are human beings with consciences and with our conscience still very alert.
“I think the only sensible thing and the only decent thing for RTE to do is to withdraw from the contest if Israel is allowed to perform.”
Asked if the BBC – which oversees the UK entry – should take a similar stand, he added: “I do. I think its a question of conscience.
“I’m quite sure that throughout the United Kingdom, people are equally disgusted by what’s going on in in Gaza.”
On the same programme, Dana, a Eurovision winner for Ireland, said “anyone with a heart would be devastated by the catastrophic situation in Gaza”.
She argued there was a need for a “safe space without political pressure” in which “ordinary people can come together”.
The UK is part of the Big Five at Eurovision which is guaranteed entry into the final of the song contest due to the level of its financial contributions to the EBU.
The BBC declined to comment.
Meanwhile, a public broadcaster in the Netherlands has joined Irish channel RTE in a proposed boycott of Eurovision over Israel’s participation.
RTE and Dutch public broadcaster Avrotros have announced they will not take part in next year’s contest if Israel is among the participants.
The Irish station said multiple members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which runs the contest, have raised concerns about the participation of Israel.
A spokesperson for Eurovision said it was up to each state to decide if it wanted to take part.