Massive Attack, IDLES, Kneecap and more sign No Music for Genocide open letter boycotting Eurovision

The letter, signed by over 1,000 artists, calls for Israel to be banned from next month's contest in Vienna

The No Music for Genocide campaign have released a new open letter signed by over 1,000 artists calling for Israel to be banned from Eurovision.

Massive Attack, IDLES, Kneecap, Brian Eno and Sigur Rós are among the huge list of names that have signed the letter, which comes after Eurovision organisers decided in December not to hold a vote about whether or not to disqualify Israel from the 2026 contest, which takes place next month in Vienna.

“A large majority of Members agreed that there was no need for a further vote on participation and that the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 should proceed as planned, with the additional safeguards in place,” the European Broadcasting Union, a group of broadcasters that air the contest in 56 countries, said in a statement.

In their own statement about the open letter, the organisers of No Music for Genocide said: “Every year, for its entire 53-year tenure as a Eurovision participant, Israel has perpetuated its terrorising systems of apartheid, torture, land theft, and military occupation against Palestinians from the river to the sea with complete impunity. While many of us in the industry make light of Eurovision or doubt our own power as cultural producers, genocidal Israel’s leaders speak openly about the contest’s geopolitical value.

“NMFG stands with and amplifies the incredible grassroots organising efforts across Europe to boycott Eurovision until Israel is banned. From PACBI to direct actionists, from Film Workers For Palestine in Hollywood to striking dockworkers in Italy and Morocco, people of conscience around the globe are fighting complicity in every industry for a free Palestine and a freer world.”

The NMFG campaign had previously signed up artists including Clairo, Lucy Dacus and more to remove their music from streaming services in Israel. Massive Attack also launched an alliance for musicians who are facing “intimidations from within” the music industry over their support of Palestine and Gaza. The band’s Robert del Naja was arrested at a Palestine Action protest in London this month.

You can sign the open letter here and read it in full below.

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