Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has defended Spain’s decision not to participate in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest stating that the country could not remain silent in the face of Israel’s genocidal actions against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip and its aggression against Lebanon.
Sánchez said Spain’s absence from the competition reflects its unwavering commitment to human rights and international law. He described the decision by Spain’s public broadcaster RTVE as both consistent and necessary to stand up against injustice.
This year will be different yes we won’t be in Vienna but we’ll be doing this with the conviction that we’re on the right side of history he added.
The Spanish prime minister drew a parallel with the exclusion of Russia from the contest following its war with Ukraine saying there can be no double standards.
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Sánchez emphasized that Spain has historically supported Eurovision because the competition was created to promote peace and bring people together but in the face of illegal war and genocide silence is not an option.
He noted that several other countries including Ireland Iceland the Netherlands and Slovenia have also decided not to participate. Israel’s brutal aggression has killed more than 72000 people in Gaza since October 2023 while at least 2869 people have been killed in Lebanon since March 2.
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