Eurovision final takes places this Saturday in Austria without the participation of some key countries of the song contest: without Spain, Netherlands, Ireland, Slovenia, nor Iceland, protesting for the participation of Israel, which despite controversies advanced to the final in the semi-final held on Tuesday. Seeing that the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) did nothing to penalize Israel for its genocide over Palestine, unlike the still standing ban on Russia, Spain was one of the countries which decided to abandon the festival.
On Friday, Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez posted a video on social media reminding their stance, as the state television will not participate nor broadcast the competition, creating another musical show instead. "This year we won't be at Eurovision, but we will do so with the conviction of being on the right side of history. For consistency, responsibility, and humanity", Sánchez said, describing the decision taken by RTVE Corporation as consistent and necessary to stand up against injustice, and reminded that they supported the decision to exclude Russia four years ago.
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Sánchez argued that the festival was created precisely to promote peace, and faced with illegal war and genocide, silence is not an option. He added that many fans across Europe have also decided to distance themselves from the festival.
The Spanish PM also commented on Thursday about the images of Lamine Yamal waving a Palestinian flag in the Barça league celebrations, that led to Israel's Minister of Defence condemning the image, claiming Yamal was "fomenting hatred", and asking the football club for an rectification that never came. "Those who consider waving the flag of a State to be "inciting hatred" have either lost their judgment or been blinded by their own ignominy. Lamine has only expressed the solidarity with Palestine felt by millions of Spaniards. Another reason to be proud of him", the PM said.