Nemo, last year's Eurovision winner, said Thursday he was returning the 2024 trophy in protest over Israel's continued participation, which has already prompted five countries to pull out.
"I no longer feel like this trophy belongs on my shelf," the Swiss vocalist said on Instagram.
The Eurovision Song Contest, the world's biggest live televised music event, is put on by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).
On December 4, members of the world's largest public service media alliance decided no vote was needed on Israel's inclusion in the glitzy annual extravaganza.
Widespread opposition to the two-year war in Gaza had led to mounting calls for Israel to be excluded.
The public broadcasters in Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Iceland have announced they are boycotting the 70th edition of the song contest, to be held in Vienna in May.
"Eurovision says it stands for unity, for inclusion, and dignity for all people, and these are the values that make this contest so meaningful for me," Nemo said.
"But Israel's continued participation, during what the UN's Independent International Commission of Inquiry has concluded to be a genocide, shows there's a clear conflict between those ideals and the decisions the EBU is making.
Iceland's state broadcaster RUV on Wednesday announced it would boycott next year's Eurovision, citing the public debate in the island nation.
"When entire countries withdraw, it should be very clear that something is deeply wrong," said Nemo, 26.
"That's why I decided that I'm sending this trophy back to the EBU headquarters in Geneva with gratitude and with a clear message: live what you claim. If the values we celebrate onstage aren't lived offstage, then even the most beautiful songs become meaningless. I'm waiting for the moment those words and actions align.
"Until then, this trophy is yours."
Some 37 countries took part in the 2025 edition in Basel, Switzerland, won by Austrian operatic singer JJ with "Wasted Love".
Around 35 countries are ultimately expected to participate in Vienna.
rjm/gv
LATEST POSTS
- 1
Spotify Wrapped and Apple Music Replay are here: Top songs, albums and artists of 2025 - 2Euclid space telescope sees gorgeous cosmic cloud | Space photo of the day for Nov. 18, 2025
- 3NASA's SPHEREx telescope completes its 1st cosmic map of the entire sky and it's stunning!
- 4Two more UN peacekeepers killed in southern Lebanon: UNIFIL
- 5A Gastronomic Experience in Healthy Enjoyments: A Survey of \Nutritious and Tasty\ Solid Cooking Recipe Book
- What we know about Renee Nicole Good, the woman who was killed by an ICE officer in Minneapolis
- Thousands of ultra-orthodox protest in Jerusalem against conscription
- Barry Manilow reveals lung cancer diagnosis and plans to undergo surgery: 'It's pure luck' it was 'found so early'
- Jillian Michaels put me at the center of a body positivity debate. She's not entirely wrong about obesity.
- Bismuth’s haredi draft bill won’t change enlistment, IDI expert tells 'Post'
- Miley Cyrus flashes a diamond ring on the red carpet, sparking engagement rumors with Maxx Morando: A timeline of their four-year relationship
- Newly discovered link between traumatic brain injury in children and epigenetic changes could help personalize treatment for recovering kids
- Fossil analysis changes what paleontologists know about how long T. rex took to grow full size
- South African army arrive in crime hotspots to help tackle gangs
