Bucks Fizz star backs Israel’s right to compete at Eurovision
Jay Aston says contest must remain apolitical as Spain leads boycott threat over Gaza
Eurovision veteran Jay Aston has said she hopes the song contest goes ahead next year with Israel included, urging politics to be kept out of the event.
Speaking on GB News, the Bucks Fizz singer described it as “a shame” that Spain has threatened to withdraw if Israel competes in Vienna in 2026. “Eurovision is meant to be about building bridges and bringing huge amounts of people together to celebrate music and vote,” she said.
Aston, whose band won the contest in 1981 with Making Your Mind Up, said the format itself reflected democratic values. “Last year, Israel actually got a huge vote,” she noted. “I know it must be really hard; the situation is horrendous, obviously, in Gaza, but it was also on 7 October for Israel. So, it’s one of those very difficult situations, isn’t it?”
Recalling her own Eurovision experience, Aston added that security threats have long surrounded the contest. “We had a threat from the IRA. We had to have armed guards, and we had different vehicles to get the competition back then, so it’s been going on a long time. It’s just that at the moment, it’s particularly difficult.”
She warned that a wave of withdrawals could damage the contest, which marks its 70th anniversary next year: “I hope the UK competes, and I hope the competition carries on and that we don’t have five or six different countries pull out, because it will be half a competition.”
Aston also appealed for peace ahead of the event: “I hope it does (go ahead) and let’s hope we can find peace between now and Eurovision next year, and they can release the hostages, and we can have a peaceful solution there.”
Spain’s state broadcaster RTVE voted on Tuesday to boycott Eurovision if Israel participated, citing what it called “the genocide currently taking place” in Gaza – a claim Israel rejects as “scandalous” and “fake”. RTVE became the first of the content’s “big five” financial backers to take such action, following earlier announcements by Slovenia, Ireland, and the Netherlands.
The European Broadcasting Union is still consulting members, with Israel’s broadcaster Kan confirming it intends to send an entry to Vienna in May.
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