Finland at Eurovision 2025: An online petition calls for boycotting the contest and preventing Israel’s participation in Eurovision 2025 in Basel, Switzerland. Is Israel’s participation at risk once again?

A new wave of protest is emerging in Finland, a country of approximately 5.5 million people, as an online petition calls for Israel to be banned from participating in the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest. The petition, launched by the group “Sumud”, the Finnish Palestine Network, urges the national broadcaster, YLE, to demand that the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) prevent Israel’s participation. Additionally, the petition’s creators state that if Israel is allowed to compete, Finland should refrain from sending a representative to the contest.

A Petition with Limited Impact?

So far, the petition has gathered around 400 signatures, including those of Finnish artists and actors. However, given the country’s population, this number is relatively small, indicating that the protest is not gaining significant public support. The petition states:

“It goes against our values to allow a state guilty of genocide and occupation policies to use a prominent cultural event to improve its image under the guise of music. By participating alongside Israel, other countries implicitly endorse its actions.”

A Different Year for the Nordic Countries?

In previous years, similar calls for a boycott of Israel have been made, especially in Nordic countries such as Norway and Iceland, where large-scale protests were held against Israel’s participation. However, this year, these nations have remained relatively silent on the issue, and the protest in Finland has failed to gain significant momentum. It appears that the national broadcaster, YLE, is also unperturbed by the politically motivated petition, as it has yet to release any official statement on the matter.

Reports suggest that this movement is unlikely to succeed, given that Finnish representative Erika Vikman is already in Basel, Switzerland, filming the official postcard that will be broadcast before Finland‘s performance in the second semi-final of Eurovision 2025, scheduled for May 15. Currently, Finland is ranked second in the betting odds, with a 10% chance of winning.

Finland at Eurovision 2025

“Ich Komme” is the title of the song that will be performed by singer Erika Vikman, who will represent Finland in the second semi-final of Eurovision 2025, taking place on May 15th in Basel, Switzerland. The song was written by Christel Roosberg and Jori Roosberg. This is the first song by these writers to compete in Eurovision. The song is performed in Finnish, with the title in German.

Erika Vikman – Who Are You?

Lyrics of “Ich Komme”

Eurovision 2025: This will be Finland’s 58th participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. Finland joined the competition in 1961 and achieved its best result in Eurovision 2006, winning the contest with Lordi and their song “Hard Rock Hallelujah”.