Winner of 2024 Eurovision returns trophy to protest Israeli participation

Nemo, the Swiss singer and winner of the 2024 Eurovision contest, has returned his trophy in protest against Israel's participation in the contest.

"I no longer feel this trophy belongs on my shelf," Nemo wrote in a statement on Thursday. 

"Eurovision says it stands for unity, inclusion, and dignity for all. Those values made this contest meaningful to me. But Israel's continued participation, during what the UN's Independent International Commission of Inquiry has concluded to be a genocide, shows a clear conflict between those ideals and the decisions made by the EBU," the statement added, referring to the Eurovision contest. 

"The contest was repeatedly used to soften the image of a state accused of severe wrongdoing, all while the EBU
insisted Eurovision is 'non-political.'" the statement added. 

"When entire countries withdraw over this contradiction, it should be clear that something is deeply wrong...That's why I've decided that I'm sending my trophy back to the EBU headquarters in Geneva," the statement said.