We have not yet entered 2024 and the controversies have already started and are widely spreading. Following the request of the Icelandic Association of Composers to RÚV to withdraw from Eurovision 2024 due to the Israeli participation and the petition RTÉ received for the same reason, issues caused by the ongoing war in Israel have now spread to the United Kingdom.
A few days ago, it was revealed that Olly Alexander will fly the British flag to Malmö. His reveal has received positive feedback, as he is undoubtedly the most popular singer the United Kingdom has sent to the contest for year, but now his past actions have been causing controversy, while the BBC is urged by many to cut ties with him and replace him.
A letter Olly Alexander signed calling Israel and “apartheid regime”
Back in October 20, two weeks after Hamas’ attack in Israel, a statement was published by an LGBT charity, namely Voices4London. According to this statement, for 75 years the Israeli state has been terrorizing Palestinians and no queer person can stay silent while a genocide is taking place. Moreover, the same letter accuses Israel for pinkwashing as a part of Zionist propaganda, namely promoting a false LGBT- friendly attitude and calls every person interested in liberation, not to be afraid of being called an antisemitist and criticize the ongoing genocide.
The aforementioned statement was signed by Olly Alexander, an open member of the LGBTQ community.
The negative response
Since it emerged that Olly Alexander signed the letter, numerous voices inside the United Kingdom have been asking BBC to drop Alexander from the British representation.
First, the Embassy of Israel in London has officially responded to Olly Alexander’s allegations, stating that:
Clearly, Olly Alexander graduated from the Middle Eastern School of TikTok.
We would be happy to arrange a trip for you to visit the Oct 7 massacre sites in Israel, where the rights of LGBTQ+ [people] are celebrated, protected and cherished. Unfortunately, our neighbours can’t guarantee the same.
The Israeli government has joined the conversation mentioning that Olly Alexander’s arguments are “absurd” and those who signed the letter have bias against Israel. Moreover, Israeli spokesmen accuse BBC telling that:
Yet again, the BBC has fallen well short of its moral responsibility to adhere to the standard of due impartiality.
Particularly at this time, the decision of the BBC to send an entrant to Eurovision who espouses such partial views of Israel and promotes such dehumanising language of Israelis is a major cause for concern.
Hence, the criticism extends to the BBC itself and its attitude towards the ongoing war in general. BBC has faced heavy criticism of its coverage of fighting between Israeli troops and Hamas, avoiding to call the latter as terrorists.
At last, the topic has also caused controversy in the political scene of the country too, with Conservatives stating that:
Letting an openly anti-Israel singer compete on the same stage as Israel is either a massive oversight or sheer brass neck from the BBC.
BBC has yet to reply to any of the comments regarding its Eurovision artist’s choice. In fact, BBC declined to comment, while neither Alexander nor his team have.
Who is Olly Alexander?
The 33 year-old Olly Alexander is a singer and actor from England. He is best known for his work as the lead singer of Years & Years, one of the UK’s most successful groups and as Ritchie Tozer in the Channel 4 drama series “It’s a Sin”. Alexander has been multi-nominee in the Brit Awards as well as several other awards within the United Kingdom.
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