Protestors rally in Melbourne over SBS's Eurovision participation

Image: SBS News

A protest that concluded outside SBS offices in Melbourne has called on the Australian broadcaster to boycott Eurovision 2026.

The rally came after an EBU vote last week allowed Israel to participate in next year's Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna.

This saw four countries boycott so far: Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain. Iceland is set to make a decision on participating this week.

The estimated 600 protestors included Eurovision 2020 and 2021 artist Montaigne.

It was organised by Boycott Eurovision, which is endorsed by BDS Australia and Free Palestine Melbourne.

A petition of the group has collected 6,000 signatures.

Ahead of the march, organiser Stefano Perfili of Free Palestine Melbourne said:

"It's SBS - not the queer community, not artists, not everyday Australians - who are out of touch."

During the march, another organiser Mai Saif spoke to SBS News stating:

"SBS, our public broadcaster, has a responsibility not to platform a country that is committing war crimes, that is committing genocide."

SBS responds

In response to the protest, SBS published a statement saying:

"We respect the right for people to express their views peacefully and respectfully. SBS’s participation in and coverage of Eurovision will continue in 2026. Eurovision was created to bring people and cultures together through music, a purpose that continues to guide the contest and has shaped SBS’s broadcast for more than 40 years.

"Our position remains that, as a public broadcaster, making a decision to be involved based on the inclusion or exclusion of any country would undermine SBS’s editorial independence and impartiality. SBS recognises and respects the deeply held views and concerns about the war in the Middle East and its impact, both locally among our audiences and internationally as reflected by other broadcasters.

Our responsibility is to provide comprehensive, trusted and impartial coverage for Australians across our network, and we will continue to do so.”

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