Eurovision winner Linda Martin has rejected calls for Ireland to boycott this year's event in Israel.
The Belfast singer compared the competition taking place in Israel to Ireland hosting the contest during the Troubles in 1971.
The competition is to be held in Tel Aviv’s Expo Convention Centre this month after last year's competition was won by Netta Barzilai.
There has been strong criticism of the event, with some calling for Ireland to boycott the contest as a show of solidarity with the Palestinian people.
Former Lord Mayor of Dublin and Sinn Fein councillor Micheal Mac Donncha said last year: "I don't think we should send a representative.
"I think the horrific ordeal of the Palestinian people needs to be highlighted. There needs to be solidarity just as there was with the people of South Africa with the apartheid regime.
However Linda, who won the 1992 Eurovision in Sweden, revealed that she will be going out to perform in Israel, and emphasised the contest "cannot be political".
She told the Irish Sun: "I don’t want to see anybody being hurt or killed, and I’m not going out to be seen taking a stance.
"But my opinion is music cannot be political, you have to approach it differently.
"I am going there to entertain an audience, I won’t be involved in anything political in Israel, in the same way I wouldn’t be involved with anything political in Ireland."
She added: “When Eurovision came to Ireland in 1971, we were at the height of the Troubles.
"What if everyone had decided to boycott us, our entertainment scene would have fallen apart."
