Swiss singer and 2024 Eurovision champion Nemo has returned their winner’s trophy to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), saying they can no longer stand by the contest’s decision to allow Israel to take part in next year’s event.
In a video posted to Instagram on December 11, the artist — who made history as the first openly nonbinary performer to win Eurovision — held up the glass microphone trophy and said, “today I no longer feel like this trophy belongs on my shelf”.
Nemo went on to say that while they remain grateful for what the competition has meant to them, its values and decisions no longer align.
“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,” they wrote.
The singer added that the contest has been “repeatedly used to soften the image of a state accused of severe wrongdoing”, and said that when “entire countries withdraw over this contradiction, it should be clear that something is deeply wrong”.
Ending their statement, Nemo said they had sent the trophy back to the EBU headquarters in Geneva “with gratitude and with a clear message: live what you claim”.
Nemo’s move comes after five countries — Iceland, Ireland, Slovenia, Spain, and the Netherlands — announced boycotts of the 2026 contest following the EBU’s December decision to allow Israel to compete despite ongoing conflict in Gaza.
The EBU confirmed that 65 per cent of members voted to maintain Israel’s inclusion. In response, Israel’s president Isaac Herzog said the country “deserves to be represented on every stage around the world”, and expressed hope the competition would continue to “champion culture, music, friendship between nations, and cross-border cultural understanding”.
Meanwhile, protests have been held outside recent Eurovision venues, including the 2025 contest in Basel, Switzerland — which was won by Austrian singer JJ with “Wasted Love”. The 2026 event is set to take place in Vienna next May.
Eurovision’s executive supervisor Martin Green said in a statement to the Associated Press that the organisation was saddened by Nemo’s choice but respected their views.
“We’re saddened that Nemo wishes to return their trophy which they deservedly won in 2024,” he wrote. “We respect the deeply held views Nemo has expressed, and they will always remain a valued part of the Eurovision Song Contest family.”
Lead image: Getty / Instagram
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