1,005 Swedish artists have signed an open letter against Israel's participation in the ESC, including indie stars and ESC veterans. The artists from the host country of this year's ESC criticized the EBU's decision to allow Israel to take part in the competition.
The 68th ESC is taking place in Sweden this year after singer Loreen won last year's competition in Liverpool with the song "Tattoo" The organizers of the ESC had previously opposed calls for Israel to be excluded, citing the non-political nature of the music event.