Slovenia TV says it won't air Eurovision song contest after pulling out

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LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP) — Slovenia’s national broadcaster RTV Slovenia said on Thursday it won't air the Eurovision Song Contest this year after the small European country previously pulled out of the event over Israel's participation.

This year’s main competition with 35 competing countries is scheduled to be held May 12-16 in Vienna.

Slovenia along with a handful of other countries — Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands and Spain — are boycotting because Israel was allowed to take part.

“We will not be broadcasting the Eurovision Song Contest," Ksenija Horvat, RTV Slovenia director told The Associated Press. "We will be airing the film series ‘Voices of Palestine,’ featuring Palestinian documentaries and feature films.”

Organizers of the song competition decided in December to allow Israel to compete, which prompted the walkout of Slovenia and other countries. Slovenia has been a vocal critic of Israel over its conduct of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

The Eurovision contest strives to put pop music before politics but has repeatedly been embroiled in world events. Russia was expelled in 2022 after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

It also has been roiled by the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, stirring protests outside the venues and forcing organizers to clamp down on political flag-waving.