Portuguese Eurovision contestants NAPA criticise Israel's participation in Eurovision

In an interview with the Portuguese newsagent SÁBADO, NAPA, who represented Portugal in last year's Eurovision, declared their opposition to Israel's participation in the contest.

"It makes no sense to allow Israel to participate if Russia can't [translated from Portuguese]," said vocalist Guilherme Gomes.

"None of us think that it's a good idea for Israel to participate in Eurovision," said drummer João Rodrigues.

The Portuguese group added that if given the possibility of participating again this year, they probably wouldn't do it because of Israel's participation.

The indie band from Madeira placed 21st, but their song ‘Deslocado’ became the most-streamed song of that year's contest, surpassing 113 million streams on Spotify.

Last year, NAPA went on tour, which included a show at The Grand Social, Dublin, in November.

Salvador Sobral, who represented Portugal in Eurovision in 2017,  has also criticised the European Broadcasting Union's (EBU) decision to allow Israel to participate, as well as RTP's (Portugal's state-owned public broadcaster) choice not to boycott this year's edition.

"RTP, the State's broadcaster, has decided to participate in Eurovision even with Israel's participation," said Sobral. "The national broadcaster showcased a concert for Gaza, but at the same time is afraid of doing the right thing."

The singer added that the Festival da Canção (Song Festival), which is how Portugal decides who will represent the country at the European singing contest, should still happen, but that the winner should receive another prize.

Sobral won Eurovision with the song ‘Amar pelos Dois’, holding the record for the song with the highest score, with 758 points. That was the first and only time Portugal placed first in the contest.

Even though RTP has decided that Portugal will participate in this year's Eurovision, this might not happen, as the final decision will depend on the artist who wins the national contest.

So far, 13 of the 16 artists who will participate in the Song Festival have stated that if they win, they will not represent Portugal.

Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Iceland have pulled out of this year's Eurovision over Israel's participation.