By Atila Altuntas

STOCKHOLM

A group of activists demanded a boycott on Wednesday of the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 and are pushing for its relocation from Israel to another country.

As the preparations for the May contest in Tel Aviv continues, the Palestine Solidarity Association of Sweden, founded by Swedish activists and academicians, gathered in front of national broadcaster SVT in Stockholm, to insist Sweden does not participate in the competition.

The UN condemns Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories, said the group.One member, Michael Ljung, said: “Palestinians live under the occupation of Israeli army a few kilometers ahead of the place where the festival will be held. Sweden should not contribute to this heartbreaking situation.”

Activists collected signatures and distributed brochures to boycott the contest.

The annual Eurovision Song Contest is a popular television show that began in 1956.

This year’s edition will be held in Israel after it won the 2018 contest in Portugal. Two semi-finals will take place on May 14, 16 and the final will be on May 18. Forty-two countries will take part in the contest.

Turkey is not participating in protest to a regulation in the scoring system.