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Bambie Thug has spoken to NME about major countries coming out to potentially boycott Eurovision, as well sharing her thoughts on Kneecap‘s court battle and showing solidarity with Palestine. Watch our video interview above.
The Irish solo star, real name Bambie Ray Robinson, became the first openly non-binary artist to represent Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2024. Robinson later became one of 70 former contestants to sign a letter to call for Israel to be banned for fear of “normalising and whitewashing” alleged war crimes in Palestine.
Recent weeks have seen Spain, Ireland, The Netherlands and more vow to boycott Eurovision 2026 is Israel is allowed to participate, accusing the contest of hypocrisy having previously banned Russia.
Speaking to NME backstage at the Together For Palestine concert at Wembley Arena last night (Wednesday September 17), Robinson responded to the proposed boycott.
“Well, there are only a few more [countries] that would need to join for it to mess up the competition,” Bambie Thug told NME. “I hope more countries will. I’m just proud of my country and Spain. I hope the UK has a bit of a backbone. This year, who would want to go? It’s a big statement. I hope that more join [the boycott] because it would be an awful thing to still go ahead and be used as propaganda, because the other voices who would oppose it wouldn’t be in it. I hope more people join and that it’s cancelled.”
We also asked what it would if Mo Chara of Belfast’s Irish language rappers Kneecap were to be found guilty of his ongoing terror charge accusations.
“It shows that this government is corrupt, which we already know,” Robinson replied. “It shows that they’re terrified of the voices of people. I mean, Tiocfaidh ár lá [our day will come]. It’s giving 1984, it’s giving fascist.”
As for the Together For Palestine event, Robinson described the atmosphere as “heavy, but beautiful”. The night was organised and curated by Brian Eno and saw huge performances from Damon Albarn, Paul Weller, Rachel Chinouriri, Yasiin Bey, and more, alongside guest speakers including Eric Cantona, PinkPantheress, Richard Gere, Benedict Cumberbatch, Florence Pugh, and Nicola Coughlan.
The event, which was also available as a livestream, raised just under £1.5million for the ‘Together For Palestine Fund’, which will be distributed to Palestinian-led organisations such as Taawon, Palestine Children’s Relief Fund and Palestine Medical Relief Service.
The concert came just a day after a UN commission inquiry concluded that Israel had committed a genocide in Gaza. Israel continues to deny accusations of genocide or war crimes.
“There’s a melancholy, but there’s also a very powerful feeling of being held,” they said of the mood backstage at Together For Palestine. “It’s a beautiful thing to be in the same room with people with the same moral standpoint, and consciousness that’s intact.
“I think it speaks volumes to the power of art and the power of music, and the power that it has to bring community together. It can definitely shift and change people’s standpoints. When our governments aren’t stepping up, it is the job of the artist to say what the people want to be saying themselves and want to hear.”
With a message to those in support of the cause, they added: “Don’t feel hopeless. The community is ever-growing and ever-building and we need your voices.”
Check out all of what went down at the Together For Palestine concert here, and visit here to donate to the Together For Palestine fund.
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