Former Eurovision winner Charlie McGettigan to hand back trophy in Israel protest
Wire desk byline Sourced from Xinhua, Dawn, Arab News, Anadolu and Minute Mirror. Translated and abridged by the GSRRA Desk.
Former Eurovision winner Charlie McGettigan says he will hand back his Eurovision trophy from 1994, in protest of Israel’s ongoing participation in the song contest.
The Ballyshannon native won the competition along with Paul Harrington, singing Rock n’ Roll Kids.
He decided the 2024 winner, Nemo, decided they would return their trophy to the European Broadcasting Union in a similar protest.
Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza has seen several countries, including Ireland, to decide to pull out from the next edition of the competition as a result.
In a video posted by the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign on social media, Charlie announced his reasoning for handing back his winner’s trophy – once he finds it.
“Last night, just before I went to sleep, I received an Instagram message from the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest winner, someone called Nemo,” Charlie said.
“They were saying that in protest against the inclusion of Israel in the 2026 contest, they returned their trophy to the European Broadcasting Union.”
“They came across as a very sincere and a very intelligent person, and stated their case really well. I, therefore, in support of Nemo, would like to return my trophy to the EBU as well.”
“Unfortunately, our win was way back in 1994, and I can’t get my hands on whatever trophy we received back then, but if I do find it, I will return my trophy as well.”
Reference Link:- https://www.donegaldaily.com/2025/12/13/former-eurovision-winner-charlie-mcgettigan-to-hand-back-trophy-in-israel-protest/
Zamir Ahmed Awan is the founder and Chair of the Global Silk Route Research Alliance, a think tank in Islamabad. He studied engineering at Shanghai University in the 1980s, and years later he went back to China as Pakistan's science counsellor in Beijing, from 2010 until 2016, working on science and higher education cooperation between the two countries.…
