BBC will not stop Eurovision contestant expressing his political views

Dominic Penna
22 December 2023·

Olly Alexander also criticised the Government’s new transgender guidance for schools in the days after he was unveiled as next year’s Eurovision contestant. - MATT CROSSICK/PA

The BBC will let Britain’s entrant at next year’s Eurovision Song Contest continue to express his political views in the wake of an anti-Semitism row.

Olly Alexander, who was announced as the UK contestant by the national broadcaster last week, came under fire after The Telegraph revealed he had signed a letter calling Israel an “apartheid regime” and condemning “Zionist propaganda”.

Israel accused the BBC of shirking its “moral responsibility” by refusing to cut ties with Alexander, while the Conservative Party questioned whether its selection process was fit for purpose, and Jewish campaigners called for him to be replaced.


But the corporation confirmed on Friday that the 33-year-old, who found fame in the pop band Years and Years, does not have any responsibilities around his use of social media because he is neither a member of staff nor a freelancer.

A BBC source pointed to the corporation’s official social media guidelines, which state: “Actors, dramatists, comedians, musicians and pundits who work for the BBC are not subject to the requirements of impartiality on social media.”

This means Alexander would be able to share further opinions on political issues including the Israel-Gaza conflict if he wished to do so.
‘Dehumanising language’

Campaign Against Antisemitism, a volunteer-led Jewish charity, referred to the statement he endorsed as “appalling”, while a spokesman for the Israeli embassy accused Alexander of “dehumanising language” and said his participation in the contest was a “cause for concern”.

BBC social media guidelines were overhauled in September following a row involving Gary Lineker, the Match of the Day host who came under fire after comparing the rhetoric used by Suella Braverman, the then home secretary, to that of Nazi Germany.

However, Lineker and other controversial presenters are still allowed to share their views on the issues of the day provided that they do not endorse or attack political parties.

The letter signed by Alexander insisted solidarity with Palestine – where same-sex activity between men is illegal – is a “queer issue”, before going to accuse Israel of genocide and its defenders of “unthinking philosemitism”.

Alexander also criticised the Government’s new transgender guidance for schools – which urges schools to consider the role of social media on schoolchildren who ask to transition – in the days after he was unveiled as next year’s Eurovision contestant.

Mr Alexander shared a post by LGBT activist Shon Faye to more than 750,000 Instagram followers on December 20, four days after it was announced that he would represent Britain in Malmo next May.

Faye’s post called the guidance a “completely inappropriate framework”, adding: “Raising children into normative gender in a patriarchal capitalist society is far from neutral.”

Voices4 London, an LGBT pressure group which co-ordinated the letter Alexander signed, said they “condemn anti-Semitism in all its forms” and repeated their claim Israel was committing genocide.

“We stand alongside our many Jewish siblings, who also act and advocate for the freedom of Palestinian people – our criticism is of Israeli state violence,” they added.

A representative for Alexander was contacted for comment.