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Netherlands is Latest to Threaten to Boycott Eurovision if Israel Participates

Winner of the Eurovision Song Contest JJ from Austria performs the winning song "Wasted Love" during the Grand Final of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest, in Basel, Switzerland, early Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)
Winner of the Eurovision Song Contest JJ from Austria performs the winning song "Wasted Love" during the Grand Final of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest, in Basel, Switzerland, early Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)
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Netherlands is Latest to Threaten to Boycott Eurovision if Israel Participates

Winner of the Eurovision Song Contest JJ from Austria performs the winning song "Wasted Love" during the Grand Final of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest, in Basel, Switzerland, early Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)
Winner of the Eurovision Song Contest JJ from Austria performs the winning song "Wasted Love" during the Grand Final of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest, in Basel, Switzerland, early Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)

The Netherlands added itself Friday to a list of countries pressuring organizers of the Eurovision Song Contest to drop Israel from the contest because of its war in the Gaza Strip.

Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS, one of dozens of public broadcasters that collectively fund and broadcast the contest, said it would not take part in next year's competition in Vienna if Israel participates “given the ongoing and severe human suffering in Gaza.”

“The broadcaster also expresses deep concern about the serious erosion of press freedom: the deliberate exclusion of independent international reporting and the many casualties among journalists,” it said in a statement, The AP news reported.

Irish broadcaster RTE released a similar statement Thursday, following a path already taken by Slovenia. Iceland said it may withdraw from the contest and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has called for Israel to be booted from the competition.

The European Broadcasting Union, which runs the contest, said it was consulting its members on how to “manage participation and geopolitical tensions” around the contest and would give them until mid-December to decide if they want to participate.

“We understand the concerns and deeply held views around the ongoing conflict in the Middle East,” said Martin Green, director of Eurovision. “It is up to each member to decide if they want to take part in the contest and we would respect any decision broadcasters make.”

The boycott threat is part of a pressure campaign by arts organizations and figures to ostracize Israel and press for peace.

Earlier this week, Hollywood stars including Emma Stone, Ayo Edebiri, Ava DuVernay, Olivia Colman, Yorgos Lanthimos, Riz Ahmed, Rob Delaney, Javier Bardem, and Tilda Swinton joined 3,000 other industry figures to sign a pledge to boycott Israeli film institutions — including festivals, broadcasters and production companies — that are “implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people,” according to the group Film Workers for Palestine.

Russia was banned from Eurovision after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 but Israel has continued to compete the past two years despite disputes over its participation.

Dozens of former participants, including 2024 winner Nemo of Switzerland, have called for Israel to be excluded over its conduct in the war against Hamas in Gaza. Pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel protests took place around this year's contest in Basel, Switzerland, though on a much smaller scale than the 2024 event in Sweden.

With politics from the war casting a shadow over the contest, Israeli singer Yuval Raphael finished second this year to Austria's JJ in the exuberant celebration of pop music.

The Dutch broadcaster said it will continue preparing for the contest until it receives a decision from organizers about whether it will include Israel.

Eurovision’s finale is scheduled for May 16 after semi-finals on May 12 and 14, 2026.

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Entertainment

Actor Jon Voight Met with Trump to Advocate for Hollywood Tax Incentives

Cast member Jon Voight attends a premiere for the film "Reagan" at TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles, California, US, August 20, 2024. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni Purchase Licensing Rights
Cast member Jon Voight attends a premiere for the film "Reagan" at TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles, California, US, August 20, 2024. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni Purchase Licensing Rights
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Actor Jon Voight Met with Trump to Advocate for Hollywood Tax Incentives

Cast member Jon Voight attends a premiere for the film "Reagan" at TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles, California, US, August 20, 2024. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni Purchase Licensing Rights
Cast member Jon Voight attends a premiere for the film "Reagan" at TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles, California, US, August 20, 2024. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni Purchase Licensing Rights

Actor Jon Voight met with President Donald Trump earlier this year to advocate for a federal tax credit intended to help boost film and TV production in the United States, representatives of the actor said on Monday.

The previously undisclosed meeting at the White House on February 11 is part of a Hollywood effort to secure federal assistance to fight the flight of production overseas, Reuters reported.

When asked about the meeting, a White House spokesperson said Trump "is committed to Make Hollywood Great Again, and his administration continues to explore all possible policy options to ensure Hollywood remains a potent force of American culture.”

Trump named Voight, who rose to fame following ‌his role ‌in the 1969 film "Midnight Cowboy," as one of three special ambassadors ‌to ⁠Hollywood along with ⁠Sylvester Stallone and Mel Gibson in January 2025.

To fight an exodus of entertainment production abroad, Voight is working with a coalition that includes the Motion Picture Association, the Directors Guild of America and unions representing actors, writers and other talent.

SP Media Group CEO Steven Paul, a film producer and Voight's agent, and SP Media President Scott Karol have proposed a 20% federal tax credit for labor ⁠costs on a film or television production in the United ‌States.

An additional 5% could be earned for ‌independent films or for filming in a disaster zone or a defined “enterprise zone.” Those credits ‌could be used in tandem with state incentives.

The goal is to ‌make the cost of domestic production competitive with Britain and other places around the world that offer tax credits, lower labor costs and world-class soundstages.

Overseas incentives have been luring movie and TV producers to locations outside the United States for years. Filming in the US ‌declined 10% in the first quarter, compared with a year ago, according to ProdPro, which tracks worldwide film ⁠and television production.

The United ⁠States accounted for roughly 38% of film and television work in the first quarter of the year, while the United Kingdom and Canada together represented nearly one-third of global production, ProdPro reported.

In September 2025, Trump floated the idea of a 100% tariff on movies made abroad as a way to bring production back to the United States. Industry advocates welcomed Trump's desire to fight production flight but have urged the president to support tax incentives.

California more than doubled its annual tax incentives for film and television production in June 2025 to $750 million. Early results show the effort helped bring some projects back to Hollywood. Shoot days in Los Angeles rose nearly 11% in the first quarter of this year, according to permitting agency FilmLA.

Entertainment

Kylie Minogue Looks Back on Life in Pop Music in New Documentary

Kylie Minogue arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar party after the 96th Academy Awards, known as the Oscars, in Beverly Hills, California, US, March 10, 2024. (Reuters)
Kylie Minogue arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar party after the 96th Academy Awards, known as the Oscars, in Beverly Hills, California, US, March 10, 2024. (Reuters)
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Kylie Minogue Looks Back on Life in Pop Music in New Documentary

Kylie Minogue arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar party after the 96th Academy Awards, known as the Oscars, in Beverly Hills, California, US, March 10, 2024. (Reuters)
Kylie Minogue arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar party after the 96th Academy Awards, known as the Oscars, in Beverly Hills, California, US, March 10, 2024. (Reuters)

Kylie Minogue opens ‌up about her life in pop music for new documentary "KYLIE", looking back on her career as well as the personal challenges she has faced, such as the scrutiny when she was starting out and overcoming breast cancer.

The three-part series, which premieres on Netflix on Wednesday, sees the "Spinning Around" and "Padam Padam" singer share videos and photos from her personal archive and talk about her rise to stardom.

“Oh, there were surprises ‌left, right and ‌center, like 'Ooh, er, no, yes, ‌that ⁠was good. That ⁠should never have happened'. Like, there was worlds within worlds within worlds of the archive," Minogue told Reuters on making the docuseries.

"A nice surprise is that I can kind of recognize myself from the beginning ... I don't know that I've changed that ⁠much. My level of experience has changed... ‌But I can see ... ‌the seed of who I was and I think that's ‌really moving."

Minogue, 57, first starred on Australian ‌soap "Neighbours" in the 1980s before kicking off her music career with hits such as "The Loco-Motion" and "I Should Be So Lucky". She has gone on to sell more than 80 ‌million records worldwide and has won numerous awards, including two Grammys.

In the docuseries, she ⁠talks ⁠about success but also about the scrutiny and criticism she faced early in her career, being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005, as well as her personal relationships. There are also interviews with her sister, singer Dannii Minogue, her former "Neighbours" co-star Jason Donovan and singer Nick Cave.

"I just go with my gut. I go with what's inspiring me at the time. I think whatever I do depends on what I've done previously," she said on reinventing herself during her career.

Entertainment

Blockbuster ‘Hope’ Shows S.Korea’s Growing Movie Muscle

Director Na Hong-jin and cast members Hwang Jung-min, Alicia Vikander, Michael Fassbender, Taylor Russell and Hoyeon pose on the red carpet during arrivals for the screening of the film "Hope" in competition at the 79th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, May 17, 2026. (Reuters)
Director Na Hong-jin and cast members Hwang Jung-min, Alicia Vikander, Michael Fassbender, Taylor Russell and Hoyeon pose on the red carpet during arrivals for the screening of the film "Hope" in competition at the 79th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, May 17, 2026. (Reuters)
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Blockbuster ‘Hope’ Shows S.Korea’s Growing Movie Muscle

Director Na Hong-jin and cast members Hwang Jung-min, Alicia Vikander, Michael Fassbender, Taylor Russell and Hoyeon pose on the red carpet during arrivals for the screening of the film "Hope" in competition at the 79th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, May 17, 2026. (Reuters)
Director Na Hong-jin and cast members Hwang Jung-min, Alicia Vikander, Michael Fassbender, Taylor Russell and Hoyeon pose on the red carpet during arrivals for the screening of the film "Hope" in competition at the 79th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, May 17, 2026. (Reuters)

Acclaimed director Na Hong-jin has unveiled South Korea's biggest budget film ever: a blood-splattered sci-fi thriller featuring killer extraterrestrials played by real-life couple Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander.

"Hope" by Na, whose low-budget horror movie "The Wailing" became a huge hit in his home country, was able to give free rein to his dark imagination in this gory tale of alien invasion.

"It's the most expensive film in the history of Korean cinema," Na told AFP in an interview at the Cannes Film Festival where the film premiered on Sunday night.

"It's a film that really required a very, very large budget because of the special effects, the design, the actors."

Despite having a genre-defying concept that was hard to sell initially -- it skips between thriller, sci-fi, horror and comedy -- he received backing from Korea's Plus M Entertainment and a budget of around 30 million euros ($35 million).

The cost of "Hope" underlines the increasing resources available to South Korean directors whose hit films such as the quadruple Oscar-winning "Parasite", as well as TV series like "Squid Game" have turned the home of KPop music into a global entertainment center.

Reviews for "Hope" were broadly positive, with Screen magazine calling it "a thunderously entertaining genre mash-up" while The Hollywood Reporter said it had "instant cult classic written all over it".

But others such as IndieWire slammed the quality of the special effects -- suggesting the budget was "not enough" for Na's grand ambitions, while its run-time of 160 minutes was described as "over long" by Variety.

Although married acting couple Fassbender and Vikander, stars of films from "12 Years a Slave" to "Ex Machina", are listed on the film's cast, many fans might struggle to recognize them.

Their acting has been transformed by special effects, with all the recognizable lead roles performed by bankable Korean stars including Hwang Jung-min, as well as Hoyeon from "Squid Game".

- Korean wave -

The all-action film, full of bodily fluids and gunfire, revolves around a clash between the residents of a remote town close to the frontier between South and North Korea and terrifying visitors from another planet.

With its themes of conflict and the incompetence of local officials, Na said he had "the wars that we know at the moment and the political situation that we had" at the time in his mind as he was writing the screenplay.

"Hope", intended as the first film in a series, is one of 22 films competing for the prestigious Palme d'Or prize for best film in Cannes.

It is the first by Na in 10 years since "The Wailing", which also focused on a remote location struggling with a mystery arrival.

The Cannes jury this year is headed by a South Korean director for the first time, Park Chan-wook, the maker of arthouse classics such as "Oldboy" and "The Handmaiden".

"Korea is playing a role as one of the central hubs of the film world, and I believe this is a movement befitting the time," he told AFP last week.

"It makes me think of a lot of the (Korean) predecessors who were truly outstanding but never had the opportunity to be recognized internationally," he added.

Park insisted that he would not favor his compatriot, Na.

"Some even joked that I might go out of my way to be harsher on a Korean film, because it wouldn't look good if I appeared to be favoring it," he told AFP. "I intend to judge everything as fairly and objectively as possible."