UMK participant Jesse Markin has opened up about making the “difficult decision” to boycott competing in the Eurovision Song Contest. 

Days after Markin was announced as one of the seven UMK acts by broadcaster Yle, he released a statement on his Instagram account saying he will not go to Malmö if he wins Finland’s national selection and Israel is still on the participation list. 

Speaking to The Euro Trip, Markin said: “I was a difficult decision. I’m just a musician. 

“If people are in distress or are suffering, that always comes before my music. I can always go back to the studio and make a new song – my life is OK. 

“I don’t really have anything to complain about. If somebody out there needs help, I’ll be standing for that person no matter what.” 

UMK’s Executive Producer, Anssi Autio, told Yle News earlier in January that there is a contingency plan in place if Markin wins the show in February and follows through with his stance. 

Markin expanded on the decision process, saying: “It was a hard decision in the sense that I could be selfish and just talk about my music – that would be the easy route. 

“But sometimes easy is not always right. That’s why I came up with this statement. I just wanted to speak from the heart and the mind.” 

🗣 "Selfishly I really want to go to #Eurovision. But at the same time… principles"

🇫🇮 Jesse Markin has opened up about his stance not to attend Eurovision if Israel is not excluded from this year's competition. pic.twitter.com/58U4qe5MOV

— The Euro Trip | Eurovision Podcast (@EuroTripPodcast) January 23, 2024

Markin is not unique in his openness about competing in Eurovision. Fellow UMK competitor Sini Sabotage told Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat she would “have to think about” whether to go to the contest in Sweden or not. 

She added that she is “of the opinion that Israel should not take part in Eurovision”. 

Despite being committed to boycott Eurovision should he win UMK, Markin is still hopeful of being able to fly the Finnish flag in May. 

“Some people might call me naive, but I’m still hoping that I could get to Eurovision because that was the whole idea behind me partaking in UMK. 

“When demos were sent a year ago, I was obviously committed to going to Eurovision. 

“I’m 100% committed and I wish people will feel and see that I am 100% committed to this thing that I’ve put my everything into.” 

Markin will compete in UMK with his song Glow on February 10.