(CNN) More than 100 members of the entertainment industry including media personality Sharon Osbourne, Kiss frontman Gene Simmons and music manager Scooter Braun are speaking out against a proposed boycott of this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Israel. The popular annual music event, widely known as Eurovision, is set to be held in Tel Aviv in May, but a host of British celebrities have called on the BBC to cancel coverage of the contest over Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories. Opponents of the boycott, including British broadcaster Stephen Fry and performance artist Marina Abramović, signed an open letter from the non-profit organization Creative Community for Peace on Tuesday, condemning the boycott as "subverting the spirit of the contest and turning it from a tool of unity into a weapon of division." "Unifying events, such as singing competitions, are crucial to help bridge our cultural divides and bring people of all backgrounds together," they wrote. "We believe the cultural boycott movement is an affront to both Palestinians and Israelis who are working to advance peace through compromise, exchange, and mutual recognition," stated the letter.

Source: CNN April 30, 2019 16:30 UTC