The Israeli artist at the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö is asked to stay in her hotel room except when she has to rehearse and perform. It is a sign as good as anything that the situation before the world’s biggest music competition has never been as tense as now, writes Filip Stiller Borowicz, one of TV4’s reporters covering Eurovision.
It is noticeable how little is said about the music in Eurovision this year. Only us pageant lovers care that there are a slew of wacky entries that will make viewers wonder if they’re hallucinating. Or who has noticed that Sweden is unusually risky on the odds lists. None of that matters at all if the week is marred by violence and unrest.
Political event
The explanation can hardly have escaped anyone. While tens of thousands of protesters are expected to show their displeasure with Israel’s participation, there will also be pro-Israeli demonstrations. The terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7 and the subsequent war in Gaza, in addition to causing untold human suffering, has once again put the spotlight on how political the Eurovision Song Contest can be. Although the European Broadcasting Union EBU insists with the stubbornness of a fool that this is not the case.
Israel’s artist, 20-year-old Eden Golan has completed his first rehearsals on site in the Malmö arena. She is asked to stay in her hotel room except when she is rehearsing and performing. Her “Hurricane” was previously called “October Rain” but had to be rewritten because the EBU considered the lyrics, which dealt with the grief after the Hamas attack in October, to be too political.
Keeps a low profile
At the same time, Israeli media have named Malmö one of the world’s most anti-Semitic cities. A number of Israeli fans will travel there anyway, but are asked to keep a low profile. And the Swedish police have gathered strength for months to be able to handle the situation.
Something that, however, has been a fact for several years, is the ban on bringing Palestinian flags into the Eurovision arena. That will also be the case this year. But the big question is what happens if the audience boos or shouts slogans?
– There are preparations for all kinds of reactions in the audience. It shouldn’t happen, it must not happen, but it can happen, says Christer Björkman, competition producer, to TV4 and refers to Eurovision in Vienna in 2015 when there were protests against Russia’s artist.
– And that silenced the presenters, very effectively, and I assume that we do as well.
The betting companies, at the time of writing, give Israel’s contribution about a three percent chance of winning. But it feels like no one dares to think about such a scenario.