In the midst of the war in Gaza, Israel’s participation in the Eurovision music competition is very controversial. Despite calls for boycotts, Israeli singer Eden Golan represented the Jewish state on Thursday evening, May 9, in the semi-finals and qualified for the final which will take place this Saturday, May 11. In Malmö, Sweden, where the competition is taking place this week, a large pro-Palestinian demonstration took place yesterday.
3 mins
From our special correspondent in Malmö,
The organizers hoped for up to 20,000 participants; ultimately, nearly 12,000 came for this first major event of the week. Another rally is planned for Saturday, but in truth the entire city of Malmö, in Swedendisplays the colors of the Palestine.
Impossible for visitors and fans of theEurovision who are there to miss the controversy and the local opposition to the participation ofIsrael to the competition.
Palestinian flags are absolutely everywhere, hanging from the windows of buildings, many people also wear black and white keffiyehs around their necks every day, there are many anti-war frescoes around the Eurovision sites which denounce “ a genocide of the Palestinians “.
Read alsoIsrael at Eurovision 2024: wave of protests in Nordic artistic circles
“ Boycott Israel “, “ Free Palestine » chant citizen organizations every day. The conflict in Gaza has a profound impact on this edition.
And this is especially true since the mobilization has been going on for months: demonstrations have taken place every weekend in Malmö since October 7, this popular, university, left-wing city, which has welcomed tens of thousands of people since the 1960s. Palestinian refugees and throughout the Middle East for that matter. Pan-Arab solidarity is undoubtedly more visible here than elsewhere.
Under a cloud of Palestinian flags, Ava, a 38-year-old Swede, chants with her children “Freedom for Palestine, let’s boycott Israel”. “I am frustrated, sad, ashamed. Eurovision does not represent us, our city. 15,000 children have been murdered and we are supposed to participate in a joyous event, a celebration, while Israel is not excluded from the competition and a genocide is underway. » Eurovision fans are there too. Rory, 27, who came from Ireland with friends, denounces a double standard by the EBU, the European Radio and Television Union which organizes Eurovision, which has banned Russia since the war in Ukraine, but allows Israel to compete. “It is absolutely inappropriate to give Israel a media platform. Their song is a justification of the genocide, it was initially titled “October Rain”, and was renamed “Tempête”, but it is a propaganda song. The EBU is a press association: Israel has closed Al-Jazeera and the EBU remains silent! They should defend the freedom of expression of artists and fans. »
Report from the heart of the demonstration in Malmö
Two weights, two measures
The Eurovision management defends its position, believing that the musical event is apolitical. She also prohibited artists on stage, and the public in the room, from brandishing Palestinian symbols. In fact, the artist representing Sweden, Eric Saade, himself of Palestinian origin, had wrapped a keffiyeh around his wrist during the opening concert, he was reprimanded for this and three days ago , the Eurovision management also asked the Irish singer, Bambie Thug, openly pro-Palestinian, to remove inscriptions supporting Gaza from her costume.
Eric Saade full performance at eurovision that they removed from all social media because he is a Palestinian wearing a keffiyeh. pic.twitter.com/Tx6YiqymtU
— Sitoz⭐️ (@sitoz_) May 7, 2024
Thursday evening, there were no new provocations from the artists. It remains to be seen what happens in the final tomorrow night, but the EBU, the European Broadcasting Union which organizes the competition, is clearly walking on eggshells. She also demanded that Israeli singer Eden Golan change the title and content of her song because it made too many references to the Hamas terrorist attack against Israel.
But in Malmö, many denounce the hypocrisy, the double standards. Let us recall that Russia was banned from competition following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and that during the last editions of Eurovision, the festival’s support for Ukrainians was clearly displayed and explicit.