Between May 4 and 11, 160 performances will be seen in Malmö city, but more and more booked artists choose to cancel their participation, which Today’s news previously reported on. The reason is that they want to support Palestine and condemn Israel’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024.
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One of the artists who would perform in Malmö is the local band Crying Day Care Choir. Jack Elzone of the band’s members, says that they initially agreed to sing, but that they can no longer stand behind that decision.
– We were booked by the city of Malmö. We are proud of Malmö and the cultural offer here, thought this would be a good folk festival. Now we believe that the most effective thing is to take a stand and boycott. We cannot bury our heads in the sand. It became a matter of conscience, he says to Dagens Nyheter.
They are not alone in canceling their plans to perform in May. Several artists have followed the same path, including the local bands Tarabband and Nevergreens.
Photo: Johan Nilsson/TT
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However, not everyone is equally happy about the pressure to boycott.
Rebecca Bergcrantzwhich goes by the stage name Raindearis one of those still scheduled to perform during Eurovision week in Malmö.
For DN, she tells that she felt urged not to perform. Including the Instagram accounts “BDS Sweden” and “Boycott Israel”, which tagged her in their posts. Despite this, she stands by her decision.
– It’s like a mass psychosis, people are completely blind to the fact that political struggles can be chosen to be fought in different ways. I am completely heartbroken by what is happening in Gaza. It’s one of the worst things we’ve seen in our history, but at the same time I don’t know how it helps the victims in Gaza that I cancel gigs and can’t pay the rent, she says to DN.
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