One of the most prominent cases of this year’s Eurovision is Eric Saade, the former representative of Sweden in this show, who appeared at the opening concert. The latter was tying a keffiyeh pattern scarf on his arm.
This is a symbol of support for Palestine, for which the organizers even began to apologize, and part of the performer’s performance was removed from the official Eurovision social media accounts.
It was the war between Israel and Hamas, which inevitably hit Palestine hard, and became the main reason why Malmö had to increase security.
On Thursday, the Israeli singer Eden Golan will perform in the second semi-final with the song “Hurricane”. A place in the finals is also predicted for the performer.
The 20-year-old performer was under a lot of pressure from the moment she found out that she would participate in the Eurovision Song Contest.
Large protests are being organized in Malmö demanding that she not be allowed to appear. Pro-Palestinian public groups and some Eurovision fans have been calling for show organizers the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to ban Golan from singing for some time.
The latter even changed the name of the song due to the situation. In February, E. Golan announced a track called “October Rain”. There was no doubt that this was a reference to the attack on Israel by the terrorist group Hamas, when, after a massive rocket attack, the attackers invaded the country and began killing and kidnapping people.
The EBU then decided that the title of the song and some of the lyrics of the piece were “too political” and instructed Golan to change them.
Irish performer Bambie Thug, who presented a grotesque performance, also faced Eurovision’s strict approach to political messages. The latter with the song “Doomsday Blue” reached the final already in the first semi-final, where the Lithuanian performer Silvester Belt also performed successfully.
The 31-year-old performer told reporters after the semi-final that she was forced to change the inscription on her body.
Bambie Thug used to wear Ogamic writing, an ancient Irish alphabet, on his body to send the message: “Cease fire and freedom.”
“It was very important for me, because I am for justice and for freedom. Unfortunately, I had to change those messages to ‘crown the witch’ because I was told to do so by the EBU,” said Bambie Thug.
The EBU also responded to the singer’s words: “The notes we saw during the rehearsal are against the rules of the competition, which are designed to protect the non-political direction of the event. After discussions with the Irish delegation, they agreed to change the inscription.”
In April, Eurovision organizers publicly condemned the behavior of some fans who began to persecute the performers and pressure them for their views. According to the EBU, the harassment of Eurovision contestants due to Israel’s participation in the contest is unacceptable and completely dishonorable.
Olly Alexander, the representative of the United Kingdom, spoke about the persecution earlier. He performed his song Dizzy, even though the United Kingdom is automatically in the final because they are among the big five financial donors of Eurovision.
The “Years & Years” artist has received demands to withdraw from “Eurovision” if Israel participates in it.
O.Alexanderis said in the documentary prepared for Eurovision that he and some other performers received “very extreme” statements.
Malmö police have announced that permission has been granted for two protests against Israel’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest on Thursday and Saturday.
This text is based on information from Sky News and the New York Times.
