The 25 Eurovision contestants will take the stage on a night when authorities expect protests. A parallel festival is planned to boycott the event due to Israeli participation.
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Eurovision is dividing the Swedish city of Malmo. Tonight, as the 25 contestants take the stage for the 68th edition of the contest, a parallel festival will be held, called “Falastinvision,” which describes itself as a “genocide-free” contest. It’s just another example of how Eurovision, which the organization calls an apolitical competition, is being influenced by the conflict in the Gaza Strip, which has been going on for more than eight months.
Falastinvision has been preparing since the beginning of February with the aim of boycotting Eurovision. “International norms and laws do not apply to Israel. This disaster with Israel’s participation is a great example of Israel’s constant act of victimization,” the organizers denounced on a page created to promote the alternative festival.
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This was also the argument used by several groups that organized demonstrations in Malmo this week against the participation of Israeli competitor Eden Golan. On Thursday alone, more than 10,000 protesters gathered in the city center to call for a boycott of Israel. Among them is climate activist Greta Thunberg, who became known for her student strikes to call on governments to take action to protect the planet.
“Yesterday [quinta-feira] We were tens of thousands of people flooding the streets of Malmo. We will not accept that a country that is committing genocide can have a platform to wash itself,” the young woman highlighted in a Publication on the social network X (formerly Twitter) where he shared an image of the protests. That same day, a smaller group, including members of Malmo’s Jewish community, also organized a demonstration in the city to defend Israel’s right to participate in the contest.
Week 299. Malmö says NO to genocide! People from all over Sweden are gathering this week in Malmö, where Eurovision is being held, to protest against Israel’s participation in the contest and demand a #FreePalestine and #CeaseFireNow ! Yesterday we were tens of thousands… pic.twitter.com/nL1wpW1nfy
– Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) May 10, 2024
New protests are expected on the night of the final, which led Swedish authorities to increase security measures. This was the topic even during a press conference with the Eurovision competitors, when a journalist asked the Israeli representative if she considered that her presence endangered the other participants.
The question led the event’s moderator to state that Eden Golan did not have to answer, prompting a reaction from another competitor. “Why not?” asked aloud Klein, a Dutch competitor who had meanwhile been expelled from the competition due to an “incident” supposedly with an employee of the organization, seeming irritated by the presence of the Israeli representative. The moment went viral on social media, similar to videos in which Greek candidate Marina Satti appeared to pretend to be asleep while journalists asked Golan questions.
2 more dingens #joostklein in persco
Hij zit nooit onder een vlag ????
Voor hij “why not” zei, zei hij ook wat anders over de vraag nl: “In what way” wat de boel toch echt nuanceert.Ik mag daarom toch aannemen que dit niet de reden is voor het onderzoek. #Eurovision2024 pic.twitter.com/Vwa9N0GZLx
– Fenna (@PostvanFenna) May 10, 2024
Marina’s expressions while they interviewed Ed*n. Marina Satti you will ALWAYS be famous
pic.twitter.com/nUQwA1kJdR– Jorge ???? | ??????????????????????????? (@escldr) May 9, 2024
This was not the only episode in which the contest participants made known what they think about the conflict in the Gaza Strip. In the first Eurovision semi-final, which determined the passage of the Portuguese song – performed by Iolanda – the Swedish singer Eric Saade, whose father is Palestinian, went on stage with a keyffiyeh (a scarf that is a symbol of the Palestinian resistance) in his left wrist.
The conflict in Gaza also appears to be influencing some voting intentions. “I never voted in Eurovision. But I will vote for Eden Golan,” French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy revealed this Saturday. “Because she has talent. Because she is brave. And because, in this mad world, in the face of an unprecedented increase in hatred against Jews in 80 years, in the face of stupidity, his victory will be a milestone,” he highlighted in a Publication in X.
Never vote there.#Eurovision. but I’m going to vote #EdenGolan. Because he has talent. Because he is brave. And it seems that, in the world that has become, face the wind against them. #juifs sans précédent after 80 years, face à la bêtise, sa victoire fera date. pic.twitter.com/KpoNIgOkWm
— Bernard-Henri Lévy (@BHL) May 11, 2024
Eurovision organizers made it clear that they consider the festival “apolitical” and refused to exclude the Israeli competitor. They demanded, however, that the artist change some of the original lyrics, removing what they said were references to the Hamas attacks on Israeli territory on October 7, which precipitated the conflict in Gaza.
Some countries have already expressed their opposition to the country’s participation in the contest. This was the case in Spain, where the vice president of the Spanish government and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, stated that the festival “is not a showcase to cover up the genocide of the Palestinian people by Israel.” Israel “is incompatible with the values promoted by the contest and should not participate,” he wrote also in a mail in X.
Spanish government against Israel’s participation in the Eurovision final
On the other hand, the German and French governments considered protests calling for a ban on Israeli participation “unacceptable.” The German Minister of Culture, Claudia Roth, considered “terrifying” the announced reinforcement of security measures in Sweden to protect Israeli citizens and Jews in general. “Anti-Semitism, hatred and violence have no place at such an important musical event,” she said. Similarly, French European Affairs Minister Jean-Nöel Barrot criticized the “pressure on artists” in calls to boycott Israel.
France and Germany consider “unacceptable” the protests asking Israel to boycott Eurovision
Source: Observadora
