Sweden: Thousands of people have rallied against Israel’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest in the Swedish city of Malmo with Israel’s war on Gaza casting a shadow over the glamorous contest’s finale.
Marching towards the contest venue on Saturday, a sizable gathering of demonstrators gathered on the centre square of the Swedish host city. They waved Palestinian flags and sang “Eurovision united by genocide,” a play on the official slogan of the competition, which is “united by music.”
Between 6,000 and 8,000 individuals, according to police estimates, participated in the protests on Saturday in Malmo.
Meanwhile, French musician Slimane announced earlier on Saturday that singing for peace had always been his boyhood goal, stopping his rehearsal act inside the theatre.
At 19:00 GMT, the grand finale, which is the pinnacle of the festival with memorable tunes, extravagant outfits, and humorous kitsch, will begin.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators have accused the contest’s organizers, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), of using unfair standards after banning Russia from Eurovision in 2022 due to its invasion of Ukraine.
The annual Eurovision contest has traditionally been advertised as non-political, but its organizers have rejected efforts to remove Israel. In March, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) confirmed that Israel’s contestant, Eden Golan, will participate.
Golan’s song is a rendition of an earlier song called October Rain, which she changed because the organizers said it was too political due to what appeared to be references to the October 7 incident, which was led by Hamas.
Before, during, and after his performance in the semifinals on Thursday, there was some jeering from the audience, but there was also cheering and waving of Israeli flags.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, also wished Golan well and declared that she had “already won” by withstanding what he described as a “horrible wave of anti-Semitism.”
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