Emotions around this year’s Eurovision Song Contest have not cooled down. Many fans of the contest are demanding the removal of Israel, which is invading the Gaza Strip. The organizers of Eurovision 2024 have published on their official website a statement from the Director General of the European Broadcasting Union, Jean Philip De Tender, regarding Israel’s participation in Eurovision.
The EBU stands its ground. According to them, the issues of Israel and Russia are completely different issues
“The European Broadcasting Union recognizes the strong emotions generated by this year’s Eurovision Song Contest and the intense debate sparked by the inclusion of the Israeli entry. We understand that people will want to engage in discussion and express their preconceptions on the subject. We have all been touched by the images, stories and unimaginable suffering those in Israel and the Gaza Strip. However, we would like to address the concerns and discussions surrounding this situation, especially the social media campaigns targeting some of the participating artists. […] While we strongly support freedom of speech and the right to express one’s opinion in a democratic society, we strongly oppose any forms of online violence, hate speech and harassment aimed at artists or others associated with the competition. This is unacceptable and completely unfair as artists have no role in this decision,” the statement reads.
Additionally, a special tab with questions and answers regarding Israel’s participation was created on the Eurovision website. The most controversial question among fans of the competition is: “Why is Israel still a member of the EBU while Russia has been suspended?”, to which no answer is given, only a laconic message stating:
The Israeli public broadcaster has been a member of the EBU for over 60 years. Russian public broadcasters suspended their EBU membership in 2022 due to consistent violations of membership obligations and violations of the values of public media.
In turn, in the question regarding safety we read: “We take the safety of participants and competition staff very seriously. We are working closely with the city, SVT, local police and other law enforcement agencies. We are confident that we will be able to create a safe event for all guests.” In addition, there is also information about the possibility of organizing peaceful demonstrations against Israel.
In Malmo, petitions are created and Eurovision advertisements are destroyed. And anti-Israel demonstrations are planned for its duration
However, the fate of Israel’s participation in the competition was not so certain. In the song Eden Golan entitled “Hurricane” initially contained lines that referred to the conflict with Palestine. At that time, Norway, Iceland and Finland threatened to withdraw from the Eurovision Song Contest if Golan was not excluded. Even the president of Israel spoke out and called for changing the controversial lines of the song.
The decision not to remove Israel from Eurovision caused an avalanche of criticism among opponents of the country’s actions. At this point, several large anti-Israel protests have already been planned during the competition in Malmo. In addition, the City Council also received a petition signed by 800 residents, titled “No Eurovision in Malmo if Israel participates”.
There were also acts of vandalism in the city aimed at the competition. For example, a sign informing about a competition in the city was doused with red paint. Local services and organizers are aware of the mood and are preparing for every possible scenario. “We are fully prepared for the demonstrations to take place both outside and inside the concert hall,” Ebba Adielson from the European Broadcasting Union commented for AFP some time ago.
Source: Gazeta
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