The first semi-final of 2024 selected 10 artists who will perform on the stage in Malmo again on May 11. There was no Polish representative among the lucky ones who advanced to the finals of the competition. Luna and her song “The Tower” received too few votes from the audience to be able to fight for victory.
Australia broke the rules at Eurovision 2024
We will not see Electric Fields, an electronic duo from Australia, in the final. Although the audience and those commenting on the performance welcomed the song “One Milkali (One Blood)” quite warmly, there were no audience votes. “It’s a very nice song, about which there’s not much more to say. A bit of rhythm, a bit of tact, neither “wow” nor “meh”. 5/10″ – assessed the song by Magda Walma from Gazeta.pl before the semi-final.
One of the interesting elements of Australia’s performance was the appearance of the didgeridoo instrument on stage. It was played by a musician with Aboriginal roots, Fred Leon, who published a significant post online after the semi-final. The artist admitted that his presence on stage violated the competition rules.
Censorship did not catch the political message during Australia’s performance
Leone revealed that his image was not accidental and contained a special message. He wrote on Instagram that his body art intentionally resembled the watermelon fruit, which is associated with support for the Palestinians.
“I had a watermelon on my chest. 200 million people celebrated while innocent children, mothers and fathers died in thousands in an act of genocide,” we read in the musician’s post. “My great-grandfather survived three such massacres. Our families in Australia barely survived the genocide. It was my personal decision. I don’t know what will come of it and whether it will affect my career. It all depends on those in power” – writes Leone, adding many strong words about the ongoing conflict.
The Eurovision regulations clearly prohibit “political agitation” and the mission of the competition is to unite “above divisions”. However, in a world where tensions are escalating and innocent people are dying, this is not easy. When Russia was excluded from Eurovision after its aggression against Ukraine, many fans of the competition expected a similar decision regarding Israel. However, the organizers of the competition banned bringing Palestinian flags to the concert grounds. As you can see, the censorship did not notice the clear message smuggled by the Australian representatives.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
