Israeli singer Eden Golan performs to cheers at Eurovision semi-final in Sweden. The singer, who faced criticism from pro-Palestine protesters for being allowed to participate in this year's contest, performed to cheers during the semi-final.
READ MORE: Israel singer Eden Golan has made it to the final of the Eurovision Song Contest following a public vote after thousands of protestors demonstrated in Malmo calling for her to be excluded from the competition.
The event's organisers have said they will not 'censor' the audience after Golan was booed during rehearsals. Israeli Eurovision singer Eden Golan was ordered to stay in her hotel room by her country's national security agency as thousands of pro-Palestine protesters demonstrated in Malmo, calling for her to be excluded from the competition
The European Broadcasting Union , whose members approved Israeli broadcaster Kan, has taken a strong stance, as in previous years, against political messages at Eurovision and flags and symbols from non-competing countries. 'This is solely to achieve as balanced a sound mix as possible for the audience; and SVT do not censor sound from the arena audience.'The EBU and SVT encourage all audiences to attend in the spirit of the contest, embracing its values of inclusivity, celebrating diversity and being United By Music.'
The prediction was correct, with as many as 5,000 people taking to the city's streets yesterday, including the young Swede - who was pictured wearing a keffiyeh, a black and white shawl commonly used to show support for Palestine, around her body in the centre of the crowd within a sea of Palestinian flags.
It was reported earlier that Israel's national security agency Shin Bet had warned Eden Golan not to leave her hotel room except for performances because Malmo was anticipating the wave of pro- Palestinian demonstrations— jay🍉 | 🇳🇱🇱🇹🇪🇪 May 8, 2024 The young Swede was pictured wearing a keffiyeh, a black and white shawl commonly used to show support for Palestine, around her body in the centre of the...
A demonstrator gestures from a vehicle with Palestinian flags during a protest against Israeli participation in the Eurovision Song Contest, ahead of the second semi-final tonight Some 100,000 visitors had already gathered in the southern Swedish city for the annual kitsch-fest, which is taking place amid the protests and boycotts over the Israeli military campaign in Gaza, which this weekend moved into the city of Rafa despite protests from Israel's allies - including its most important partner the United States.
Swedish authorities have heightened security and are bracing for possible unrest, and there was a significant police presence in the square, live footage showed. Denmark, Finland, Norway and even host country Sweden have repeatedly called for Israel to be banned from the contest altogether. And in Belgium, two Ministers demanded that the Jewish state be treated the same as Russia, which has been barred since 2022 following its invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking to Reuters, she said: 'It's a super important moment for us, especially this year. I feel honoured to have the opportunity to be the voice of my country.' A Palestine flag is waved during Golan's performance of her song 'Hurricane' during the semi-final of the competition last night He said: 'We feel that it's important to make our voices heard in the competition in the arena. Others are doing a full boycott - and full respect to people who are doing a full boycott - but we think it's important that our voices are heard in the arena and around Malmo.'
Protester Kasia Wiatrowska, from Malmo, wore a green T-shirt with the words 'Libre Palestine' on the back. Police estimate that about 5,000 people attended the demonstration. 'Overall, it's calm, we've turned away a few people,' a police spokesperson told Reuters.People carry a banner and wave Palestinian flags during a Pro-Palestinian demonstration for excluding Israel from Eurovision ahead of the second semi-final at the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmo, Sweden, Thursday, May 9, 2024
A protester holds a Palestinian keffiyeh during Israel's performance during the preview for the second semi-final of the 68th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest at Malmo ArenaThere is high security around the delegations from all the countries, according to Malmo police. 'We're keeping a bit of an extra eye on Israel of course, because of the situation,' Lotta Svensson, a police incident commander, told Reuters on Sunday.
At first, the Israeli state-owned TV network Kan, which supplied the song, said it would rather Eden dropped out of the competition than change the lyrics.
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