Eurovision 2024 - Not United by Music
This year’s edition of Eurovision has been tainted by its own hypocrisy.
In 2022 after outcries from artists and international broadcasters, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) disqualified Russia from the song contest following the country’s invasion of Ukraine and has not participated since.
But the same didn’t happen for calls to disqualify Israel, despite the ongoing genocide in Gaza, by now it is beyond a disproportionate violent punishment towards innocent Palestinians for the Hamas attack and kidnapping on Oct 7.
The reality is, it was unlikely that Israel wouldn’t be allowed to participate. Its main sponsor, MoroccanOil is an Israeli company. And sympathy for Palestinians by people in power who can help end this genocide don’t seem to exist, if anything, they seem to be getting more and more dehumanised as a people.
Additionally, EBU has done more to silence pro-Palestinian performers and fans, with the feeble excuse that the Eurovision Song Contest isn’t a space for political statement. Eurovision was and is a political event.
I usually start the month of May by listening to all the participating songs and making a list of favourites, but I didn’t this year.
Watching Semi-Final 1 and 2 on May 7 and 9 was the first time I listened to all the participating countries (except for Netherlands’s Joost Klein’s song Europapa which a friend made me listen to a few months ago).
Sweden knows how to host Eurovision, they are the best at it. The stage design is outstanding, the hosts Malin Åkerman and Petra Mede are funny and know how to keep things moving, the interval acts on both nights deserve their own set of points (Johnny Logan singing Euphoria, Benjamin Ingrosso’s performance and stage presence - his song Dance You Off from Eurovision 2018 is one of my favourites, the World’s Biggest Sing-Along and We Just Love Eurovision Too Much). Most of the acts are good too.
But the highlights are small compared to some of the nasty behaviour over the past few days.
After opening Semi-Final 1, Eric Saade (represented Sweden in 2011) was reprimanded for wearing a keffiyeh, “compromising the non-political nature of the contest”, and his performance was removed from Eurovision’s official channels. Saade who is half Palestinian had to put out a statement and posted the performance on his official account.
Saade, whose father is of Palestinian origin, is not a contestant this year, but is a former Swedish Eurovision contestant who performed during the show’s opening act Tuesday.
“This was just my way of showing a part of my origin,” Saade said in a statement posted to his Instagram story on Wednesday.
“I got that keffiyeh from my dad when I was a little boy, to never forget where the family comes from. Back then, I didn’t know it would one day be called a ‘political symbol by EBU. It’s like calling the ‘Swedish Dala horse’ a political symbol… In my eyes, it’s just racism.” via Time
Ireland’s Bambi Thug was prevented by the EBU from displaying a pro-Palestinian message:
They told reporters at an earlier news conference that they had been forced to change writing painted on their body which had been painted in an early Medieval alphabet which translated to "ceasefire and freedom".
At the time, a spokesperson for the EBU said: "The writing seen on Bambie Thug's body during dress rehearsals contravened contest rules that are designed to protect the non-political nature of the event.
"After discussions with the Irish delegation, they agreed to change the text for the live show." via Sky News
Italy’s RAI showed its domestic voting results on a scrolling graphic banner on live TV, revealing that Israeli received over 39% of the votes and a favourite after the Semi-Finals 2 performance. They later apologised “for mistakenly revealing domestic voting results for the semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest, blaming it on a technical glitch”. A warning or a worrying sign of what the final votes are going to be like from other countries.
There were incidents of audience members carrying Palestinian flags or shouting Free Palestine were harassed by other audience members and / or escorted out by security guards (and let back in minus the flags).
It was also reported that boos were heard when Israel’s Eden Golan was on stage, but audiences watching at home couldn’t hear it because of 'anti-booing' technology.
But it was good to see other forms of protest. The Belgian National TV showed a black screen during Israel's performance in Eurovision Song Contest. It reminded me when Eurovision used to be broadcast on our local TV channel in 1970s-80s, the screen would just turn black when it was their turn to perform.
During the press conference after Semi-Final 1, Latvia’s Dons gave a short speech describing his country looks like a butterfly (it doesn’t) to make a metaphor and to say, "Every country in the world deserves to be free".
Greece’s Martina Satti rolled her eyes and yawned when Eden Golan was answering questions.
Netherland’s Joost Klein asked loudly “Why not?” when Golan was told she didn’t have to answer a question if by participating would bring risk and danger to other participants.
Joost also said “I think that’s a good question for the EBU.” when he was asked “Do you think that your song can unite us all by music?”.
Joost Klein put a target on his back after the two incidents mentioned above, and yesterday was a long day of speculation when it was announced he won’t be participating in the Jury Performance, the last dress rehearsal for all the finalists before tonight’s finale. A few hours ago it was announced he is disqualified from the finals.
The Dutch artist Joost Klein will not be competing in the Grand Final of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.
Swedish police have investigated a complaint made by a female member of the production crew after an incident following his performance in Thursday night’s Semi Final. While the legal process takes its course, it would not be appropriate for him to continue in the Contest.
We would like to make it clear that, contrary to some media reports and social media speculation, this incident did not involve any other performer or delegation member.
We maintain a zero-tolerance policy towards inappropriate behaviour at our event and are committed to providing a safe and secure working environment for all staff at the Contest. In light of this, Joost Klein’s behaviour towards a team member is deemed in breach of Contest rules.
The Grand Final of the 68th Eurovision Song Contest will now proceed with 25 participating songs.
There have already been clips shared online showing delegates from Netherlands, Spain, Greece have been harassed by Israel, and I thought this was a perfect question posed by Gabe on Twitter:
For tonight’s finale, I hope other participants pull out or do something to annoy EBU even more. I hope there will be louder boos. I hope Croatia wins, or any other country except for you know which one.
This year I won’t share any clips from Eurovision or link to anything on their website. But I’ll share my 6 favourite songs, all found outside the official Eurovision channels.
My top song this year is Spain’s Zorra by Nebulossa, a swoon synth pop number by a duo that have been married for 20 years, in their 50s, run a hairdressing salon, and performing since 2018. This needs to be adapted into a film, directed by Pedro Almodovar. Additionally, the song has "divided Spain" - “From the head of government to the Catholic Church - rarely has a Eurovision Song Contest entry caused as much debate in Spain as Zorra…The word "zorra" literally means "vixen" in Spanish, but is mainly used pejoratively for "slut" or "bitch"."
The rest:
Croatia’s Rim Tim Tagi Dim by Baby Lasagna, a catchy head banger, a favourite with the bookies, hope they are right.
Sweden’s Unforgettable by Marcus & Martinus, fun dance number.
Estonia’s (nendest) narkootikumidest ei tea me (küll) midagi by 5MIINUST x Puuluup, great chorus and choreography, “uuuuyeeee”.
Greece’s Zari by Marina Satti, another catchy chorus, “ta ta ta ta ta”.
Netherlands’ Europapa by Joost Klein, an optimist European anthem, and the bitter irony for getting disqualified from the finals.