Opening act of the controversial Eurovision Song Contest shows a Palestinian scarf

During his performance he wore a Palestinian scarf around his wrist. The display of Palestinian flags is again prohibited during the Eurovision Song Contest this year. Organizer European Broadcasting Union (EBU) regrets that Saade violated the discriminatory rules.

“The Eurovision Song Contest is a live program,” the organization told Swedish media. “Everyone who performs is aware of the rules and we regret that Eric Saade has chosen this.” To mask the booing during Israel’s performance, the director has prepared an audio recording with applause and cheering.

Many pro-Palestinian groups have announced they will demonstrate in Malmö during Eurovision over the participation of Israel, which has killed nearly 35,000 Palestinians, mostly children and women, in the past six months.

Swedish police expect around 100,000 demonstrators, including 40,000 from other European countries. Extra security measures have been taken, including police with machine guns and reinforcements from Denmark and Norway.

Malmö, Sweden’s third largest city with a large Palestinian and Muslim population, also hosts an alternative music event called Falastinvision. Many artists from Sweden and Europe participate in this to show their solidarity with the Palestinians.

There has been a lot of buzz recently about Israel’s participation. In various countries the EBU was called upon to ban the country because of the bloody genocide in Gaza, as happened earlier with Russia after the invasion of Ukraine. In response to criticism of Israel’s participation, the EBU said several times that the country can simply participate and that the Eurovision Song Contest is a “non-political music event”.

In 2019, Iceland was fined because the band Hatari showed Palestinian flags during the final in Israel. The Icelandic Authors’ and Composers’ Association last year called for Israel to be banned from the Eurovision Song Contest.

The Eurovision Song Contest 2024 will take place from May 7 to 11, after Sweden’s victory in 2023 with the song Tatoo by the Swedish-Moroccan Loreen.