TV review | Long nails, braids, spacesuits, masked dancers and a Finn without underwear on the first Eurovision Song Contest evening

While in Gaza the Israeli army took over the border at Rafah, cutting off the main supply of humanitarian aid, and in Amsterdam students occupied the Binnengasthuis in protest against the war, the Eurovision Song Contest started on Tuesday evening in the heavily guarded Swedish Malmö. Due to Israel’s participation, the European singing competition is also under fire, with demonstrations and calls for a boycott. But there was no noticeable difference in the TV broadcast. At least, almost nothing.

During the opening of the first semi-final, Swedish artist Eric Saade wore a keffiyeh – the Arab head scarf that serves as a symbol of the Palestinian freedom struggle – on his wrist. The organization, which had vowed not to admit political statements to the festival, reacted with outrage afterwards.

Artist Bambie Thug had initially written “Cease Fire” on his face in the old Irish ogham script: a call for a ceasefire. But the organization had to brush that off. Now it only said: “Crown the witch.” Thug, who plays for Ireland with the song ‘Doomsday Blue’, was the most notable act on Tuesday. The non-binary witch danced with a demon in a witch’s circle of dripping candles, smoothly alternating industrial metal with fresh pop. Slovenia also came up with a witches’ song. Singer Raiven sang ‘Veronika’, about the first witch to be executed in her country.

All in the positive of course. Witchcraft here does not stand for dark power but for the empowerment of trans people and women. Women and queer artists dominated the stage this evening. Many songs had an emancipatory message – by no means optional anymore in a Europe where the radical right is advancing. What was also noticeable: lots of long nails, braids, spacesuits, masked dancers. And several mobile rock formations.

Noble parts

In the visual spectacle chock full state of the art video projections – which make the acts look more like video clips than live performances – the Finnish candidate Windows95man also managed to attract attention with his song ‘No Rules’. He crawled out of an egg made of jeans material without any underwear. Subsequently, his private parts were ‘coincidentally’ hidden from view by obstacles. Similar to Bart Simpson’s naked skateboarding trip in The Simpsons Movie. Finally, shorts came down from heaven for the singer.

Baby Lasagna, who performed for Croatia with ‘Rim Tim Tagi Dim’ is the favorite in the competition. Infectious techno-rock, a bit of big beat, a bit of Rammstein. He was one of the few artists who emphasized the music. Croatia will advance effortlessly to the final on Saturday. The other countries that qualified for the final: Serbia, Portugal, Slovenia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Finland, Cyprus, Ireland and Luxembourg.

The emphasis on the decoration was also because the music was not that special: a lot of pounding dance pop, often with a retro feel – Joost Klein is not the only one who harkens back to dance from the nineties. Next Thursday, the Dutch singer will close the second semi-final with ‘Europapa’. Then it is Eden Golan’s turn with ‘Hurricane’, the entry of controversial participant Israel.

Correction 9:50 am: An earlier version stated that Bambie Thug had “Cease Fire” written on his cheek. However, the artist had to remove the slogan from the organization in advance. This has been adjusted.

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