Organizers of the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest, which also includes Israel, said in a statement on Thursday that the Palestinian flag will not be allowed to be displayed at the competition, and that staff will not display flags or other “symbols, clothing, objects or banners.” He has repeatedly stated that he will remove any items he deems to be. Inappropriate.
The Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) is an annual event that will see 37 countries participating in 2024. include Non-European countries such as Israel, Australia, and Armenia submit original songs and accompanying musical performances. Each country will vote to determine the best song and which country will host next year’s event, using a call from the judges and the public.was created with aftermath The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organizes the contest, has given participants strict “political We are firmly adhering to the policy of “prohibition”.
“ESC is a non-political event,” the contest’s official rules state. read. “All participating broadcasters, including the host broadcaster, shall be responsible for ensuring that the ESC is not politicized, instrumentalized or otherwise brought into disrepute in any way.”
The ban on politics applies to displays between performers, lyrics, hosts, special guests, and audience participants.
Sweden will host the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest as a result of its controversial victory in 2023 after losing to Finland in the popular vote. This event will be held in the city of Malmö. The city of Malmö has one of the largest Muslim populations in the country, and recent years have seen a sharp increase in Islamist activities. Anti-Israel groups have announced that they are preparing to organize large-scale protests against Israel’s participation in the contest in anticipation of the event.
The Eurovision Song Contest will be held over three rounds, with two semi-finals to be held on May 7th and 9th, and a ‘grand final’ to be held on May 11th.
EBU communications director Michel Roverelli was asked by The Associated Press about the possibility of participants bringing Palestinian flags to contests protesting Israel. repeated The only flags allowed at Eurovision are those of the participating countries and the rainbow flag associated with gay rights (The Associated Press reports that it includes an updated flag to represent all LGBTQIAP2S+ people) It has not been made clear whether that will be included, or just flags depicting only rainbows.)
“Palestine” is not a country, so it will not participate in the Eurovision Song Contest.
Roverelli told The Associated Press that EBU organizers may “remove other flags, symbols, clothing, objects, banners, etc. used for the purpose of promoting television programs.”
This rule is not an update. The EBU has banned the Palestinian flag for many years. The flag became an issue in 2019, when Israel hosted the contest as the reigning champion, and Iceland’s leading band, Hatari, appeared on camera with a flag-emblazoned scarf that read “Palestine.” EBU fined Iceland’s public broadcaster is responsible for organizing the participation in the song contest, but did not disclose the amount.
Israel’s participation in the 2024 Games sparked growing anger after the country was hit by an unprecedented terrorist attack on October 7, 2023. In this terrorist attack, terrorists from the Palestinian jihadist group Hamas entered the country and committed rape, torture, and assault. Mass murder and desecration of corpses. Hamas terrorists killed an estimated 1,200 people in the attack, including UN personnel.
Israel responded to the attack by launching a self-defense military operation in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. The operation sparked an international outburst, particularly from Islamist groups and left-wing sympathizers. This anger reached Eurovision in February, when a group of more than 1,000 Swedish artists called on the EBU to ban Israel from participating in the competition.
“We believe that by allowing Israel to participate, the EBU is displaying a flagrant double standard that undermines its credibility,” the letter signed by the artists said. “Allowing Israel to participate would undermine not only the spirit of the contest, but the entire mission of the public service. It would also signal to governments that it is okay to commit war crimes without consequences.” I will send it.”
Israel had originally intended to honor the victims of October’s terrorist attacks by calling the contest “October Rain,” but EBU authorities decided the song’s lyrics were too political. and asked the writers to revise the song. The EBU reportedly objected in particular to the lyrics, “They were all good in their own way,” which referred to children, including infants, massacred by Hamas.
Artist Eden Göran will perform a revised version of the song titled “Hurricane” in Malmö, which retains much of the music and lyrics of the original “October Rain”.
Swedish law enforcement authorities It is regarded The Eurovision Song Contest is a “priority target” for terrorists and has promised to put in place high security measures to protect participants. In addition to pro-Palestinian activists calling for large-scale protests on the day of the contest to oppose Israeli songs, police have revealed that a group was planning to burn copies of the Koran before the song contest. This was revealed, Euronews reported. The report did not specify whether the Koran burning was related to Israeli protests or another anti-Islamic statement.
“Security will be tight,” Malmö police chief Petra Stenkla told Swedish television, according to Euronews.
The Israeli government on Thursday issued a warning to the public to avoid the event in general, in an apparent vote of no confidence in Swedish authorities.israel national security council quoted Malmö has a reputation as a “center of anti-Israel protests,” where rallies “are often violent, including calls for harm to Jews and Israelis, and the burning of the national flag.”
“In light of this, the National Security Council (NSC) has raised the travel alert level for the city of Malmö (no changes for the rest of Sweden) from Level 2 (Potential Threat) to Level 3 (Moderate Threat).” “We encourage Israelis planning to visit the city to reassess the need for their travel at this time,” it read.
