Anti-Israel sentiment

Nerves on edge: Song Contest in danger of being canceled?

Greta Thunberg is taken away by the Swedish police on Saturday evening. She is wearing a Palestinian scarf.(Bild: APA/AFP/TT NEWS AGENCY/Johan NILSSON)

Aggressive atmosphere outside the ESC arena in Malmö on Saturday evening! Pro-Palestinian groups positioned themselves loudly in front of the entrances before the start of the song contest and shouted hate-filled slogans against Israel. A large contingent of armed police even had to use pepper spray against the demonstrators. Several people were arrested for causing a disturbance. In the midst of the demonstrators: Climate activist Greta Thunberg (21).

The 21-year-old Swede Thunberg was taken away by the police. Thunberg had already protested side by side with pro-Palestinian groups against Israel on Friday.

Video: Wild scenes outside the ESC hall in Malmö

"We will not accept this"
Thunberg had already taken part in a demonstration against Israel's participation in the second semi-final on Thursday. She did not share the opinion that the competition was apolitical, she said at the time. "We will not accept that a country that is currently committing genocide is offered a platform to whitewash itself with art," Thunberg wrote on the X platform on Friday.

The Eurovision Song Contest certainly has significance in Greta Thunberg's family: Thunberg's mother Malena Ernman took part in the ESC for Sweden in 2009. She came 21st out of 25 in the final in Moscow.

Several arrests on the day of the final
During the first demonstrations on the evening of the final, the police had described the atmosphere as "peaceful" - however, the police had to take a more forceful approach during the gathering directly in front of the ESC hall. Several people were arrested for disturbances.

A sit-in blockade was broken up by the police on Saturday evening in front of the hall and demonstrators were carried away. Sympathizers shouted: "Shame on you!" The police prevented the protesters from entering the secured area in front of the arena.

Stickers and posters against Israel
Large pro-Palestinian demonstrations against Israel had already taken place in the city center of the host city Malmö on Saturday afternoon. Stickers and posters could be seen denouncing the "Genocide Contest" because Israel was not disqualified from the competition despite the ongoing war in Gaza.

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Undeterred by this, the 68th Eurovision Song Contest started at 9 pm sharp with the traditional anthem, Charpentier's "Te Deum". 

Irish act demanded Israel's exclusion
But even in the ESC bubble itself, Israel's participation continues to cause unrest, after singer Eden Golan was always accompanied by massive whistles and boos during her performances and Irish act Bambie Thug, for example, publicly called for her exclusion.

Two scorekeepers replaced
Singer Alessandra Mele, who was originally scheduled to announce the points for Norway, backed out shortly before the start of the final - citing the war in Gaza. "A genocide is currently taking place," said the 21-year-old, referring to the ESC motto "United by Music": "At the moment, these are just empty words."

Last year's runner-up, Finland's Käärijä, who was massively attacked on social media for a short dance video with Israeli singer Eden Golan and eventually apologized, will also not be announcing the points for his country, unlike originally planned. "Awarding the points today doesn't feel right," said the singer without further explanation.

French contestant interrupted rehearsal performance 
French singer Slimane, meanwhile, stopped in rehearsal during his song and emphasized that he had become a musician to bring people together in love. And furthermore, in reference to the ESC motto: "United by Music - but with love and in peace."

Netherlands excluded
Aside from the debate surrounding Israel's participation in the contest, the EBU had a second front to contend with: Dutch singer Joost Klein was disqualified from the final after a complaint from a production employee. The reason was a police investigation following a complaint by a member of staff against Klein about an "incident" that allegedly took place on Thursday evening.

Discussion about Israel overshadows ESC in Malmö
According to ZDF reporter Dominik Rzepka, the scandal surrounding Klein is symptomatic of this year's ESC in Malmö. It was an "ESC to forget". The discussion about Israel's participation overshadowed the ESC. According to Rzepka, the EBU had not succeeded in keeping the competition apolitical.

Glitch in Italy with semi-final result
In addition, the Italian television station Rai had inadvertently published the results of the public vote for the second semi-final on Thursday. According to the results, Israel won the vote by a landslide.

In the meantime, there were also rumors that the mega-event might even be cancelled completely. The organizers were worried that various singers might cancel their participation at short notice for security reasons. In the end, this was not the case. The competition started at 9 pm with 25 instead of the usual 26 participants.