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Sweden: Demonstration in Stockholm against Israel in Eurovision! | Around 2000 people protest!

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An estimated 1,500 to 2,000 people have gathered at Odenplan in Stockholm for the demonstration, according to a police officer on site. The procession went to Gustav Adolfs Torg where the Ministry for Foreign Affairs has its office.

In the procession, several Palestinian flags were seen and the demonstrators chanted several slogans for Palestine.

Many had pictures of watermelons – a symbol of Palestinian struggle, and from the back of a car the demonstrators were urged to try to coup watermelons into the Melodifestivalen‘s TV broadcasts again, as two activists did last week. Per Hussein, who is involved in arranging the demonstration, says:

“The watermelon is a symbol of freedom and justice. The only people who would oppose such a symbol are those who stand against freedom and justice, and I don’t see why anyone would want to do that.”

Several of the demonstrators carried placards with messages about Israel’s Eurovision participation. Protester Lubna al Sheikhly said:

“Everyone agreed that Russia should not be involved. Now, after the deaths of 30,000 children, Israel is allowed to participate. This is not right.”

EBU: Israel’s public service broadcaster does not break the rules

The Eurovision organizer EBU‘s position is that the music competition is not between countries, but between public service broadcasters and that Israel‘s companies have not violated the contest rules.

There have been calls to ban Israel from Eurovision 2024, like 1000 Swedish musicians that signed today a petition to the EBU against Israel outside NRK right during the first two weeks of MGP. In Iceland, more than 500 artists signed a petition asking RÚV to withdraw from the contest, while Silvia Night signed an open letter to the EBU asking to ban Israel. In Finland, 1300 artists signed a petition asking for Israel to be removed. The British representative Olly Alexander has also shared in public his opinion against Israel. Also just recently Montaigne signed an open letter to the EBU asking the ban of Israel from the contest and Ben Dolic joined her by doing the same.

Source: Aftonbladet
Photo: Peter Wixtröm/Aftonbladet

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Sweden: These artists want Israel banned from Eurovision! | SVT’s response: “The EBU decides!”

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As you may have read in one of our previous articles, Expressen was able to reveal this weekend that more than 1.000 Swedish artists are demanding that Israel be banned from Eurovision. This is due to the ongoing Middle-Eastern conflict between Israel and Hamas, which has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of civilians in Gaza.

Today, the list of all the artists was published by Expressen, including Eric Saade, Marlena Ernman, Timbuktu, also Medina and Jacqline, who are competing in Melodifestivalen this year, have also signed. Also the global star Robyn joined the petition. You can have a look on the full list of artists who signed here!

“Serious war crimes”

There have been calls to ban Israel from Eurovision 2024, like 1000 Swedish musicians that signed today a petition to the EBU against Israel outside NRK right during the first two weeks of MGP. In Iceland, more than 500 artists signed a petition asking RÚV to withdraw from the contest, while Silvia Night signed an open letter to the EBU asking to ban Israel. In Finland, 1300 artists signed a petition asking for Israel to be removed. The British representative Olly Alexander has also shared in public his opinion against Israel. Also just recently Montaigne signed an open letter to the EBU asking the ban of Israel from the contest and Ben Dolic joined her by doing the same. Now 1000 Swedish artists are demanding that Israel be stopped from participating in the Eurovision Song Contest. The petition reads:

“For more than 100 days, we have witnessed the Israeli army committing what leading human rights organizations describe as grave war crimes. The Eurovision Song Contest began as a peace project with the ambition to unite countries and citizens through music. Allowing Israel to participate undermines not only the spirit of the contest but the entire public service mission. It also sends the signal that governments can commit war crimes without consequences. That is why we appeal to the EBU: Exclude Israel from the Eurovision Song Contest 2024.“

SVT’s answer: “The EBU decides!”

SVT has, through Åsa Barsness, HR and Communications Director, published a response to the demands directed at them, on a press release:

“It is the EBU that decides who participates in the competition and as the host country, SVT relates to what the EBU decides. The human suffering in this deeply complex conflict is horrific. No one can be unmoved by the conditions in Gaza right now, or by the Hamas attack in Israel. We are also concerned about developments. We understand and respect that groups make their voices heard.”

She further writes that SVT has a dialogue with the EBU and hopes to be able to carry out Eurovision in the “best way, with the vision of uniting in music.“

Eurovision will be held in Malmö in May this year and Karin Karlsson is responsible for the city’s initiative. She talked about how they view the artists’ petition, to Expressen:

“We can’t influence whether Israel is in or not, that’s the EBU’s responsibility. We have said all along that everyone is welcome in Malmö.”

Source: Expressen, SVT
Photo: Alex Ljungdahl / Expressen

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Norway: Palestinian activists protested outside NRK against Israel!

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Palestinian activists on Saturday used powerful measures in the fight against Israel‘s participation in Eurovision. 30 men sat bare-chested, blindfolded and hands stripped outside NRK. Activist and initiator Rami Samandar says to VG:

“We are here to highlight Israel’s violations of international law. What we see in Gaza is absolutely horrific.”

The protesters staged an incident on Saturday that occurred in Beit Lahiya in the Gaza Strip on December 7. Then over a hundred Palestinian men and boys were captured by Israeli soldiers. They were ordered to undress and kneel in the street and were accused of belonging to Hamas or being terrorists. Samandar continues:

“But it’s too cold for all 30 people to sit outside NRK at the same time, so we have divided them into groups of ten who each take a dare in front of NRK.”

It was around zero degrees outside NRK Saturday morning and Samandar says that there was great interest in taking part in this action.

“We received so many inquiries that in the end we had to say no.”

In groups of ten, a total of 30 men walked up and down between the parking lot below NRK and the main entrance.

There have been calls to ban Israel from Eurovision 2024, like 1000 Swedish musicians that signed today a petition to the EBU against Israel outside NRK right during the first two weeks of MGP. In Iceland, more than 500 artists signed a petition asking RÚV to withdraw from the contest, while Silvia Night signed an open letter to the EBU asking to ban Israel. In Finland, 1300 artists signed a petition asking for Israel to be removed. The British representative Olly Alexander has also shared in public his opinion against Israel. Also just recently Montaigne signed an open letter to the EBU asking the ban of Israel from the contest and Ben Dolic joined her by doing the same.

Source: VG
Photo: VG

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Sweden: Around 1000 artists want Israel banned from Eurovision!

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Around 1,000 Swedish artists are demanding that Israel be banned from the Eurovision Song Contest, according to a petition that Expressen has taken part of. The document, which is currently being prepared to be handed over to the EBU writes:

“Put down the double standards, exclude Israel from the Eurovision Song Contest. For more than 100 days, we have witnessed the Israeli army committing what leading human rights organizations describe as grave war crimes.”

Among the artists who seem to have signed are musicians well-known in Sweden such as Alba August, Hoffmaestro, Jonathan Johansson, Malena Ernman, Markus Krunegård and Titiyo.

The EBU has previously excluded Russia and Belarus

The European Broadcasting Union announced in connection with Iceland‘s and Finland‘s appeal that Israel will not be excluded. Their position is that the Eurovision Song Contest is a contest between public service broadcasters rather than states.

However, the EBU has previously excluded countries from competing. In 2022, Russia was excluded due to the war against Ukraine. In 2021, Belarus was not allowed to participate in the competition after the EBU expelled the Belarusian public broadcaster BTRC for violating the EBU‘s press freedom rules.

There have been calls to ban Israel from Eurovision 2024, like outside NRK right before the first and second semi-finals of MGP. In Iceland, more than 500 artists signed a petition asking RÚV to withdraw from the contest, while Silvia Night signed an open letter to the EBU asking to ban Israel. In Finland, 1300 artists signed a petition asking for Israel to be removed. The British representative Olly Alexander has also shared in public his opinion against Israel. Also just recently Montaigne signed an open letter to the EBU asking the ban of Israel from the contest and Ben Dolic joined her by doing the same.

Source: Expressen
Photo: Jessica Gow / TT News Agency

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Iceland: Silvia Night signs an open letter to the EBU against Israel!

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It seems like the statement of EBU that confirms that KAN and Israel can normally participate to the contest has sparked reactions among the fans but not only.

Now the Icelanding artist and singer Ágústa Eva Erlendsdóttir is added to the list of artists that protest against the participation of Israel in this year’s contest. Her name might not ring a bell for you, but for sure you remember her as Silvia Night, the TV persona she played on an Icelandic TV show and her Eurovision participation in Athens, back in 2006 with the song “Congratulations“.

 

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“As an artist who has had the privilege of competing in eurovision, it is my shared opinion that israel should be removed from the 2024 contest.
I have signed an open letter to the european broadcasting union asking them to remove israel as it is unfair to any artist they select to have their participation tied to political motivation. This is not the spirit of eurovision’s celebration of music.”

Who is Ágústa Eva Erlendsdóttir?

Ágústa Eva Erlendsdóttir is an Icelandic actress and singer. She is best known for her portrayal of the controversial character Silvía Night in the television series Sjáumst með Silvíu Nótt and during the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, in Athens, Greece. Her antics, both onstage and offstage, created controversy and garnered international media attention. She even staged slapping one of her dancers and sweared on Greek TV reporters live on Greek TV news, after she got disqualified from the finals, while in character.

Silvía Night participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song “Congratulations“. Have a look on her live performance below:

There have been calls to ban Israel from Eurovision 2024, like outside NRK right before the first and second semi-finals of MGP. In Iceland, more than 500 artists signed a petition asking RÚV to withdraw from the contest. In Finland, 1300 artists signed a petition asking for Israel to be removed. The British representative Olly Alexander has also shared in public his opinion against Israel. Also just recently Montaigne signed an open letter to the EBU asking the ban of Israel from the contest and Ben Dolic joined her by doing the same.

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Norway: NRK will not boycott Israel’s entry in Eurovision 2024!

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During the presentation of artists for MGP 2024, a group of 20 individuals demonstrated outside the central offices of the Norwegian Public Broadcaster NRK. They demanded the boycott of Israel’s participation in the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest in May in Malmö. Both the host of MGP 2024 and an NRK representative stated that the Norwegian Public Broadcaster would not seek Israel’s removal from Eurovision 2024. 

Fredrik Solvang, the host of MGP 2024 commented on the demonstration, stating that he does not support boycotting Israel in Eurovision 2024. He explained that such a decision would place him in a challenging position as a host, highlighting the inherent difficulty for a television station to adopt a stance amid an ongoing conflict, particularly when providing journalistic coverage. According to him, only the Norwegian government could make such a decision and call for a boycott of Israel in all international events, similar to what happened with Russia. Nevertheless, such a scenario has not unfolded and appears unlikely in the foreseeable future.

In the same manner, Charlo Halvorsen, the entertainment editor at NRK, conveyed a similar viewpoint:

“NRK cannot seek a cultural boycott. It is not within our mandate as a broadcasting entity. It would be entirely impossible for us. We cover conflicts in the Middle East, and if, as a broadcasting company, we were to take a position in a conflict, it would compromise our integrity.”

On the contrary, Margaret Berger, one of the participants in MGP 2024 and Norway’s representative in Eurovision 2013, where she came in fourth place with “I Feed You My Love” showed her support for the demonstrators and their requests. She expressed particular concern about Israel’s participation in the competition.

MGP 2024 details

This year’s Melodi Gran Prix will remain in the same format as last year, as there will be no duels or second chance rounds. Three artists will qualify from each semi-final in which only the Norwegian TV audience will vote, while the final will for once again feature an international jury that will determine 40% of the result.

The songs will be published each Monday before the semi-final in which they are to compete. Melodi Grand Prix 2024 will take place at the Spectrum in Trondheim with Marion Ravn and Fredrik Solvang as hosts. The schedule is as follows:

  • First Semi-Final: January 13th
  • Second Semi-Final: January 20st
  • Third Semi-Final: January 27th
  • Grand Final: February 3rd

The previous MGP winner and Norway’s representative at Eurovision 2023 was Alessandra with her song “Queen of Kings” and finished 5th in the Grand Final. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUHSM_vTqTI

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun.com for all the news regarding the Norwegian participation at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024, in Malmö!

Source: vg1, vg2

Eurovision 2024: Mass calls for boycott of Eurovision!

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The final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 is just under six months away. After Loreen‘s victory with the song “Tattoo” last May, the competition will take place in Malmö.

Israel as part of Eurovision Song Contest

Israel has been a part of Eurovision since 1973 and has won the contest four times. They are not the only non-European country participating. Australia and Armenia are examples of recurring non-European participants. Countries such as Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan also have the opportunity to compete but have chosen not to do so. Non-European countries have the opportunity to participate due to their membership of the EBU.

Despite the fact that Belarus and Russia are located in Europe, they cannot participate in Eurovision today as they are excluded from the EBU.

Activists call for a boycott of Eurovision

Now, several campaigns are underway on social media calling for a boycott of Eurovision, due to the participation of Israel. Ida Helene Benonisen is a Norwegian activist who fights for the rights of the Sámi and LGBTQ people.

“I think there is a double standard in excluding Russia while allowing Israel to continue to participate in the competition, despite the fact that they are violating international law – something even the UN has pointed out. Europe should show that we do not support their actions.”

In a post that has received a quarter of a million views on Tiktok, she explains how member states can be urged to refrain from sending entries to the competition if Israel participates:

“During my time at the Norwegian MGP in the before Eurovision 2022, I realised that the member states’ threat not to participate if Russia was involved, played a crucial role in the decision to exclude Russia from the competition”

Controversies surrounding Israel’s participation in Eurovision

The last time Malmö hosted the music competition, in 2013, the chairman of the Left Party in Malmö wanted to ban Israel from participating. At the same time, the Israeli embassy appealed to the city of Malmö to increase security after the violent riots that occurred in 2009 in reaction to the tennis match between Israel and Sweden in Malmö. After the music competition, the Israeli delegates reported that they were subjected to anti-Semitic threats. In 2016, the Palestinian flag was banned from the music competition. In 2019, the Icelandic entry was fined after displaying a Palestinian banner during the competition in Tel Aviv, Israel.

What will happen in Malmö next May?

The EBU has still not given a final decision on which countries will participate in Malmö next year, but the plan right now is for Israel to participate as usual.

Karin Karlsson is the City of Malmö‘s overall project manager for the Eurovision Song Contest. She had the same role in 2013.

“In 2013, we took safety into account. But in 2024, it’s a much more complex security situation. It’s an issue we work on every day.”

Karin Karlsson emphasizes that it is not the City of Malmö that decides who can compete, but that all countries that compete are welcome to Malmö. At the same time, there should be room for democratic protests, if desired.

“There are many forces that want to create a nice folk festival here in Malmö. At the same time, we are a democracy and it is important to show that.”

The Eurovision Song Contest 2024 is organized in collaboration with the city of Malmö and will be broadcast from Malmö Arena on Tuesday 7 May (semi-final 1), Thursday 9 May (semi-final 2) and Saturday 11 May (final).

Source: Helsingborgs Dagblad

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