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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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Norway: Artists ask for Israel’s exclusion from Eurovision 2024!

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Almost 300 Norwegian artists have signed a petition against Israel’s participation in Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Malmö. “We want NRK to take more responsibility”, says Marthe Valle, one of the singers included in the petition.

Ane Brun, Aurora and the group Karpe are some of those  who have signed. In total there are 293 artists that have signed the petition. Some familiar names that have competed in MGP can be found in the list, like Ulrikke Brandstorp, Maria Haukaas Mittet, Jørn Hoel and Åge Aleksandersen as well.

Aleksandersen took part in MGP 1980, in what is considered the best MGP final in history. He says that it was a matter of course for him to sign this petition:

“It means so much to me. I have made songs that address this issue. And I think what is happening is so ugly, and it hurts me and many others. Therefore, it was right for me to contribute with my voice.”

The petition states that Israel’s violation of intenational law, is now normalized because there are no concequences:

“For now, the EBU says that it will not ban Israel from this year’s final, as it did with Russia after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. This is selective morality and politics from a union that claims to be apolitical.”

Singers Marthe Valle and Μarte Wulff are the initiators of this petition, and they say they want NRK to take responsibility and put some pressure to the EBU:

“We wish we didn’t have to do this. We wish NRK took responsibility. But then the point of this appeal is to show that there are many voices who now say that Israel cannot be a participant in Eurovision. All the time we are selective about when we should promote morality and politics, and when we choose to overlook it. We cannot pretend that this should be an arena for dialogue and solidarity, when Israel kills several hundred children a day.”

In this list you can see the names of all the artists that have signed the petition.
NRK MGP Demonstration against Israel

NRK MGP Demonstration against Israel

Despite this whole situation in Norway, NRK, the country’s public broadcaster, has announced that they are not going to boycott Israel’s participation in Eurovision this year.

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

Source: nrk.no

Israel: The results of the seventeenth episode of HaKokhav Haba | Eight artists in the race for Malmo!

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Yesterday, the seventeenth episode of HaKokhav Haba (special edition) was aired! Through this talent show the artist who will raise the flag of Israel at Eurovision 2024 will emerge!

As we have already informed you, 35 artists passed the scope of the auditions, with 14 of them going to the second phase – the battles phase, and they will claim the representation of the country in Eurovision 2024!

In the 17th episode we watched eight artists advancing to the next phase. We remind you that the presenters of HaKokhav Haba are Assi Azar and Rotem Sela who have been in this position since 2014, while the members of the jury are Shiri Maimon, Itay Levy, Assaf Amdorsky, Ran Dankar and Keren Pels with a new addition being Eden Hasson.

Nine contestants performed in front of the juries and the audience, and the artist with the lowest score was the one to leave the show.

Or Cohen

Or Cohen was the one to open the night, with the song “Take Me to Church” by Hozier. Another amazing performanc by Or wjo shows through the whole season that she is acrazy and great singer. She perfromed the song well, a great performance. Most judges gave their positive vote, and she collected 86%.

Shay Tamino

Shay Tamino decided to sing “What do you want from me?” by Hanan Ben Ari. Her voice moved from a whisper to a scream and it was her best performance by far. Only one judge gave a negative vote to her, saying that she should have keeped the original melody of the song. She got 83%.

Dor Shimoni

Dor decided to surprise everyone with the song “Am Yisrael Chai” by Eyal Golan. One of the best singers this season, he has a strong and full voice and confidence. Seeing the public standing up and being enthusiastic about the strong message of the song, was a spectacular moment. Every judge gave his positive vote, and he got 88%.

Mika Moshe

Mika chose to sing the song “Baby One More Time” by Britney Spears tonight. At first glance the choice of this song sounds a bit strange because the song is completely different from what Mika presented herself with throughout the season so far, but when the song starts you can tell that she totally took it in her direction. Mika is a good singer, she sings very precisely and in an intriguing way. All judges voted positively and it scored 94%.

Oral Ravid

Oral chose to sing “Absurd” by Shlomo Artzi. Oral always makes sure to sing only “Israeli” songs. He is a charming singer, he has a special and intriguing voice. But as the end of the season approaches and the selection of the Israeli representative for Eurovision, the judges believe that he should also present something to the European audience. With 81% he continues but not all the judges were with him.

Eden Golan

Eden performed the song “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus. She is definitely a good and talented singer. The judges were a bit divided on the song choice, but after their outburst that it’s inappropriate to dance and sing happy songs, it’s somewhat justified.

Ran Dankar said:

“I think it’s both a matter of song choice and a matter of taste. Eden is the most suitable for Eurovision. When you think about Eurovision, the size, the presentation, the look, everything you bring to the stage, you are really at a very, very high level.”

All judges gave their positive vote and she got 90%.

Yonathan Biton

Yonatan decided to sing “Fear of God” by Kafir Zafir. His performance was was static but was good overall. He didn’t manage to convince the audience and the judges and he got 62%.

Leanne Byrne

Leanne sang the song “None” by Miri Masika. She has a special voice and she always expresses her songs in a different and convincing way. Leanne wasn’t voted by all judges and she got 68%.

Arik Sinai

Arik sang “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen. Arik explained that he didn’t feel well and it was reflected in his performance, however he managed to give off the special feeling of the song. The judges were divided and she got 66%.

After all the performances, Yonathan Biton was the one to leave the show, as he collected the lowest score, with 62%. Now eight artists are still in the race to claim the Israeli representation in Eurovision 2024.

These are:

  1. Leanne Byrne
  2. Eden Golan
  3. Arik Sinai
  4. Shay Tamino
  5. Or Cohen
  6. Mika Moshe
  7. Dor Shimoni
  8. Oral Ravid

Through HaKokhav HaBa, Israel managed to qualify every year to the final of our favorite competition from 2015 to 2020, while in 2018 Netta was also the winner of Eurovision with the song “Toy”.

This year Israel was represented at Eurovision 2023 by Noa Kirel and the song “Unicorn” who gave the Middle Eastern country the third place in the Grand Final by collecting 362 points.

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

Source: euromix.co.il

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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A post shared by Agusta Eva Official (@agustaeva)

“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: Protests outside NRK, for a second week in a row, against Israel!

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Activities against Israel continue today in Oslo, for a second week in a row, when a few moments before the second heat of Melodi Grand Prix began tonight, a couple of hundred protesters showed up outside NRK.

Protesters held white bultar, which is supposed to symbolize Palestinian parents and siblings calling for the killing of Palestinian children. They demand that Israel be banned from the Eurovision Song Contest 2024. The petition “Exclude Israel from Eurovision“, created by the Norwegian singer and artist Marthe Valle, has almost 18.900 signatures.

The Broadcasting Council on Thursday dealt with Israel‘s participation in Eurovision. The broadcasting chief has advised against a boycott of Israeli participation in the song contest. She said:

“Calling for a boycott of Israel would weaken NRK’s threat as a news agency, but people have every right to protest and be unequal with NRK’s assessment.”

There have been calls to ban Israel from Eurovision 2024, like last Saturday again outside NRK right before the first semi-final of MGP. 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: NRK
Photo: Alf Simensen / NRK

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Iceland: More than 500 musicians demand withdrawal of Iceland from Eurovision!

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A number of musicians showed up outside the radio house to present the petition to broadcaster Stefan Eiríksson. Confetti was shot over the broadcaster during the handing over of the list, as can be seen in a video footage taken by protesters that gave mbl.is permission to publish.

Pálmi Gunn­ars­son, Páll Óskar, Gréta Salóme, Bríet, Friðrik Dór, Svala Björg­vins­dótt­ir and Daní­el Ágúst Haraldsson are among more than 500 on a petition of musicians demanding that Iceland withdraw from Eurovision Song Contest, because Israel is participating in the contest.

Israel participates

Playwright Sal­vör Gull­brá Þór­ar­ins­dótt­ir told mbl.is:

“Musicians are encouraging RÚV to take a stand by withdrawing from Eurovision if Israel participates.”

Salvör also points out that Reykja­vík­ur­dæt­ur signed the list, as well as members of the band Celebs. The European Broadcasting Union has now announced that Israel will take part in this year’s contest. Salvör adds citing the results of a survey conducted by Prósent before Christmas:

“There’s really no other option for RÚV than to take a stand with Palestine. Because there is a strong will among the people to do so.”

According to the findings of this poll, about 60% of the population strongly or rather agree that Iceland should withdraw from the contest.

There have been calls to ban Israel from Eurovision 2024. 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: mbl.is
Photo: Þórdís Reynis

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Germany: Ben Dolic 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.

A few hours later, the (almost) Eurovision Song Contest 2020 representative of Germany, Ben Dolic, signed an open letter to the EBU and made a post on X (Twitter) about it, which you can see below:

“The continued acts of violence by the state of Israel cannot be supported under any circumstances. As an artist, a past Eurovision participant and as a human being, I will not support the EBU’s decision to allow a state that has committed so many atrocities to tens of thousands of civilians participate in the Eurovision Song Contest.

There is no logical explanation for a music competition with the main message of spreading love to have a connection with a place that has acted against their main message in such horrific ways.”

There have been calls to ban Israel from Eurovision 2024. 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, just as Ben did.

Germany originally planned to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song “Violent Thing” written by Borislav Milanov, Peter St. James, Dag Lundberg, Jimmy Thorén and Connor Martin and performed by Ben Dolic, but then the contest was cancelled due to the Coronavirus outbreak. You can listen to “Violent Thing” on the video down below:

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Israel: The results of HaKokhav Haba’s 16th episode | Nine artists still in race for Malmö!

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Yesterday, January 17th, the 16th episode of HaKokhav Haba (special edition) was aired. HaKokhav Haba is the talent show under which the artist that will represent Israel at Eurovision 2024 will be selected.

Out of the 35 artists who made it beyond the audition stage, 14 advanced to the battles’ phase, where they will compete to represent their country in Eurovision 2024!

In episode sixteen, the ten remaining artists performed in duets, while nine of them moved to the next stage and one was eliminated. Assi Azar and Rotem Sela, serve as the show’s hosts, as they have been doing since 2014. The jury is consisted of Eden Hasson, Shiri Maimon, Itay Levy, Assaf Amdorsky, Ran Dankar, and Keren Pels.

The duets of the 16th episode

Ten contestants performed in front of an audience and a jury, with the committee ultimately deciding who would be eliminated from the two artists with the lowest scores.

Oral Ravid and Mika Moshe

One of the weakest performances of the two singers. The two artists performed “Children of Life” but did not impress all the jurors jury achieving a score of 73%.

Yonathan Biton and Dor Shimoni

They chose to perform a mashup of the songs “Dizziness” and “Badad“. The two artists are among the most notable singers in HaKokhav Haba. They received a positive feedback from the majority of the judges, but they ultimately achieved a 73% score.

Or Cohen and Eden Golan

The two singers decided to perform Alicia Keys’ song “If I Ain’t Got You“. A powerful and electrifying performance by the two divas, who have indeed an incredible vocal range! With a 96% score, they were declared the winners of the evening and received triumphant feedback from all the judges.

Moria Angel and Leanne Byrne

They selected to perform John Lennon’s legendary “Imagine“. The judges disagreed as something felt off with their performance. Only one judge voted favorably and stated that he disagreed with the other judges. Unfortunately, with a score of 29%, they were eligible for elimination.

Arik Sinai and Shay Tamino

The last duet saw Arik Sinai and Shay Tamino perform “Before it ends” by Idan Raichel.The two artists’ styles are completely different, and it shows. They received positive feedback from the majority of the judges, but they ultimately achieved a 77% rating.

Having achieved the lowest score of the evening, Moria Angel and Leanne Byrne were put in front of the jury, in order the latter to decide who would leave HaKokhav Haba. The jurors ultimately decided that Moria Angel should be eliminated.

HaKokhav HaBa 2024

Only nine candidates remain in the running to represent Israel at Eurovision 2024 and they are the following:

  1. Leanne Byrne
  2. Eden Golan
  3. Arik Sinai
  4. Shay Tamino
  5. Or Cohen
  6. Jonathan Biton
  7. Mika Moshe
  8. Dor Shimoni
  9. Oral Ravid

Israel qualified for the finals every year from 2015 to 2020 through HaKokhav HaBa, and Netta won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2018 with the song “Toy”.

Israel was represented last year by Noa Kirel and the song “Unicorn”, which came in third place with 362 points overall.

Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all the news!

Source: euromix