Eurovision Song Contest in Malmo, Sweden, saw Eden Golan, the Israeli songstress, make it to the finals, thanks to public voting. Her captivating piece, Hurricane, a revised version of an earlier song, October Rain possibly referencing the Israeli-Hamas conflicts, was performed during the semi-finals held on Thursday evening. Bambie Thug, the contestant from Ireland, also passed to the finals following a riveting performance at the first semi-final on Tuesday.
Prior to the event, Malmo witnessed thousands marching from Stortorget to Molleplatsen, including environmentalist Gretta Thunberg. The protestors, in solidarity with Gaza, denounced Israel’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest in light of the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.
Opening her performance with a back bend, Golan, donned in a flowing desert-hued gown, was acclaimed with applauds from the audience. Eurovision event organizers emphasized a decision against curbing the audience, following boos received by Golan during Wednesday’s rehearsals and calls supporting Palestine.
Another finalist was Nemo from Switzerland, whose operatic-pop number, The Code, has been marked as one of the favourites to secure the win on Saturday. The finalists’ circle also included Joost Klein from Netherlands with his unusual Europapa, and Norway’s Gate with the folk-style Ulveham.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), supporting Israeli broadcaster Kan like past years, maintains a stringent stance against political messages at Eurovision and flags or symbols from non-competitors. In contradiction to the EBU’s policy, the first semi-final on Tuesday saw previous Swedish entrant, Eric Saade, sporting attire with a keffiyeh pattern, typically worn by pro-Palestinian supporters.
The 2024 Eurovision finalists, as announced over the course of two semi-finals, are:
– Serbia: Teya Dora – Ramonda
– Portugal: Iolanda – Grito
– Slovenia: Raiven – Veronika
– Ukraine: Alyona Alyona & Jerry Heil – Teresa & Maria
– Lithuania: Silvester Belt – Luktelk
Original Text: “- Finland’s representative is Windows95man with the song ‘No Rules’.
– From Cyprus, we have Silia Kapsis performing ‘Liar’.
– Baby Lasagna is singing ‘Rim Tim Tagi Dim’ for Croatia.
– Ireland is represented by Bambie Thug with ‘Doomsday Blue’.
– TALI is performing ‘Fighter’ for Luxembourg.
– Dons is playing ‘Hollow’ on behalf of Latvia.
– Austria brings us ‘We Will Rave’ by Kaleen.
– Joost Klein is performing ‘Europapa’ for The Netherlands.
– Gåte is delivering ‘Ulveham’ for Norway.
– Eden Golan presents ‘Hurricane’ for Israel.
– Greece sends Marina Satti with her song ‘ZARI’.
– Estonia’s entry is ‘(nendest) narkootikumidest ei tea me (küll) midagi’ by 5Miinust x Puuluup.
– ‘The Code’ by Nemo is Switzerland’s contribution.
– Georgia brings us Nutsa Buzaladze with ‘Firefighter’.
– Ladaniva is performing ‘Jako’ for Armenia.
– PA”