Eurovision Song Contest In Gaza's Shadow As Israel Competes In Final

The Eurovision Song Contest final got underway in Sweden's Malmo on Saturday, after a week of tensions around Israel's participation during the Gaza war.

Police were pushing back protesters outside the arena where more than a hundred demonstrators waved flags and chanted "Free Palestine".

Around the concert hall, police, who confirmed having pepper spray, were pulling demonstrators towards the many police vans parked in the area.

Israel is one of 25 nations competing in a contest watched around the world by millions of lovers of the pop sounds -- and kitschy shows.

When Israel's contestant Eden Golan went on stage to perform her "Hurricane", both cheers and boos could be heard from the audience in the Malmo Arena.

Even in the run-up to the competition the country's presence has sparked fierce debate and according to police at least 5,000 people gathered to protest in Malmo in the afternoon. 

"We're not against Eurovision, we're against that Israel is taking part. We don't want its representative in Malmo... because of what's happening in Gaza," Ingemar Gustavsson, a Swedish pensioner, told AFP.

Diverse Malmo is home to the country's largest community of Palestinian origin.

The EBU confirmed in March that Golan would take part, despite calls for her exclusion from thousands of musicians around the world.

The Gaza war started with Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel that resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Hamas also seized hostages, of whom Israel estimates 128 remain in Gaza, including 36 who the military says are dead. 

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 34,971 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. 

Incident

Although police have said no direct threats have been made at the competition, they have bolstered their numbers with reinforcements from Norway and Denmark.

To gain access to the Malmo Arena, the some 9,000 spectators have to pass through a reinforced security system designed in particular to discourage protesters from approaching.

Meanwhile, the contest was rattled earlier Saturday by the disqualification of Dutch contestant Joost Klein.

"Swedish police have investigated a complaint made by a female member of the production crew after an incident following his performance in Thursday night's Semi Final," the European Broadcasting Union, which oversees the event, said in a statement. 

"While the legal process takes its course, it would not be appropriate for him to continue in the Contest." 

Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS said the incident had involved Klein being filmed directly after coming off stage "against clearly made agreements".

According to an AVROTROS statement, Klein then repeatedly indicated he did not want to be filmed, after which he made a "threatening movement" toward the camera but did not touch the camera woman.

"We stand for good manners -- let there be no misunderstanding about that -- but in our view, an exclusion order is not proportional to this incident," AVROTROS said.

Neon lights

Israel ranks with Croatia and Switzerland as one of the bookmakers' favourites in the singing extravaganza, which 162 million television viewers watched last year.

Golan's song is an adaptation of an earlier version named "October Rain", which she modified after organisers deemed it too political because of its apparent allusions to the Hamas attack. 

Israel has been taking part in Eurovision since 1973, most recently winning it for the fourth time in 2018.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wished Golan good luck and said she had "already won" by enduring the protests that he called a "horrible wave of anti-Semitism".

In Spain, the far-left Sumar party on Friday launched a petition calling for Israel to be excluded from the competition while "its army is exterminating the Palestinian people and razing its land".

Meanwhile German Culture Minister Claudia Roth denounced as "absolutely unacceptable" calls to boycott Israeli artists.

The EBU has insisted it does not play politics.

This neutrality was challenged on Tuesday by Swedish singer Eric Saade, who took part in the opening number of the competition wearing a keffiyeh around his arm.

Two days later, unions at Belgian broadcaster VRT briefly interrupted transmission of the second semi-final to broadcast a message condemning "the violations of human rights by the state of Israel".

During rehearsals on Saturday, Slimane, France's candidate, briefly interrupted his performance for a short speech on peace, his team confirmed to AFP.  

"We need to be united by music, yes, but with love for peace," he said, referring to the Eurovision slogan "United by Music".

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