Eurovision: amid protests, Israel goes to the final | Eurovision

Although RTP1 only showed it delayed, more or less half an hour after the end, the second semi-final of the 68th edition of Eurovision took place this Thursday night at the Malmö Arena, in the city of the same name in Sweden. It was broadcast live on the official Eurovision YouTube. It was the most controversial stage of the competition, thanks to the presence of Israel, which has been on an offensive in Gaza for seven months and reached Saturday’s final.

The song that represents the country is Hurricane, played by Eden Golam. On Wednesday, at a dress rehearsal, the Israeli singer had been loudly booed, and this afternoon there were protests outside the arena against the country’s inclusion, in which Greta Thunberg, the Swedish climate activist, was present.

During the show itself, a large amount of applause was heard in the live broadcast on YouTube, which could mean that the contest, which highlighted that all flags that are not from participating countries or from the LGQBTQIA+ rainbow, are using the “anti-hooting” technology debuted in 2015. At that time, it was used by Russia, during the invasion of Crimea, to mask negative reactions during live broadcasts.

Hurricane was one of the ten songs selected to compete with the Portuguese iolanda and her Shout, who passed qualification in the first semi-final on Tuesday, in the final of the competition. The other countries represented in the final are Latvia, with Dons and HollowAustria, with Kaleen and We Will RaveNetherlands, with Joost Klein and EuropapaNorway, with Gåte and UlvehamGreece, with Marina Satti and ZARIEstonia, with 5MIINUST x Puuluup and (nendest) narkootikumidest hey tea me (küll) midagiSwitzerland, with Nemo and The CodeArmenia, with Ladaniva and Jake.

In terms of messages, Mustii, the Belgian competitor who was not qualified, had “peace” written on his arm during his performance. Malta, Albania, Czechia, Denmark and San Marino were also left out.

In addition to the performances of the approved songs, there was also space for Mon Amourby Slimane, French competitor, Dollyfrom the duo Nebulossa, the Spanish representative, and La noia, by Angelina Mango, in Italy. Both are automatically in the final, as the countries belong to the so-called Big Five of Eurovision, which contribute the most monetarily to the organizing entity – the EBU, European Broadcasting Union.

O eurodance expected from the big and ridiculous Eurovision show, was well represented, with, for example, the competitors from Estonia and Spain, who seemed to have the audience singing each part of the lyrics with zeal, as well as the European viral hit Europapawhich competes for the Netherlands.

In the first interval, three old Eurofestival glories performed: Greek Helena Paparizando, Turkish Sertab Erener and Charlotte Perrelli, from Sweden. In the second, Petra Mede, host of the contest with actress Malin Åkerman, performed a parody song, with the help of Lynda Woodruff and the group Käärijä, about the relationship between Sweden and Eurovision, which even made fun of its “apolitical” nature. of the competition.

Previously, in a tribute segment to Jahn Teigen, a repeat Norwegian contestant who lived in Sweden for the last few years and died in 2020, which was also dedicated to songs that, like one of his, came in last place, Mede made a joke about the members of public, saying that if they knew how to sing the lyrics of the songs, they were “real homosexuals, sorry, Eurovision fans”. In the end, the Swedish competitors from 1984, the brothers The Herreys, performed.