Eurovision. Netherlands participation suspended due to “incident”

Joost Klein participated this Friday in the rehearsal of the flag parade, which marks the beginning of the final ceremony of the competition, scheduled for Saturday. However, the representative of the Netherlands did not appear on stage when it was his turn to performin 5th place, before the Israeli candidate, Eden Golan.

The two singers were involved in a tense situation on Thursday at the press conference of the countries qualified for the second semi-final of the competition. At this conference, a Polish journalist questioned the Israeli artist about her responsibility for the highest level of terrorist alert in Malmö.

“By being here, you are a safety risk and a danger to everyone. Don’t you mind that?” he asked.

The press conference moderator then reminded Eden Golan that she was not obliged to answer the question. “Why not?” asked the artist from the Netherlands at that moment. The episode went viral on social media.

Despite not being obliged to respond, the Israeli singer said she believes everyone is in the Eurovision Song Contest for a reason, “and that the EBU has taken all precautions to make it safe for everyone.”

Israel and the Netherlands are two of the 26 countries competing in the final of this year’s edition of the competition on Saturday, including Portugal, represented by Iolanda and the song “Grito”.

“Apolitical” event?

The 68th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest is being marked by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which intensified with the October 7th attack by Hamas in Israel. The Israeli response has already caused around 34,000 deaths in the Gaza Strip.

Several appeals were made by European political representatives and artists to the EBU to Israel’s participation in the contest was vetoed. The organization recalled, however, that the festival is an “apolitical” event.

However, in 2022 it was decided to expel Russia of the competition following the invasion of Ukraine.

On Thursday, thousands of people walked the streets of Malmö calling for Israel’s expulsion from the Eurovision Song Contest.

The Portuguese representative, Iolanda, performed on Sunday on the `turquoise walkway’ (where representatives from all countries parade, thus marking the beginning of the competition’s live shows), in Malmö, with awearing a dress from a Palestinian brand and her nails painted with the `keffiyeh` patterna scarf that is a symbol of Palestinian resistance.