Israel defy pro-Palestinian crowds and are by to Eurovision closing

Israel singer Eden Golan has made it to the final of the Eurovision Song Contest following a public vote after thousands of protestors demonstrated in Malmo calling for her to be excluded from the competition.

The 20-year-old singer took to the stage in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest to sing the emotional Hurricane, which was reworked from a previous track called October Rain, believed to reference the Hamas attacks on Israel.

She opened with a back bend, before launching into her song and received claps and cheers from the audience while dressed in a flowing sand-coloured dress.

It comes after Golan was ordered to stay in her hotel room earlier today by her country’s national security agency as thousands of pro-Palestine protesters called for her to be excluded from the competition.

The event’s organisers have said they will not ‘censor’ the audience after Golan was booed during rehearsals.

Netherlands act Joost Klein, with the irreverent and silly Europapa, and Norway’s Gate with the folkish Ulveham, also made the final. 

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), whose members approved Israeli broadcaster Kan, has taken a strong stance, as in previous years, against political messages at Eurovision and flags and symbols from non-competing countries.

Despite the position, Tuesday’s first semi-final saw former Swedish contestant and opening act Eric Saade wear a keffiyeh pattern material, commonly used by people who want to show they are pro-Palestinian, on his arm.

Golan was booed by some of the spectators watching rehearsals on Wednesday and there were reportedly shouts of ‘free Palestine’.

‘Just like in all major TV productions with an audience, SVT work on the broadcast sound to even out the levels for TV viewers,’ a statement from the Eurovision organisers, including Swedish host broadcaster SVT, said.

‘This is solely to achieve as balanced a sound mix as possible for the audience; and SVT do not censor sound from the arena audience.

‘The same principle applies to all competing performances and opening and interval acts.

‘The EBU and SVT encourage all audiences to attend in the spirit of the contest, embracing its values of inclusivity, celebrating diversity and being United By Music.’

Greta Thunberg also joined the thousands of protesters in the southern Swedish city earlier today demonstrating against Israel competing in the famous song contest.

The climate activist, 21, was at the Stop Israel demonstration in the centre of the city on Thursday ahead of the young Israeli-Russian singer’s performance at the second semi-final of the competition later this evening.

It was reported earlier that Israel’s national security agency Shin Bet had warned Golan not to leave her hotel room except for performances because Malmo was anticipating the wave of pro- Palestinian demonstrations.

The prediction was correct, with as many as 5,000 people taking to the city’s streets today, including the young Swede – who was pictured wearing a keffiyeh, a black and white shawl commonly used to show support for Palestine, around her body in the centre of the crowd within a sea of Palestinian flags.

‘Young people are leading the way and showing the world how we should react to this,’ Thunberg told Reuters news agency. She refused to comment on why she had joined the protest, only saying it was ‘good’ as the march took place.

During the demonstrations, smoke canisters in the colours of the Palestinian flag were set off and protesters, some of whom have dogs, young children and bicycles with them, were carrying signs displaying images of Gaza civilians who have been injured amid the Hamas-Israel conflict.

Other banners displayed messages including ‘welcome to Genocide song contest’ and ‘stop using Eurovision to whitewash Israeli crimes’. 

At one point, the pro-Palestinian demonstrators were told to go back by police and, following shouts of ‘free Palestine’, returned to the main gathering.

There was also a banner done in the style of Eurovision with the words ‘genocide’ on it, an accusation vigorously denied by Israel amid the country’s war with Hamas, sparked by the terror group’s October 7 attack last year.  

The Hamas attack saw some 1,200 people in Israel killed and around 250 kidnapped by gunmen and taken back into Gaza. Since then, Israeli attacks on the coastal territory have resulted in over 34,000 deaths and a humanitarian catastrophe.

Some 100,000 visitors had already gathered in the southern Swedish city for the annual kitsch-fest, which is taking place amid the protests and boycotts over the Israeli military campaign in Gaza, which this weekend moved into the city of Rafa despite protests from Israel’s allies – including its most important partner the United States.

Metal barricades and large concrete blocks have been put up around Malmo Arena, which is hosting the competition, the final of which will take place on Saturday.

Police are guarding the venue and visitors need to pass through metal detectors before entering the arena. 

Bags are being checked and visitors are only allowed to bring in small purses, with organisers concerned political demonstrations could take place in the crowd.

Swedish authorities have heightened security and are bracing for possible unrest, and there was a significant police presence in the square, live footage showed. 

During Eden Golan’s rehearsals of her song Hurricane, which was reworked from an early track October Rain (thought to be a reference to the attack by Hamas), she was booed and there were reportedly shouts of ‘free Palestine’ on Wednesday.

One person wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: ‘The atmosphere inside the arena was horrible. You could feel the tension. Shouts of ‘free Palestine’ in the quiet parts. Booing audible in places. People arguing in the standing section.’

Another person, who posted a video of boos raining down on the singer, added: ‘The atmosphere was so uncomfortable.’

Denmark, Finland, Norway and even host country Sweden have repeatedly called for Israel to be banned from the contest altogether. And in Belgium, two Ministers demanded that the Jewish state be treated the same as Russia, which has been barred since 2022 following its invasion of Ukraine.

Golan, who was born in Israel but grew up in Russia, has faced death threats ahead of her performances at the Malmo Arena. 

The 20-year-old singer says she hopes her performance will help to unite people, and she has remained defiant in the build up to the semi-final.

‘I won’t let anything break me,’ she told MailOnline in an interview this week. ‘I wouldn’t say I’m worried. I’m prepared.’

Speaking to Reuters, she said: ‘It’s a super important moment for us, especially this year. I feel honoured to have the opportunity to be the voice of my country.’

At the protests in Malmo, Rory Flynn, 27, from Kildare, told the PA news agency he is from the Eurovision Irish fan club. 

He said he has started a ‘separate movement’ to protest against Israel, adding the country’s entry in Sweden is ‘overshadowing the competition’.

He said: ‘We feel that it’s important to make our voices heard in the competition in the arena. Others are doing a full boycott – and full respect to people who are doing a full boycott – but we think it’s important that our voices are heard in the arena and around Malmo.’

Mr Flynn also said his group booed during Golan’s dress rehearsals this week, adding: ‘This song is a propaganda song. 

‘OK, it was originally called October Rain and now it’s called Hurricane, you can see there, it’s the same melody; the lyrics have been changed at the request of the EBU (European Broadcast Union), but it is the same song.

‘And it is about justifying Israel’s genocide in Gaza, and I think that says it all really, you know, I think it’s quite appropriate to kind of boo that propaganda.’ 

Protester Kasia Wiatrowska, from Malmo, wore a green T-shirt with the words ‘Libre Palestine’ on the back.

‘I do like Eurovision,’ Wiatrowska told Reuters. ‘We all love music. But this year music is dividing people, and I don’t like that,’ she added.

Another protester, Palestinian Amar, who only gave one name, said: ‘I’m here today because I see the hypocrisy and double standards around the world.’

‘We are against what’s happening in Gaza right now. But I also want people to understand that we don’t hate Jews,’ he added.

Police estimate that about 5,000 people attended the demonstration. ‘Overall, it’s calm, we’ve turned away a few people,’ a police spokesperson told Reuters. 

A pro-Israel demonstration is also scheduled for Thursday at 1600 GMT. 

There is high security around the delegations from all the countries, according to Malmo police. ‘We’re keeping a bit of an extra eye on Israel of course, because of the situation,’ Lotta Svensson, a police incident commander, told Reuters on Sunday.

The EBU, which organises the event, has resisted calls for Israel to be excluded but asked the country to modify the lyrics of its original song ‘October Rain’. 

Despite the fears over her safety, Ms Golan says she has received a lot of support and hasn’t seen any negative comments about her previous song October Rain.

Commentators thought some of the original lyrics, like ‘There is no air left to breathe’ and ‘They were all good children, every one of them’, were about victims of the Hamas attack and therefore was deemed too political.

‘I was kind of shocked when the European Broadcasting Union didn’t approve the song,’ Ms Golan said.

‘I don’t think the first version was political. The song is about a girl going through her own problems, her own emotions. It wasn’t anything to do with October 7.’

At first, the Israeli state-owned TV network Kan, which supplied the song, said it would rather Eden dropped out of the competition than change the lyrics.

It was only after an intervention by the country’s President Isaac Herzog, who called for the ‘necessary adjustments’, that it relented.

Ms Golan told the Mail that the controversy ‘caught me off guard’.

She said: ‘I was shocked and confused. But when they said we had to change the lyrics, I said: ‘Let’s do everything possible to make it happen.’

‘I feel like us participating in Eurovision this year is very important, and has much more meaning than any other year.’

After several revisions, October Rain was renamed as Hurricane and now tells the story of a woman emerging from a personal crisis.

Musically, it’s the same song but the lyrics are more generic, the references to the massacre replaced with phrases like ‘every day, I’m losing my mind’ and ‘I’m still broken from this hurricane’.

The end of the song, which Golan sings in Hebrew, has also been altered.

The original pay-off, which had references to poisoned air and dead children have been changed to: ‘No need for big words, only prayers. Even if it’s hard to see, you always leave me one small light.’

The singer – who arrived in the city last week sporting a yellow pin, symbolising support for the release of hostages held by Hamas – insists that she is safe in Malmo despite the threats against her.

‘I’m getting a lot of love and support from my family and from the professional team that has become like a family.’

She added: ‘Protests are of course not pleasant,but I can’t wait to be there on stage and try to make people feel something in the three minutes that I have. I’m very focused in my mission.’

Thursday’s semi-final is due to begin at 1900 GMT and will also feature contestants from Malta, Albania, Greece, the Czech Republic, Austria, Denmark, Armenia, Latvia, San Marino, Georgia, Belgium, Estonia and Norway.