Despite demos and boos: Israel makes it to the ESC final
Published: Friday, May 10th 2024, 00:00
Updated At: Friday, May 10th 2024, 03:10
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Demos on the streets, boos in front of the stage: Israel's entry in this year's Eurovision Song Contest has to contend with a lot of headwinds - but the public voted singer Eden Golan into the final. She qualified with nine other acts on Thursday evening in Malmö. The artist was greeted with boos and applause during the rehearsals. When the result was announced, there were occasional whistles. During the show itself, the cheers were overwhelming.
At several demonstrations that day in the southern Swedish city, several thousand people called for the country to be excluded from the competition - climate activist Greta Thunberg was also among the protesters. The police estimated that between 10,000 and 12,000 people took part in the demonstrations under the slogan "Exclude Israel from Eurovision". But there was also to be a solidarity demonstration that evening.
The Israeli act was not to be deterred. In a soulful ballad, Golan dances in a white dress that is visually reminiscent of bandages. Israel's participation has been highly controversial for months.
Switzerland also secured a ticket to the final. The non-binary act Nemo spun theatrically on a disk on the big stage with a powerful voice. Rap, drum and bass, even opera - Nemo had it all. Germany's ESC commentator Thorsten Schorn also heard "a bit of James Bond" in the song. The contribution for the Netherlands is certainly not unknown to the German audience. Rapper Joost Klein secured a place in the final this year with "Europapa". The 26-year-old stormed the charts in Germany last year when, together with Berlin rapper Ski Aggu, he transformed Otto Waalkes' well-known song "Friesenjung" into a techno version. Greece, Austria, Armenia, Latvia, Georgia, Norway and Estonia have also qualified.
As part of the "Big Five", Spain, France and Italy are already seeded for the final. Nevertheless, they were able to perform their songs at the second semi-final. Italy's entry received great applause that evening for the danceable number and is likely to be one of the favorites for the Grand Prix.
The 26 participating countries for the Eurovision Song Contest have now been confirmed. The final will be held in the Malmö Arena on Saturday (May 11).
©Keystone/SDA
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