Organizers of the Eurovision Song Contest say they reserve the right to remove any Palestinian flags and pro-Palestinian symbols at the show next week in Sweden.

Organizers of the Eurovision Song Contest said Thursday they reserve the right to remove any Palestinian flags and pro-Palestinian symbols at the show next week in Sweden.

The announcement came amid heightened tensions surrounding Israel’s participation in the annual music competition over its military campaign against Hamas in Gaza, now in its seventh month. Pro-Palestinian groups are expected to stage large protests in Malmo to raise awareness of their cause.

Michelle Roverelli, the head of communications for the European Broadcasting Union that runs the show each year, said ticket holders are only allowed to bring and display flags representing countries that take part in the event, as well as the rainbow-colored flag.

        • Flying SquidMEnglish
          4•2 months ago

          The only Eurovision song in relatively recent memory I enjoyed was this one, because it made me laugh. The rest? Meh. I used to watch it just to see the spectacle, but I haven’t bothered at all in a while. Actually, that was the last year I watched it.

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBAdOlQPbwg

          (They did not win.)

          • @barsoap@lemm.eeEnglish
            5•2 months ago

            I used to watch it just to see the spectacle

            Heck one can watch just for the smoothness of organisation. Half a gazillion acts, one after the other with stage decoration changes, sometimes quite drastically, live, but it looks like a ultra-tight cut prerecording.

            • Flying SquidMEnglish
              2•2 months ago

              They definitely do a very good job, I just got to the point that I couldn’t take the music.

              • @barsoap@lemm.eeEnglish
                4•2 months ago

                That’s why you combine it with a drinking game. Also the really bad acts are from countries who want to make sure they’re not going to win and have to spend money on hosting the next contest, that is, you can appreciate them for the creative ways in which they are deliberately bad.

    • @InformalTrifle@lemmy.worldEnglish
      6•2 months ago

      Why would they be?

      Ukraine was attacked by Russia which started a war. Israel was attacked by Palestine which started a war. You should be asking if Russian flags and symbols will also be banned if you want to find an equivalence.

      • @QuantumSpecter@lemmy.worldEnglish
        5•2 months ago

        Official figures from Israel’s internal security agency registered a 15% increase in individual Palestinian attacks on civilians and soldiers across Israel and the Occupied Territories in the first seven months of the year compared to the same period last year. In 2022, the agency counted 1,317 uses of fire or pipe bombs, shootings, arson, and stabbings compared to 1,522 in 2023.

        Palestinian fears grow amid rising Israeli settler attacks

        • @MyEdgyAlt@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          2•2 months ago

          How did you choose that excerpt? The headline and most of the contents are about Israeli violence. The preceding sentence immediately before your excerpt is this:

          The head of the Israeli Shin Bet domestic security service was recently quoted as warning that the spike in settler attacks was in turn driving Palestinians to attack Israelis saying: “Jewish terror incites Palestinian terror.”

          And the rest of that paragraph is about various revenge attacks.