A disqualified participant, a spokesperson who refuses to vote, a singer who leaves it up in the air whether she will participate in the final… The Festival of Eurovision 2024 is experiencing hours of tension leading up to this Saturday evening's celebration and now Israel wait for the show to start in a room separated from the rest of the delegationswhile the organization holds an emergency meeting.
Israeli television channel Kan confirmed on social networks and on its website that the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has requested that they be moved to a different room from the rest of the delegations. although there is no official reason for this changeMembers of several delegations have reported that members of the Israeli delegation followed them to record them after they made a gesture related to Palestine.
This situation also occurred in the press center, where on Friday afternoon the Spanish journalist Juanma Fernández denounced that four people had been accredited by the Israeli delegation they tried to intimidate him after shouting “Free Palestine” after Eden Golan's rehearsal.
Moreover, several comments made by members of the Israeli delegation have also been strongly criticized, especially by 'Hurricane' author Keren Peles. The composer has disqualified several of this year's artists on her social networks, such as Ireland's representative, Bambie Thug; the Dutchman Joost Klein, or the Greek Marina Satti.
In addition, Eden Golan's stylist, Itay Bezaleli, had to delete a video in which he had recorded Thug without his consent. He called her a 'monster'. The Irish woman is precisely one of the participants who most openly opposes the actions of the Israeli delegation.
Bambie Thug represents Ireland with 'Doomsday Blue' and has informed the EBU about the words of commentators from the Jewish State about his performance: 'He likes to talk negatively about Israel, but we will talk about that later. Prepare your curses».
Unrest in Malmö
The morning started with the confirmation by the European Broadcasting Union the elimination of the Dutch representative from the competition, Joost Klein, reported for threats against an EBU employee. In addition, Norwegian voting spokesperson Alessandra Mele (2023 festival participant) said has refrained from awarding points.
In a video on Instagram, he pointed out that 'United by music' is 'just empty words': 'There is a genocide going on and I ask all of you to please open your eyes and hearts. Let love lead you to the truth. It's right in front of you. Liberate Palestine.