Eden Golan comes fifth in the Eurovision Song Contest
Israel’s Eden Golan, 20, has finished fifth in the contest despite demonstrators’ calls for a boycott of the country.
Israeli Eurovision contestant Eden Golan. Credit: Courtesy.
The female solo artist on Thursday emerged as one of the leading contenders to win after qualifying for the final.
Booing was heard during Golan’s performance but also applause, a Reuters photographer in the auditorium said. The noise was partly audible in the broadcast viewed by tens of millions of people in Europe and around the world.
There was also booing when the points of the Israeli jury were presented.
Several thousand protesters gathered in central Malmo ahead of Saturday’s final, waving Palestinian flags and shouting “Eurovision united by genocide” – a twist on the contest’s official slogan “United by music”.
A few hundred people later also protested outside the venue, chanting: “Eurovision, you can’t hide, you’re supporting genocide.”
Protesters have been pointing to double standards as the EBU banned Russia from Eurovision in 2022 following its invasion of Ukraine.
Police hauled away some protesters before surrounding and ushering them away, a Reuters reporter outside the arena said. Some protesters were seen lying on the ground after police used pepper spray to disband the demonstration.
Swiss rapper and singer Nemo won this year’s Eurovision Song Contest with The Code, a drum-and-bass, opera, rap and rock tune about Nemo’s journey of self-discovery as a non-binary person.
Billed as a feel-good celebration of European diversity, this year’s contest had been thrust into the political spotlight with calls for Israel to be excluded over its military campaign in Gaza, triggered by Hamas’ deadly attack on October 7 in Israel.
AAP
