It was no coincidence that Sweden won Eurovision 2023. The delegation of the country that has triumphed the most times in the song festival (seven, the same as Ireland) created a tailor-made candidacy to achieve a new victory in a particularly important year. He wanted to take the contest to his territory coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the victory of the waterloo from Abba. And she achieved it. She chose as her representative one of the former winners of the competition best known to the general public, Loreen, who won the crystal microphone for the second time.
But, in these 12 months, international events have caused those festive plans to be blown up. Malmö, the city assigned to host the 2024 edition, has not only not been a venue for the Swedish quartet, but has also become the scene of massive demonstrations against participation in the Israeli festival. These protests both in the streets and within Eurovision have led the contest to face one of the most serious reputational crises in its history. The intense boos he received live on Saturday night Martin Österdahl, executive supervisor of the festival, during the broadcast of the final highlighted the great problem faced by the contest, which has an Israeli company, Moroccanoil, as the main sponsor.
Because a week after the intense victory of The Code by Nemo, representative of Switzerland, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) continues to assume the consequences of the conflicts and controversies that have been brewing in recent months. And that crystallized in the last days of the contest until it exploded into chaos and uncertainty inside the Malmö Arena. Several senior officials of the European Commission (EC) are still angry and asking the festival organizer for explanations for having banned the flags of the European Union from the Malmö venue, a measure that they had not applied with such intensity in previous years and that this time It coincided with the special consideration that the reinforced security of the Malmö Arena was taking with the presence of Palestinian flags inside the Swedish stadium.
“Completely regrettable” and “amazing” have been some of the adjectives that have been dedicated to this decision, among others, by Margaritis Schinas, the vice president of the EC, and a spokesperson for its president, Ursula von der Leyen. Such was the pressure that the EBU felt, that on Monday it explained in a new statement signed by Noel Curran, its director general, that “due to the increase in geopolitical tensions, the rule regarding the use of flags was applied more rigorous security at this year’s event,” while ensuring that it will review these regulations for the future.
The unprecedented disqualification of a candidate hours before celebrating the final, the Dutchman Joost Klein, due to a conflict with a member of the gala production still to be resolved, provoked protests from AVROTROS, the Netherlands’ television partner of the EBU. If the measure seemed “disproportionate” that same Saturday, days later its general director, Taco Zimmerman, insisted on emphasizing that the Dutch delegation felt “extremely disappointed” by the decision made by those responsible for Eurovision. “The EBU has remained steadfast in its reaction to what it considers to be a clear breach of the rules.”
The problem is that it has not been the only delegation to challenge the festival after the events of last Saturday. Several spokespersons from different countries, such as the Finnish singer Käärijä and the Norwegian Alessandra Mele, refused to participate in the gala, giving their countries’ points to protest Israel’s presence in it, by speaking out against its performance in Gaza. The fact that Israel was placed in second position as the favorite to win a few hours before the final, thanks to the support of a televote organized, among others by far-right sympathizers from several countries, further frayed tempers.
Cascade of explicit criticism
The threat of abandonment by several candidates was also highly commented on, reflecting the general dissatisfaction with the management of the many controversies in this edition. Ireland’s Bambie Thug almost missed the final after her continued complaints against what she considered disrespect from Israel’s commentators were ignored by the organization. “We have been fighting for this behind the scenes, because it has been very hard and horrible for us. Fuck the EBU. I don’t even care anymore. “Fuck them,” Thug declared to the media through tears, a few minutes after finishing the final and just before leaving the Swedish stadium. “We represent what Eurovision is. It is the artists who make this possible, the Eurofan community that supports them,” he continued.
Although more diplomatic, Stig Karlsen, head of the Norwegian delegation, has also spoken in this regard, assuring that his candidates, the band Gåte, also They were about to retire moments before the grand final began. The members of the group have denounced in recent days on television in their country a difference in treatment between some delegations and others. “It seemed like there were some rules for Israel and others for the rest,” commented their guitarist, Magnus Børmark. Countless testimonies revealed that both those responsible for the Hurricane by Edan Golan, this year’s Israeli proposal, as members of the country’s press showed an aggressive attitude towards the rest of the participants from other countries throughout the weekend. ”There is no doubt that Eurovision’s reputation has been significantly damaged this year, and it is now crucial that the EBU acts quickly. The EBU must stop blaming delegations and artists for this year’s scandals,” explained the head of the Norwegian delegation. to the specialized medium Wiwibloggs.
The problem Karlsen raises is clear. If Eurovision does not react quickly, the different national preselections will find it difficult to find artists interested in participating in such a hostile and politicized competition in 2025. It is an issue that could affect other events, such as the Spanish Benidorm Fest or the Swedish Melodifestivalen.
🇱🇹 Silvester Belt explodes: “Leaving that country afterward with the public so intense has been one of the worst things I have had to experience. I tried to do my best in this situation. Traumatic experience, I wish it had ended after the first semi-final” #Eurovision https://t.co/dqAU9zR9DQ
— Luis Fuster (@luisgfuster) May 12, 2024
The words that the Lithuanian candidate Silvester Belt published on social networks this week validate that fear. A battle of boos, applause and whistles raged at the Malmö Arena on Saturday as Golan performed Hurricane. Belt was acting just after the Israeli one and has defined the experience as “traumatic.” To such an extent that she said she wished she had not gone past the semi-finals to save herself that bad experience and shortly afterwards deleted the message.
The Portuguese radio station RTP has been one of the first to request to the European Broadcasting Union a meeting to clarify the incidents that occurred on Saturday. France, Spain, Croatia and Norway have joined this request, according to the Portuguese delegation itself.
Even Nemo took advantage of the press conference after his victory to, crystal microphone in hand, ask that the festival be reformed. In the excitement of the moment, he broke the trophy that certified his victory. “If my trophy can be fixed, maybe Eurovision also needs a few changes,” he said minutes after being crowned. The Code and to offer new hope to the EBU. He also confessed that he had to secretly sneak a non-binary flag onto the stage, which was also not among those allowed. His victory ensures that the 2025 edition will be held in Switzerland, the place where it all began in 1956. With the return to the motherland, the contest hopes to rebuild all the ties it has broken within itself in a matter of weeks.
You can follow EL PAÍS Television on x or sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter.
#Eurovision #remains #permanent #crisis #cabinet #week