Eurovision | Israel is given a place in the final from the second semi-final of the Visas – The country’s artist wants to give “the nation a voice”

Eurovision in the second semi-final today we will compete for the last places to the five-final.

All eyes are focused on Israel, whose participation in the visas has sparked opposition due to the country’s war in Gaza. However, the country’s place in the final is considered very likely.

Representing the country Eden Golan with a power ballad Hurricanewhich is an edited version of a song that was considered too political October Rain. The original text has been taken as a reference to the Hamas attack.

It has also been considered in advance whether there will be protests against Israel’s participation in the arena.

One expression of opinion was already seen on Tuesday in the first semi-final, when the Swedish singer who participated in the opening number Eric Saade a Palestinian scarf appeared keffiyeh wrapped around her hand. Saade, who is from Palestine on his father’s side, has strongly criticized the European Broadcasting Union Ebua Israel’s participation in the competition.

American magazine of The New York Times in the interview, Golan himself emphasized the importance of representing in Eurovision and stated that he will not let anything break him.

“I am here to give a voice to an entire nation, to show that we are here, we are strong but emotional and broken,” he said.

Golan’s choice to focus on the Israeli experience, not so much on the situation in Gaza, has received support from the country’s top leadership.

“It is important for Israel to perform in Eurovision. This is also a statement, because there are haters who try to drive us away from every stage,” the Israeli president Isaac Herzog said in February, according to The New York Times.

According to those opposed to Israel’s participation, Israel uses Eurovision as part of its “propaganda, to beautify its invasion and occupation of the Palestinian territories”, commented a representative of the BDS Sweden organization, which organizes the protests, in an email to a US newspaper.

The European Broadcasting Union EBU, on the other hand, has repeated its principle of keeping the competition neutral.

Golan did not participate in the Eurovision opening ceremony in Malmö on Sunday, citing Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel. He has given only a few interviews to the international media before the viusus, and he has not participated in the viusus fan events.

Golan tells The New York Times that he is focused on rehearsing his verse to perfection.

“What is in my control is to give [yleisölle] the best show ever, touching people’s souls and making them feel something.”

Out of ten a total of 16 countries are competing for the remaining final place, including Switzerland, which is a big early favorite.

Representing the country Nemo representative piece The Code combines musical influences from opera to rap. The text tells about the singer’s journey to find his own opposite sex.

The Netherlands, Greece and Norway have also been considered as likely passers-by.

Malta, Albania, Czech Republic, Austria, Denmark, Armenia, Latvia, San Marino, Georgia, Belgium and Estonia are also competing for a place in the final.

The countries that make it to the next round are decided based on public voting.

The first semi-final was contested on Tuesday. At that time, Finland made its way to the final, among others Windows95 man.

The five finals will be held on Saturday.