ISRAEL: Without the participation of Eden Golan, the Eurovision parties in Malmö, as well as the turquoise carpet.

We are less than three months away from the 68th Eurovision Song Contest. This year, more than ever, it is imperative that security measures in Malmö are draconian, as two of the participating countries, Ukraine and Israel, are at war.

The ironic slogan “United By Music”

The 37 participating countries are not “United by Music”, with Iceland, Ireland, Finland, Norway, Slovenia and recently Ukraine protesting the presence and participation of Israel, each for their own reasons. Voices against Israel’s participation have also been heard from participants in the Danish national final, which will be held on Saturday.

At the moment there has been no official announcement of a boycott of the Contest by any of the above-mentioned countries, as both the size and the impact of the Eurovision Contest are such that only competent Ministers of Foreign Affairs could make such decisions. We remind you the statement of the Minister of Culture of Iceland, Lilja Alfreðsdóttir:

This decision, in my opinion, is about foreign affairs and it is a matter of such magnitude that if we decide not to participate, then of course it is a clear message about a certain policy and I think the Secretary of State is the one who has to intervene in that the issue, as it happened when we decided not to play football because of Russia’s attack on Ukraine and of course we were also in consultation with other states. But now Israel also participates in various cultural events, such as football, art and so on, and in order to make an informed decision, it must be made from a foreign policy perspective.

Lilja Alfreðsdóttir

The authorities in Israel are on alert

Since yesterday, the Israeli media have provided more information on how the delegation is expected to travel to Malmö, as well as some measures and restrictions that will be taken for the safety of the people who will be part of it as well as the representative Eden Golan herself, who in recent days has been the target of online attacks.

According to the information so far, the Israeli delegation is currently in the phase of preparing a security plan in full cooperation with Israel’s General Security Service, Shin Bet. The extent of the security will of course be determined by the size of the delegation itself.

We are able to know that Israel and consequently Eden Golan will not participate in the various pre-parties and events that will take place in Malmö, while the Israeli delegation will also stay away from the turquoise carpet, on May 6th, due to the Day Holocaust Remembrance.

Every year on Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel, sirens are sounded and all activities of Israeli people stop as a mark of respect for the victims of the Holocaust. This day is particularly important for the country and includes the participation of survivors and their relatives in memorial ceremonies, marches and protests in concentration camps, but also in the central event held at the Yad Vashem Museum of Holocaust Victims.

EBU’s position

In view of the above and despite the reactions, the position of the EBU is unmoved, fully supporting its decision to include Israel in the list of 37 countries that will participate in Eurovision 2024, despite the ongoing war with Hamas in Palestine.

We are not planning to ban Israel from participating in the Eurovision Song Contest! The Eurovision Song Contest is a competition for public broadcasters from all over Europe and the Middle East! It’s a competition for broadcasters – not governments – and Israel’s public broadcaster has been participating in the competition for 50 years! The governing bodies of the EBU and in general all bodies evaluated the list of participants and decided that Israel’s public broadcaster complies with all the rules, therefore together with 36 other broadcasters, it will be able to participate in the Eurovision contest in 2024!

EBU

The EBU based its decision on the current attitude of other international organizations towards Israel:

Currently, there is an inclusive attitude towards Israeli participants in major competitions. The Eurovision Song Contest remains a non-political event, uniting audiences around the world through music!

EBU

While all this is happening, Eden Golan is in the studio for the recording of Israel’s participation in Eurovision which is expected to be revealed at the beginning of March…

Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest…

• Appearances: 45
• Appearances in the Grand Final: 38
• First Appearance: 1973
• Last Appearance (up to date): 2023
• Highest placement: 1st (1978, 1979, 1998, 2018)
• Lowest placement: 24th in the Semi Final (2007)

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