Organizers of the Eurovision Song Contest say they reserve the right to remove any Palestinian flags and pro-Palestinian symbols at the show next week in Sweden.
Organizers of the Eurovision Song Contest said Thursday they reserve the right to remove any Palestinian flags and pro-Palestinian symbols at the show next week in Sweden.
The announcement came amid heightened tensions surrounding Israel’s participation in the annual music competition over its military campaign against Hamas in Gaza, now in its seventh month. Pro-Palestinian groups are expected to stage large protests in Malmo to raise awareness of their cause.
Michelle Roverelli, the head of communications for the European Broadcasting Union that runs the show each year, said ticket holders are only allowed to bring and display flags representing countries that take part in the event, as well as the rainbow-colored flag.
What a hill to die on. They banned Russia; it would have been such an easy and consistent decision to ban Israel too, especially when they started deliberately starving Palestinian civilians. Can’t wait for the PR response the moment this Genocide becomes officially recognized, “wir haben es nicht gewusst“ 2.0
Michelle Roverelli, the head of communications for the European Broadcasting Union that runs the show each year, said ticket holders are only allowed to bring and display flags representing countries that take part in the event, as well as the rainbow-colored flag.
Ukraine was attacked by Russia which started a war. Israel was attacked by Palestine which started a war. You should be asking if Russian flags and symbols will also be banned if you want to find an equivalence.
Official figures from Israel's internal security agency registered a 15% increase in individual Palestinian attacks on civilians and soldiers across Israel and the Occupied Territories in the first seven months of the year compared to the same period last year. In 2022, the agency counted 1,317 uses of fire or pipe bombs, shootings, arson, and stabbings compared to 1,522 in 2023.
I think it's perfectly fitting that Palestine's flag be on display, taking into consideration all the meddling and financial support going on, which begs the question: what other flags would need to be on display? Afghani? Iraqi?
If we're going to have representation, let us have representation.
The actual question is: Which participant flags or combinations of those can be folded into a Palestinian flag?
Hungary and Italy have white and green adjacent that's a good start, add Germany resp. Belgium for black, red for the triangle is quite abundant take your pick.
What are they going to do, kick people out during the livestream?
Bro, why is Israel even in there? "They are in the broadcast union" is not the gotcha you think it is. Isreal neighbours are Egypt, Yemen, Iran and so forth.
The fact that you don't see that European intervention and colonization in the middle east merits representation in European media shows a disconnect that can only be described as pure unadulterated repression. If you then also try to say "music" or "the arts" shouldn't be political", I can only assume you actually like to listen to the music that comes from EuroVision.
If you want to continue with the financing of geo-political fuckery under the guise of "liberalism", you've got to face it as well. You shouldn't get to bury your head in the sand.
That being said, Palestine flags should be prominently features in the Isreali part of the crowd, since Isreal occupies their land.
Given the amount of protest and potential terrorism the event is likely to attract, the security services will have to impose a ring of steel on Malmö and surrounding areas. Chances are that Israeli military contractors will be involved, installing surveillance technology tested on Palestinians and integrating it into CCTV camera networks, MAC address sniffers, real-time transport databases and feeds from intelligence services. As a bonus, if Sweden quietly keeps the system after Eurovision is over, it may prove useful in cracking down on the violent gang wars taking place there.