Crowd boo and chant ‘Free Palestine’ during Eden Golan’s Eurovision performance for Israel, nearly drowning the singer out in chaotic scenes
Israel’s Eurovision performance was booed and met with chants of ‘Free Palestine’ in chaotic scenes.
Eden Golan was almost drowned out by the protest during the Eurovision Song Contest jury show last night.
Videos shared online showed pro-Palestinian activists disrupting almost her entire performance, with people in the crowd calling the atmosphere “terrible.”
The singer, born in Israel but raised in Russia, has faced death threats ahead of her performances at the Malmo Arena in Sweden this week.
The 20-year-old was singing her song ‘Hurricane’ when she was targeted by demonstrators who shouted and booed in protest against her nation.
It comes after calls to ban Israel from taking part in the Eurovision Song Contest following the war in Gaza, which left 33,000 Palestinians dead after Hamas launched a series of terrorist attacks.
Eden Golan introduced herself on Wednesday while performing her song Hurricane during rehearsal at the Malmo Arena
Golan had courted controversy after she was accused of referring to the October 7 kidnapping and killing of Israelis by the militant group Hamas with the lyrics of her original song, October Rain.
This was later replaced by Hurricane, a soulful and heartfelt song which was subsequently endorsed by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organizes the event.
The protest during her performance took place during the jury show, which is held before the television program so that judges can give their scores early in case there are problems with voting later.
The arena was packed with thousands of people who had come to the city of Malmö in southern Sweden for the Eurovision Song Contest, the grand final of which will take place on Saturday.
More to follow…