Thousands of pro-Hamas protesters took to the streets of Malmö again on Saturday in opposition to Israel’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest being held in the multicultural Swedish city.
Swedish police have estimated that between eight and 10,000 anti-Israel demonstrators gathered in the centre of Malmö to demand that Israeli Eurovision contestant Eden Golan be removed from the final.
Golan, who is representing Israel with the song “Hurricane” — originally titled “October Rain” in reference to the October 7th Hamas terror attacks on Israel that left over 1,200 dead and saw hundreds taken hostage — has largely been confined to her hotel room during the contest over security concerns and has been under protection organised by Israel’s top security agency, Shin Bet.
The 20-year-old Jewish singer was also filmed being escorted to the final event by a convoy with approximately 100 Swedish police officers in order to safeguard her from the protesters, The Sun reports.
100 Swedish police officers are transporting the 20-y-old singer Eden Golan between her hotel & Malmö Arena ahead of the Eurovision Song Contest.
Apart from the long convoy of vehicles, you can hear a police helicopter flying above.
Malmö is a city with serious problems
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) May 11, 2024
Israel’s ambassador to Sweden, Ziv Nevo Kulman, condemned the protests, telling Dagens Nyheter: “We have the world’s biggest music competition in Malmö and the focus in recent weeks has been on extremists because the pro-Palestinian groups demonstrating are among the most extreme of the extreme.
“They were the same people who celebrated in the streets after October 7th. And they are joined by the BDS movement and the radical left from across the continent who choose to come to Malmö. The provocations come from the other side, they are the ones who seek confrontation.”
The ambassador also criticised the Eurovision audience for booing Golan, saying: “I know that it is not forbidden to boo a bad artist. But Eden Golan hadn’t even started singing before people booed. It was political and I don’t think it belongs in Eurovision. And seriously, I don’t think you’re expressing any opinion when you boo an artist.”
“I cried with my team.” Ireland Eurovision finalist Bambie Thug is asked how they felt when Israel qualified for the #EUROVISION final. pic.twitter.com/wE1F8xeU7E
— Henry McKean (@HenryMcKean) May 10, 2024
In addition to facing down large-scale protests, Golan has also faced fire from her fellow contestants, even reportedly being forced to move into another room from other performers at the behest of Irish contestant Bambie Thug, who has also reportedly called for Golan to be disqualified from the final. The 31-year-old Irish singer, who uses “they/them” pronouns and claims to be “non-binary”, said on Friday that she “cried” when it was revealed the Jewish singer had reached the Eurovision final.
Bambie Thug, who entered the competition with her Satanic-styled song “Doomsday Blue”, said: “I cried with my team… It is a complete overshadow of everything, goes against everything that Eurovision is meant to be,” adding: “It’s a big, big community together and their contestant was never allowed to even meet us.”
Meanwhile, Marina Satti, who is representing Greece in the contest, was filmed pretending to sleep while Golan was giving a press conference.
37 year old Greek Eurovision entry Marina Satti behaves like a CHILD as she pretends to be asleep for the cameras as Israeli singer Eden Golan spoke at a press conference. pic.twitter.com/PojFwUc1AB
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) May 10, 2024
Nevertheless, Golan has put on a brave face throughout the chaos, writing on social media on Saturday ahead of the final: “I stand on this stage with so much pride. proud of our song and the hard work we’ve put into it. proud of my country and the people in it. I feel your love and support from miles away that nothing or no one can break me down. tonight I’m sharing OUR voice and going to give the best performance I can. I love you guys.”
Russian-Israeli singer Eden Golan representing Israel with the song “Hurricane” waves an Israeli flag during the final dress-rehearsal of the 68th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) at the Malmo Arena, in Malmo, Sweden, on May 11, 2024. (Photo by Andreas HILLERGREN / TT News Agency / AFP) / Sweden OUT (Photo by ANDREAS HILLERGREN/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Images)
The protest on Saturday is just the latest large-scale anti-Israel demonstration to hit Malmö during this year’s Eurovision contest, with upwards of 10,000 taking to the streets of Malmö on Thursday, with even Swedish political activist Greta Thunberg joining their ranks.
Malmö has been at the heart of the massive demographic shifts in the Nordic nation over the past decade, with Muslims now making up 20 per cent of the city’s population.
Officials in Sweden have admitted that this radical change has come along with a rise in anti-semitism and terrorist activity, resulting in the Jewish population declining by approximately half of what it was in the 1970s. Some of the remaining Jewish population told the German newspaper Die Welt this week that they did not feel “welcome in [their] own city” and that many have opted to leave the city while the Eurovision contest was being held.