The first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2024, held in Malmö (Sweden), was marked by controversy after Eric Saade, former representative of Sweden, expressed his solidarity with the Palestinian people by wearing a Palestinian scarf on his left wrist during his performance. . This political gesture generated a strong debate about the neutrality of the event and the artists’ freedom of expression, since it was censored.
The organization of the contest chose to censor Eric Saade’s show of political support, vetoing his performance and omitting it from the event’s official networks. This decision had a lot of repercussions and was flattered and criticized by both the audience and Swedish public television, which described the singer’s act as “sad” and accused him of politicizing his participation in the Eurovision gala.
The controversy came beforehand since in his previous statements, Eric Saade announced his intention to make some gesture in memory of the Palestinian people during his presentation at the festival. Saade, of Palestinian descent, had expressed criticism of the Eurovision organization and its alleged lack of impartiality regarding the representation of different ethnicities at the event.
In response to criticism, the festival organization defended its decision, arguing that all artists are informed of the rules of the contest, which establish an apolitical nature for the event. However, on social networks, numerous users praised Saade’s bravery and expressed her support for the political gesture made during her performance.
At the artists’ joint press conference to share sensations, a journalist asked Bambie Thug, representative of Ireland, about supposed pro-Palestinian makeup that she would have had to remove under orders from the EBU.
Far from dodging the question, Thug answered bluntly: ”I am a person in favor of freedom and justice, but the EBU has forced me to withdraw from my proposal the messages I had in which I asked for a ceasefire and freedom for Palestine.
According to what has been learned, the makeup included the words Saor Don Phalaistin (Freedom for Palestine) and Ceasefire (Ceasefire) on the face. Both messages were written in Ogham, a Celtic language used by the druids.
