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Eurovision Song Contest Faces Anti-Israel Protests Ahead of Final
2023 Eurovision Song Contest winner Loreen performs on stage during the rehearsal of the Grand Final of the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest, in Malmo, Sweden, May 10, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger
Thousands of people protested in Malmo on Saturday against Israel‘s participation in Eurovision Song Contest, with the Israeli military campaign in Gaza casting a shadow over the final of the glitzy contest.
Eurovision organizers, who always bill the annual event as non-political, have resisted calls to exclude Israel, but requested that the lyrics of its entry be changed to remove what organizers called references to the deadly Hamas attack on Oct. 7 that triggered the war.
A large crowd of protesters gathered on the central square of the Swedish host city before marching towards the contest venue, waving Palestinian flags and shouting “Eurovision united by genocide” – a twist on the contest’s official slogan “United by music”.
“It’s important to show, like, we are going to stand on the right side for everyone. This could be any other country and we would still be standing here because this is about children, men and women who have been occupied for so many years,” said one protester on Saturday, Maryam, who gave only her first name.
Police estimated that between 6,000 and 8,000 people joined the demonstration.
The final, the culmination of the festival of catchy songs, gaudy costumes and tongue-in-cheek kitsch, kicks off at 1900 GMT.
In Malmo, French singer Slimane halted his rehearsal act on Saturday to say it had been a childhood dream of his to sing for peace.
“We need to be united by music,” Slimane said, referring to the official Eurovision slogan, followed by cheering from the crowd in the auditorium.
More than 10,000 anti-Israel campaigners, including climate activist Greta Thunberg, staged a non-violent protest ahead of the semi-final on Thursday.
A smaller group of pro-Israel supporters, including members of Malmo’s Jewish community, also staged a peaceful demonstration on Thursday, defending Israeli solo artist Eden Golan, 20, and her right to take part in the contest.
Pro-Palestinian protesters have complained of double standards as the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) that organizes the contest banned Russia from Eurovision in 2022 following its invasion of Ukraine.
Some 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 people taken hostage in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his country will not stop the war until Hamas is eliminated.
DUTCH FANS DISAPPOINTED
In another Eurovision controversy this year, Dutch contestant Joost Klein was expelled on Saturday from the competition final after a complaint by a member of the production crew, the EBU said.
“While the legal process takes its course, it would not be appropriate for him (Joost) to continue in the Contest,” the EBU said in a statement.
A representative for Klein did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS, Klein was filmed despite clearly made agreements, just after getting off stage after his performance at Thursday’s semi final.
“This wasn’t respected,” AVROTROS said in a post on social media platform X, adding “This led to a threatening movement from Joost towards the camera.”
Klein did not touch the camerawoman, according to AVROTROS, who said it found the artist’s penalty “very heavy and disproportionate.”
A Dutch fan, Frank Zwarthoed, said, “We are very, very, very disappointed… And it’s not good for the for the joy, we have in all the Dutch fans here that are present.”
Dutch viewers will still be allowed to vote for other contestants and the Dutch jury result will still be included in the final, the EBU has said.
Bookmakers have Croatia’s Baby Lasagna, real name Marko Purišić, 28, with “Rim Tim Tagi Dim,” as front-runner to win the contest, followed by Israel‘s Golan, with her song “Hurricane.”
Some booing was heard from the crowd before, during and after Golan’s performance in the semi-finals on Thursday, but there was also applause and Israeli flags being waved, according to a Reuters journalist in the auditorium.
The post Eurovision Song Contest Faces Anti-Israel Protests Ahead of Final first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.