Home » Entertainment » Israel Changes Lyrics for Eurovision Song Contest Amid Controversy Over Political References

Israel Changes Lyrics for Eurovision Song Contest Amid Controversy Over Political References

By our entertainment editors

Mar 03, 2024 at 2:40 PM Update: 16 minutes ago

Israel will change the lyrics of its song for the Eurovision Song Contest in May. According to critics, the song refers October Rain clearly to October 7, the day Hamas attacked Israel.

Israel’s Eurovision participation has been criticized for some time. Since the Hamas attack on October 7, Israeli forces have been active in the Gaza Strip to free hostage Israelis, but this has also resulted in many civilian deaths. According to critics, Israel should not be included in the Eurovision Song Contest for this reason.

The submitted song also received a lot of criticism. The lyrics of the song October Rain by singer Eden Golan would be too political. In the song, the singer makes several possible references to the war, such as lyrics about children and soldiers dying. Also the second choice, Dance Foreverwould be too politically charged.

Eurovision Song Contest organizer European Broadcasting Union (EBU) puts all texts under a magnifying glass and has asked Israel to adjust the text. The Israeli broadcaster KAN has previously stated that it does not want to change the numbers and will refrain from participating if necessary. But the broadcaster announced on Sunday that the text will be adjusted after all.

CAN goes both October Rain as Dance Forever to adjust. EBU hopes to approve one of the two after the adjustment. Golan remains the singer, regardless of which song it ends up being.

KAN announced that the adjusted number will be announced on March 10.

Image: Shai Franco

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IsraelMusicEurovision Song ContestMedia and Culture
2024-03-03 15:20:52


#Israel #adjust #lyrics #controversial #Eurovision #Song #Contest #song #October #Rain #Music

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