Live, on the Eurovision semi-final stage, singer Eric Saade, born to a Swedish mother and a Lebanese-Palestinian father, surprised the group by performing with a keffiyeh on his wrist. An extremely enthusiastic symbol in times of conflict.
Fifteen countries competed on Tuesday, May 7, from Malmö (Sweden), in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest. At this crucial stage, representatives of Cyprus, Serbia, Lithuania, Ireland, Ukraine, Poland, Croatia, Iceland, Slovenia, Finland, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Australia, Portugal and Luxembourg performed on stage. All six countries have automatic qualification for the final, such as France and the host nation, however, must play in the semi-finals. So the opening of the first semi-final was marked by the performance of the Swedish singer Eric Saade, who wanted to take a political stand.
The singer appeared with a keffiyeh tied to his wrist, supporting the Palestinian people, raising comments on social networks. Eurovision organizers regretted the unexpected act, which was carried out during “of a live performance“, saying the tournament should remain politically neutral.”Everyone who performs there knows the rules and we regret that Eric Saade has decided to compromise with the idea of a neutral competition“, they responded to the Swedish daily The Express, which retransmits 20 minutes.
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“You Can’t Take My Presence Away”
Eric Saade, of Swedish and Lebanese-Palestinian origin, had previously expressed his opposition to Israel’s participation in the competition. In a post on Instagram, he defended his actions by emphasizing the importance of representing one’s ethnic identity despite the restrictions imposed by the competition. “When you can no longer wear a symbol of your ethnicity in our ‘free world’, it is more important than ever for me to participate. Palestinian symbols are not allowed inside the Arena and other symbols representing other nations are welcome. (…) You can ban our symbols, but you will not be able to remove my presence“, he wrote.
Since 2017, only the flags of the participating countries and the LGBT flag have been allowed inside the Eurovision venue, to prevent the contest from becoming a political forum. This controversy comes as several artists have called for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of enemies held by Hamas.
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2024-05-07 22:05:22
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