Eden Golan put in a strong performance for Israel at the ESC – but there was still criticism from the audience.
The performance of Eden Golan, who performed “Hurricane” for Israel at the ESC 2024, caused – as was to be expected – cheers and criticism. Apparently people in the hall were also expecting different reactions. As Jan Böhmermann and Olli Schulz explained in their moderation for the Austrian broadcaster FM4, an “anti-boo filter” was used. As a result, only clapping could be heard, but not whistles or other negative reactions.
Böhmermann and Schulz couldn’t hear from the speakers’ booth whether there were boos in the hall. However, they were informed by a production employee who was closer to the event. Accordingly, there were also negative reactions. However, it was heard on TV that the Israeli contribution was well received.
Here you will find content from YouTube
In order to interact with or display content from social networks, we need your consent.
Activate social networks
Eden Golan had to protect himself especially
“It’s a bad thing to boo after a 20-year-old’s performance because you’re anti-Semitic,” said Böhmermann. The moderators called for more respect for the artistic performance and pointed out that the singer traveled to Malmö under the strictest security precautions.
There have been protests against Israel and the Golan for days. Because of the Gaza war, she even received death threats – and anti-Semitic attacks had been announced. On the advice of the Israeli secret service, the singer did not leave her hotel except for rehearsals, did not attend public events for security reasons and did not give press conferences.
A controversial incident had already occurred during the broadcast of the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest by the public TV broadcaster VRT in Belgium on Thursday evening (May 9th). Eden Golan’s performance was briefly interrupted when an anti-Israel message appeared on a board.
The message was initiated by the Belgian TV union ACOD and read: “This is a union action. We condemn the State of Israel’s human rights violations. The State of Israel also affects freedom of the press. That’s why we’re interrupting the picture for a moment.” The statement also included the two hashtags #CeaseFireNow and #StopGenocide.