Malmö – This should be a place for music, partying, tolerance and colorful fun. But the atmosphere on Malmö’s streets is tense. In the southern Swedish city, security forces remain alert around the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC). As much as the organizers emphasize that they are celebrating a non-political event, this year the long shadow of the Gaza war cannot be kept away from the colorful show spectacle. Not only Israel’s act Eden Golan feels this, the entire city feels it. Malmö is hosting for the third time, having done so in 1992 and 2013. It’s not used to something like this.
The mood was already heated at the semi-final. Golan is escorted to the hall surrounded by security forces, while protests against Israel’s participation take place in front of the door of the “Malmö Arena”. Around 10,000 to 12,000 demonstrators filled the city’s streets, demanding Israel’s exclusion from the competition. There are initially no riots, but the police expect widespread protests for the final on Saturday.
A ray of hope for Golan: Despite boos and whistles in the hall, the cheers for her performance far outweigh the negatives – Golan secures a place in the final and is highly regarded: “There are so many people who support me,” she says.
Dispute over Israel’s participation
Israel’s contribution faced headwinds from the start. Against the backdrop of the Gaza war, social networks called for exclusion from the competition. The organizer of the ESC, the European Broadcasting Union, allowed Israel to take part on the grounds that it was a non-political event.
At the same time, the EBU considered the first submitted text of the Israeli contribution to be too political. She saw in “October Rain” references to the massacres carried out by Palestinian terrorists in Israel on October 7th. Golan’s song has been reworked and is now called “Hurricane”. The stage show still brings back memories: Eden wears a light dress that is reminiscent of gauze bandages. Your dancers look similar. A subtle reference to the war that is very close to her heart. One of her competitors in Israel’s ESC preliminary round, Shaul Greenglick, died as an army reservist in the war in Gaza: “I get goosebumps when I talk about him,” Golan told the magazine “Stern”.
But there are also the more than 30,000 deaths on the Palestinian side. Critics equate Israel with Russia. The exclusion of Russia after the invasion of Ukraine and the ban on Palestinian flags are politics, said climate activist Greta Thunberg, who took part in a demonstration with the motto “Exclude Israel from Eurovision” on Thursday in Malmö. She would also be there on Saturday, it was said.
Israel’s National Security Council issued a travel warning shortly before the ESC. The risk will be upgraded from 2 (potential threat) to 3 (medium threat). Israelis planning to visit Malmö are advised to reconsider.
Malmö has an anti-Semitism problem
This is the general weather situation. But choosing the venue doesn’t make it easy for the organizers either. Malmö has a problem with anti-Semitism, experts say. In October this problem became even more visible.
Malmö is a compact city. “So you can see the problem on the street, which you can’t do so much in Stockholm or Gothenburg,” says Björn Westerström. He is an anti-Semitism researcher and actively carries out educational work. Malmö has around 360,000 residents, many of whom are of Palestinian descent. This is known to be a contact point for migration in Sweden. There is a large Arab community.
Expert Westerström emphasizes that the anti-Israel and quickly also anti-Jewish sentiment does not necessarily come from specific groups. They are people with different backgrounds. “They don’t see the anti-Semitism. They’ve become so political, they’ve become so caught up, that they don’t realize the hate they’re using.”
Christer Mattsson, professor of anti-Semitism research in Gothenburg, says Malmö has been doing educational work for a long time and has taken numerous countermeasures in recent years. “But anti-Semitism is not something that will be solved within a few years.” Malmö is a kind of focal point in the world these days.
Security measures strengthened
The police have been present with a large contingent since the ESC began. Reinforcements from Denmark and Norway were also requested. A public ESC party was canceled. “I know for sure that the city is well prepared. However, you know that there can always be something unexpected,” says expert Mattsson.
What doesn’t really come up is the anticipation. “I think a lot of Jews in general are waiting for this thing to pass and hoping that it passes without major incident,” Sieradzki says. “The Eurovision Song Contest should be a celebration of creativity, fun, great music. But Malmö will be a place where a lot of angry feelings will be shown on the street.”