Six countries wanted to pull out of Eurovision 2024 just 25 minutes before the final
nme.comEurovision 2024 nearly pulled out of the song contest, just 25 minutes before the live final.The grand final of the competition took place in Malmö, Sweden – the home of 2023 winner Loreen – on Saturday May 11.
However, the show was mired by widespread political backlash over the inclusion of Israel amid the Hamas-Israel conflict.Many of the contestants, including Ireland’s Bambie Thug and UK representative Olly Alexander, faced pressure to boycott the event in solidarity with Palestine.
But in a collective statement, the two reaffirmed their pro-Palestine stance whilst announcing they would not boycott.There were also a number of calls to boycott the competition from various countries in the run-up to this year’s edition.
Over 1,000 Swedish artists called for Israel to be banned, including Robyn, Fever Ray, and First Aid Kit, whilst over 1,400 Finnish music industry professionals signed a petition to ban the country from taking part in the contest as well.Further criticism emerged when it was reported that Eurovision organisers reserved the right to remove Palestinian flags and pro-Palestinian symbols during this year’s final, and again defended the decision not to boycott Israel over the war in Gaza.Israel competed at the finale, and before the live event, contestant Eden Golan reflected on the boos from the audience, stating that “nothing would deter” her from representing Israel at the competition.Despite the backlash and the protests that followed, the final seemed to go down pretty smoothly on the night.
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