Israeli Eurovision Contestant Target for Protestors?

[Mark Jeffries]

Singer Eden Golan has been told not to leave her hotel in Malmo, Sweden, except for rehearsals and performances, as throngs outside are protesting Israel's presence in the annual song contest--the song was originally entitled "October Rain," but the Eurovision bosses rejected it as too controversial, so it was rewritten and retitled "Hurricane" (video of song in link)--Golan's rehearsal yesterday was interrupted by boos from the audience, although no boos were evident during today's semi-final heat telecast (I'm assuming that Sweden's SVT is not sweetening the audience response like some American reality comps)--she made it into the Saturday finals after an all-viewer vote (the finals are at 3 p.m. ET in the U.S. on Peacock), as did the Irish rock band Bambie Thug, who had to change their costumes on Tuesday's semi-final heat when it was found that Celtic writing on the costumes said "CEASE FIRE" and "FREEDOM FOR PALESTINE":

https://www.thewrap.com/eurovision-protests-israel-eden-golan-hurricane/

The European Broadcasting Union of pubcasters who organizes Eurovision has always maintained that the contest is apolitical and that Israel's pubcasters are valid members of the organization, but politics has always butt into the proceedings over the years (like the Ukraine winning in 2022 after the Russian invasion) and with the panels of industry people voting on Saturday along with viewers, it will be interesting to see how Israel does and if the EBU will get hit with either coddling Zionism or supporting anti-Semitism.

[John Edwards]

The EBU did apparently take steps to ensure that any booing last night wasn't audible on the broadcast, and isn't above sweetening or inserting sounds of cheering to ensure that any booing doesn't go out on TV. Social media last night indicated that there was some booing, but I'm not sure if it was as pronounced as during the dress rehearsal on Wednesday.

John

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John Edwards
"You can insure against the weather, but you can't insure against incompetence, can you?" - Phil Tufnell

[Mark Jeffries]

In an interesting piece behind a paywall, the Ankler said that the very expensive to run Eurovision song contest has kept going due only to tradition and that if someone would propose it today, it would be turned down in the wink of an eye. Of course, it was a much different beast in 1958, with everyone in formal wear singing in front of a house orchestra in a concert hall and no dancers or flashy special effects--and only seven contestants.  And it was reflecting the mainstream western European adult sensibility of easy listening music (none of that American rock and roll).  Even in 1974, when ABBA basically began their international career at Eurovision, the production on their hit song "Waterloo" was understated compared to the overblown spectacle Eurovision has become--and the fall of the eastern Soviet bloc has made a big difference in what the contest has become.

Mark Jeffries
spotl...@gmail.com

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[Adam Bowie]

Eurovision is very expensive, although I'm never entirely sure why. Costs vary, but somewhere around $20m+ is probably fairly close. And from what I can tell, that cost is essentially borne by the host country - the host being the winner of the previous year's competition (the UK stepped in to host for Ukraine last year having finished 2nd in 2022). 

But I'm not sure that it's true to say that it would never happen if proposed today. The ratings are insanely good in most countries across Europe. In the UK it's about 10m, which placed it third in 2023 behind only the coronation (which isn't something that comes around that much) and the finale of Happy Valley. And in some European countries it is taken *much* more seriously than it is in the UK.

And it has a bunch of things that continue to work in 2024. Years ago, they transitioned from juries being the sole arbiters in each country to phone lines and now online voting. That means audience participation. And there's the reality-show style lead-ups in many countries that go about choosing that country's entry (Not everyone does this. Someone in the UK just *picks* our entrant these days.)

Eurovision itself is much bigger than just the Song Competition. There are other shared rights that member countries get access to. And these days, a lot of classical music created by various state broadcasters around Europe is shared this way. For example, many across Europe will watch the New Year's Day Concert from Vienna which plays a lot of Strauss waltzes (e.g. The Blue Danube) every year. The BBC Proms are shared across Europe too.

As for the booing - I'm sure that they have really good sound mixers on the programme that means that they can easily turn up or down sections of the audience that are doing anything that they don't like. For a show like Eurovision, you would probably have lots of microphones scattered across the audience that you can mix between. In Premier League football fixtures, sections of the crowd will sometimes sing songs with words that can't be broadcast, and the sound mixer will dip the relevant mics and bring up others. And I'm sure they can "augment" the crowd mix if needed.

Adam

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[Kevin M.]

I love and respect the younger generation choosing to speak out and protest perceived wrongdoings; agree or disagree with them, they want to see a change. The roadblock is that I don’t think any of the problems plaguing our planet will be cured by protesting a singing competition. And the backslide is that people on both sides cannot or will not distinguish between common people and the regimes that control the region, which is how the language becomes prejudicial and incendiary. 

I’d like to see the protesters and demonstrators take to their nation’s capitals. Or, if they really want to see change in Gaza, actually go to Gaza. College campus encampments are more about the perception of doing something than actually doing something. They’re on a perfectly manicured tree-lined quad wedged between a Subway and a Starbucks… not exactly Kent State. 

Only other point I’ll mention is the cancellation of graduation ceremonies is especially brutal for this generation, as many were denied their high school graduations four years ago due to Covid restrictions. In our collective abundance of caution, these kids aren’t getting the recognition they deserve, and that’s going to have a deep cultural impact. 

Kevin M. (RPCV)

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[Mark Jeffries]

And doesn't the EBU provide shared news and events coverage with its member broadcasters?  That's where the "Eurovision" name comes from (and the blast of Charpentier's "Te Deum" that begins and ends Eurovision broadcasts).

Mark Jeffries
spotl...@gmail.com

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[Adam Bowie]

Yes - all kinds of shared footage. 

In the past, even the Olympics would have been bought by Eurovision for onward sharing by member stations across Europe (Warner Bros Discovery has it these days, although they sub licence footage to many national PSBs around Europe as required by law).

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[Kevin M.]

Backstage drama involving the Dutch 

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-68993726?at_bbc_team=editorial&at_format=image&at_campaign=Social_Flow&at_link_type=web_link&at_medium=social&at_link_origin=BBC_News&at_campaign_type=owned&at_ptr_name=linked_in_page&at_link_id=3CD0835A-0F88-11EF-A7D1-A15769AFA27A

Kevin M. (RPCV)

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