In the seven-decade history of Eurovision, it鈥檚 unlikely that a three-word slogan has been repeated so readily by the song contest鈥檚 extravagant contestants, tireless organizers or cagey media managers: The world, they insist, can be 鈥淯nited by Music.鈥
But Malmo, the Swedish city this year, is increasingly divided by Eurovision.
Saturday鈥檚 Eurovision final will be watched by more than 150 million people around the world on TV and around 15,000 fans gathered inside the Malmo Arena. But the concert may be only the second-best attended event in the city that evening; a pro-Palestinian protest, calling for Israel鈥檚 removal from the contest, is expecting at least 20,000 attendees, and possibly far more.
The competition 鈥 which tries desperately to retain its 鈥渁political鈥 tag 鈥 has become the largest cultural event so far to be rocked by the repercussions of Israel鈥檚 war in Gaza. Israel鈥檚 military assault has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in Gaza since it was launched in response to Hamas鈥 Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, in which at least 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 taken hostage. Those protesting or boycotting the song contest claim it is 鈥渁rtwashing鈥 the conflict; others defend Israel鈥檚 inclusion, insisting the contest should not be dragged into geopolitics.
鈥淧olitics does influence the event from time to time,鈥 Paul Jordan, a fan and researcher of the contest who worked in its communications team from 2015 to 2018, told CNN. But this year, 鈥渢he presence of Israel has become such a big issue (that) I think it鈥檚 going to overshadow the event,鈥 he said.
Weeks of simmering tension over the question are coming to the fore in Malmo this week, ahead of the contest鈥檚 semi-finals on Tuesday and Thursday. And they are leading to perhaps the tensest three minutes in the contest鈥檚 history, when Israel鈥檚 competitor, Eden Golan, performs live.
鈥淲e could well see protests in the arena, we could see booing,鈥 Jordan said. 鈥淚 would imagine the scale of it in Malmo would be bigger than anything we鈥檝e ever seen before.鈥
It is difficult to pierce the celebratory bubble that surrounds the competition each year. But even among Eurovision鈥檚 media-managed contestants, there are some rumblings of discontent this time.
鈥淚t is frustrating. I don鈥檛 agree with it at all. It doesn鈥檛 make sense,鈥 Bambie Thug, Ireland鈥檚 participant, told CNN of extensive rules restricting any form of pro-Palestinian statement during the event.
The singer previously released a statement resisting calls to boycott the event, saying they intended instead to provide a 鈥減ro-Palestinian voice鈥 in Malmo. They told CNN that Israel鈥檚 involvement in the competition was the 鈥渨rong decision.鈥
Founded by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) in 1956 as a unity-fostering project between national broadcasters, Eurovision has been rocked and buffeted for decades by the continent鈥檚 geopolitical currents. It offers an unrivaled soft power-building platform to member states with poor human rights records, like Azerbaijan and, , Russia.
The completed Eurovision stage at Malmo Arena is shown at a press conference in Malmo, Sweden, on April 25, 2024. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP, File)
But this year is the most difficult yet for the EBU, which decided against excluding Israel over the country鈥檚 war in Gaza, whereas after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago 鈥 contrasting stances that led to calls of double standards.
鈥淭he two are not comparative at all,鈥 the EBU鈥檚 director general, Noel Curran, told CNN, insisting that Israel鈥檚 national broadcaster KAN did not breach the contest鈥檚 rules as Russia鈥檚 did, which is the ultimate test of eligibility for the contest.
鈥淚f we start across the board just deciding that we鈥檙e going to exclude people, on the basis of geopolitical situations or terrible things that might be happening in the world, then every year we鈥檙e just going to have groups of people calling for someone to be excluded 鈥 be it Azerbaijan, be it somebody else,鈥 Curran said.
鈥淲e want to try and keep the contest as non-political as we can,鈥 he added. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 hard.鈥
He may be understating matters. Publicists representing a swathe of Europe鈥檚 most eccentric musical artists in Malmo have been especially cautious with their talent, seeking to protect them from questions relating to the protests taking place just a few yards from their hotels.
CNN asked to interview Golan, Israel鈥檚 performer, for this story, but was told it would only be arranged if CNN provided the questions beforehand, which goes against standard journalistic practices.
The EBU was already forced to intervene when Golan鈥檚 initial song submission, 鈥淥ctober Rain,鈥 was deemed to too closely reference Hamas鈥檚 Oct. 7 attacks on Israel.
And the EBU has worked hard to keep dissent from seeping into Malmo Arena. Long-standing rules preventing flags of non-competing countries and territories mean that Palestinian flags are banned from the crowd, which Bambie Thug told CNN they "100 per cent" disagreed with.
Artists are not allowed to make statements either, though some may risk the punishment 鈥 a fine for their broadcaster 鈥 to do so, as Iceland鈥檚 act did in 2019, when they during the contest, which was held in Israel.
鈥淲e wouldn鈥檛 want them to do that, quite obviously,鈥 Curran said. 鈥淭hat is not something that we want artists to do, and it鈥檚 in the rules that they shouldn鈥檛 do that, and can鈥檛 do that.鈥
When asked by CNN, the EBU did not rule out adjusting sound levels on the broadcast to obscure booing, if it occurs during the Israeli performance.
But, for all their efforts, Eurovision bosses will hold their breaths while Golan sings in Saturday鈥檚 grand final if, as expected, she progresses from Thursday鈥檚 semi-final.
鈥淭he real worry would be any threat of violence, particularly towards the singers,鈥 Jordan said. 鈥淭he worst nightmare could be a stage invasion.鈥 The latter occurred during the United Kingdom鈥檚 performance in 2018, when a man and screamed a message before being removed.
As Malmo sought to stage a week鈥檚 worth of events and performances to celebrate Eurovision, it encountered a problem: artists kept dropping out, following pressure from pro-Palestinian groups urging a boycott of the contest.
鈥淚t has divided the city, in a way,鈥 admitted Karin Karlsson, who is in charge of staging the events in Malmo. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we will solve any questions when it comes to the war in Gaza by boycotting,鈥 she said.
In total, she said 20 artists had dropped out of performing in the city. But Karlsson is undeterred. 鈥淚 sleep well,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 want to show everybody a vibrant, super diverse city, where we can live side by side but still think differently.鈥
She hopes that Malmo is on track to fulfilling that goal. 鈥淏ut you never know. It鈥檚 uncertain at the moment.鈥
Her efforts may have been complicated by the choice of host. 鈥(Malmo) has this history of resistance and solidarity, and it鈥檚 a working class city, but at the same time the municipality has tried to rebrand Malmo as a more global city,鈥 Elina Pahnke, a Malmo-based journalist covering culture for the Aftonbladet newspaper, told CNN.
That has caused tensions with some residents, she said, who want resources and time spent on public services, rather than international spectacles.
The city is also home to large Muslim and Palestinian populations. Weekly pro-Palestinian protests have been held since Israel鈥檚 war in Gaza began in October, and the protest during Saturday鈥檚 live final could be the biggest since those early weeks.
鈥淲e hope to show the EBU that the people of Malmo reject their attempt at artwashing,鈥 said Mohammad Ghannam, who has led the movement to boycott Eurovision as part of Sweden鈥檚 Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) group.
A massive security operation is in place; a Swedish police spokesperson told CNN it was one of the largest Malmo has ever seen, and involves officers from Denmark and Norway as well as Sweden.
And last week, Israel鈥檚 National Security Council raised its travel warning to Malmo, urging Israelis planning to attend Eurovision to reconsider whether they need to do so. It cited 鈥渢angible concern that terrorists will exploit the protest and the anti-Israel atmosphere to carry out an attack on Israelis,鈥 and described Malmo as a hub for 鈥渁nti-Israel protests.鈥
Lara Yosef, a 30-year-old Syrian migrant to Malmo who will be attending Saturday鈥檚 demonstration, said that when she walks past Eurovision advertising in her city, 鈥淚 see blood.鈥
鈥淚鈥檓 hoping that some artists will surprise us and (make) some statements on stage,鈥 Yosef said.
Amid those tensions, some artists have complained of online harassment and abuse, while others have praised the pro-Palestinian demonstrators. 鈥淧ower to them for protesting,鈥 Bambie Thug said, before their media manager quickly asked CNN to return to questions centred on their music.
But many more are working to block out what is becoming a near-deafening distraction, joining Eurovision鈥檚 organizers in offering delicate comments. 鈥(Our) sympathy is (with) all people who say that war is s--t,鈥 said Ukrainian contestant Alyona Alyona. 鈥淏ecause who, if not we, can say what is war, and how s--t it is?鈥
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