As the largest music party in the world, the Eurovision Song Contest has a lot of rules. Some of them are pretty funny, like “No animals allowed.” Some of them are quite complicated, such as the counting ones. However, one rule now seems rather quixotic: “The ESC is a non-political event.”
The British, who were exemplary hosts in 2023, bathed Liverpool in a sea of blue and yellow and incorporated sirens and ruins into the official stage show. They organized the ESC instead of Ukraine, which was attacked by Russia. And the ESC 2024 in Malmö, Sweden, also threatens to get caught up in the political vortex.
Second ESC participating country at war
Since the Islamist Hamas attack on Israel at the beginning of October, after Ukraine, a second ESC participating country, Israel, which came third last year, has now been at war. This doesn’t leave the Eurovision world unaffected: The first allegations were already directed against the British act Olly Alexander, who was accused by the Israeli embassy in London of having signed a pro-Palestinian letter from a queer alliance. There, the events in Gaza are described as an “escalation of Israel’s apartheid regime.”
“Especially in these times, the BBC’s decision to send a participant to the ESC who supports such partisan views on Israel and uses such dehumanizing language for Israelis is a major cause for concern,” said embassy spokeswoman Orly Goldschmidt. Criticism of a similar tenor also came from the organization Campaign Against Antisemitism.
Calls to boycott Israel
At the same time, hundreds of people in Finland recently called on the Yle radio station to boycott the ESC if Israel was allowed to take part despite its actions in Gaza. There were similar calls for a boycott in Iceland and other countries because of the Gaza war.
Four months before the event, the current world situation is once again casting a dark shadow on the otherwise brightly colored and glittering ESC world. The pop nation Sweden actually only wants to celebrate a big music festival in the Malmö Arena in May, nothing more. And if there’s one nation that can do ESC, it’s actually Sweden: The Scandinavian country has already won the music competition seven times – only Ireland has managed to do so as often.
In addition, this time the ESC coincides with a special anniversary: 50 years ago, the pop group Abba won the music competition with “Waterloo” in Brighton, England – probably the most famous performance in ESC history. Will Agnetha Fältskog, Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Anni-Frid “Frida” Lyngstad be there in Malmö? Still open.
Already six times ESC in Sweden
Since the Abba victory in 1974, Sweden has hosted the competition six times, including two times in 1992 and 2013 in Malmö. The city on the Öresund Bridge towards Denmark has proven that it is a suitable location for events of this kind. One of the things that should make the ESC 2024 special is a stage with sophisticated lighting and video technology that is placed in the middle of the crowd.
The broadcaster SVT and the designers made it clear that they were working on an extraordinary show that would take the ESC to the next level. “For me, Sweden is always a guarantee of good music and entertainment,” said Munich-born lead production designer Florian Wieder recently about the cross-shaped stage.
While the stage construction is intended to be a novelty for Eurovision, the organizers are sticking to last year’s ESC motto: “United by Music” is the motto again in Malmö – united through music. In view of the war in Ukraine and Gaza, this slogan can also be understood as a counter-proposal to the prevailing war times.
Be that as it may, Sweden will definitely not send a previous ESC winner into the race, including last year’s winner Loreen. 30 applicants are taking part in the Swedish preliminary competition, the Melodifestivalen, which begins in February – Loreen is not among them. After her ESC triumphs in 2012 with “Euphoria” and in 2023 with “Tattoo”, the 40-year-old is probably not aiming for a personal triple for the time being.
Will Germany end up in last place again?
Well, and then there is Germany. For the Germans it’s a completely different triple. Ones best avoided: Malik Harris (“Rockstars”) and Lord of the Lost (“Blood
Sweden is not necessarily a good place for Germany when it comes to ESC: At the last Swedish edition in Stockholm 2016, Jamie-Lee came last with “Ghost”, and the last time in Malmö 2013, Cascada came in 21st with “Glorious”. of 25. In Sweden, the republic also experienced two bright spots: in 2000, Stefan Raab asked in Stockholm “Wadde hadde dudde da?” and came fifth. In 1985 the group Wind even came second in Gothenburg with “For All”.
Germany’s ESC curse is likely to be a minor problem compared to the world situation. So the party without politics won’t work in Malmö either. The Middle East conflict has already exploded the image of a “non-political event” in the past: at the ESC 2019 in Tel Aviv – the last in Israel so far – the band Hatari from Iceland showed Palestinian flags, whereupon the Icelandic broadcaster was fined.
During her performance in Tel Aviv, world star Madonna had a dancer with an Israeli flag and a dancer with a Palestinian flag climb the stairs arm in arm. The US singer later said that it was a “message of peace and unity”. The European Broadcasting Union EBU, which organizes the ESC internationally, was less happy. “The ESC is apolitical,” she emphasized once again at the time.
