Category Archives: Eurovision

Queer artists call on Olly Alexander to boycott Eurovision over Israel participation

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Maxine Peake and Sarah Schulman among signatories of open letter asking singer to withdraw from contest

More than 450 queer artists, individuals and organisations have called on the UK’s Eurovision contestant, Olly Alexander, to boycott this year’s competition in solidarity with Palestine.

The actor Maxine Peake and the novelist and playwright Sarah Schulman are among the signatories of the open letter calling on the singer to withdraw from the contest in May due to the conflict in Gaza.

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Israel to compete at Eurovision song contest after changing lyrics to its entry

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Song amended after organisers banned entry for seeming references to 7 October attacks, which broke rules on political neutrality

Israel will be allowed to compete at the Eurovision song contest after changing the lyrics to its song, organisers have confirmed.

Eden Golan, representing Israel at this year’s competition, originally submitted a ballad called October Rain, widely thought to reference the Hamas attacks of 7 October. However, the entry was barred on the grounds of breaking rules on political neutrality.

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Israel asks Eurovision candidate to change controversial lyrics

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National broadcaster says it agreed to make changes after request from country’s president

Israel has agreed to revise the lyrics of its potential submission to the Eurovision song contest after organisers took issue with verses that appeared to reference Hamas’s 7 October attack.

The contest, which will take place from 7 to 11 May in the Swedish city of Malmö, can disqualify contestants deemed to have breached its rules on political neutrality. Kan, Israel’s national broadcaster, is tasked with choosing the country’s entry.

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Israel should have a voice at Eurovision, says president amid row over lyrics

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Isaac Herzog said ‘haters try to drive us off every stage’ as lyrics to October Rain scrutinised by organisers

Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, wants to ensure the country competes in the Eurovision song contest after the event’s organisers said they were examining whether the lyrics sung by the Israeli contestant were too political.

“I think it’s important for Israel to appear in Eurovision, and this is also a statement because there are haters who try to drive us off every stage,” Herzog said on Sunday, the Times of Israel reported. “Being smart is not just being right,” he added.

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Israeli Eurovision song under ‘scrutiny’ for alleged Hamas attack reference

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Organisers considering if lyrics breach non-political rules a week after giving Israel all-clear to participate

The organisers of the Eurovision song contest have said they are “scrutinising” the lyrics of Israel’s entry after it was claimed it makes reference to the Hamas attacks on 7 October.

The lyrics from Israel’s entry, October Rain, sung by Eden Golan, were leaked to the media. According to the Israel Hayom newspaper, lines in the song include, “There’s no air left to breathe”, and “They were all good children, each one of them”. The song also refers to “flowers”, which the newspaper reported is a military code for war fatalities.

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Israel can compete at 2024 Eurovision song contest, say organisers

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European Broadcasting Union’s decision follows calls for country to be excluded over Gaza war

Israel can compete in this year’s Eurovision song contest, organisers have said, despite calls for it to be excluded over the Gaza war as Russia was after invading Ukraine.

Petitions have been circulating calling for Israel to be kicked out of the event, which is being held in Malmö, Sweden, in May.

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Feminists attack Spain’s ‘sexist’ Eurovision entry as PM defends singers

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Public opinion divided over lyrics to Zorra, usually used to mean ‘bitch’, by electropop duo Nebulossa

It has been criticised by some as insulting to women, but hailed by the prime minister as provocative – in a good way.

Days after Spain selected its entry for this year’s Eurovision song contest, the electropop tune Zorra has rocketed to the top of the country’s music charts and divided public opinion.

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Swedish music stars call for Israel Eurovision ban over Gaza

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Open letter signed by more than 1,000 musicians from 2024 host country follows petition from artists in Finland and Iceland

More than 1,000 musical artists from Eurovision host country Sweden have signed an open letter calling for Israel to be excluded from this year’s edition of the song contest over its “brutal warfare in Gaza”.

Published in Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, the open letter says that by allowing Israel to participate, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) “is exhibiting a remarkable double standard that undermines the organisation’s credibility”.

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Australian Eurovision entrant Danny Estrin reveals cancer diagnosis as Voyager cancel European tour

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Lead singer of Perth synth-metal band, which placed ninth in Eurovision, set for ‘immediate treatment’

The frontman for Voyager, Australia’s representatives at this year’s Eurovision, has announced he has been diagnosed with cancer that requires “immediate treatment”.

Danny Estrin announced the shock diagnosis on Instagram, saying he was “absolutely devastated” the band would have to cancel its upcoming European tour.

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This year’s Eurovision is most watched final in song contest’s history, says BBC

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During a five-minute peak in the UK, 11m people were watching, while the average viewing figure was 9.9m

Saturday night’s Eurovision song contest in Liverpool was the most watched grand final in the competition’s history, the BBC has said.

In the UK, there was a five-minute peak of 11 million people watching and an average viewing figure of 9.9 million, which equates to a 63% TV audience share.

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Ukraine minister ‘confused’ by Eurovision refusal to let Zelenskiy speak

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Exclusive: Culture minister says he was puzzled about reasoning for not allowing president to address song contest

Ukraine’s culture minister has said he was “surprised” and “confused” that Volodymyr Zelenskiy was barred from making a televised speech during the Eurovision grand final.

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the owner of Eurovision, said last week that allowing the Ukrainian president to address the contest, which is watched around the world, risked jeopardising its “non-political nature”.

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Eurovision 2023: Sweden wins the 2023 Eurovision song contest with Tattoo by Loreen – as it happened

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Loreen becomes only second person to win contest twice as Sweden claims seventh victory overall

The scandal though is that Georgia were robbed of a place in the final. Robbed, I tell you. A dramatic gothic ballad type affair with lots of creepy hands in the background on the screen reaching out for Iru, the song Echo would have been a great addition to tonight’s show. Don’t blame me, I voted for it.

This tweet summed it up really.

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Russian missiles strike home town of Ukraine’s Eurovision entry during contest

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University town of Ternopil, home of Tvorchi, targeted by missiles with two people injured

The home town of Ukraine’s Eurovision entry came under fire from Russian missiles during the song contest on Saturday.

Ternopil, the university home town of electronic music duo Tvorchi, was among the places targeted, according to Dame Melinda Simmons, the British ambassador to Ukraine.

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Ukraine aims for repeat victory in most political Eurovision in years

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Four-hour broadcast will feature taunts at Putin and a singalong of a Liverpool anthem

There will be rockets, soldiers and moustachioed men in their underpants lampooning Vladimir Putin as a “crocodile psychopath” – and that’s just the Croatian act.

One of the most stridently political Eurovision grand finals in years takes place in Liverpool on Saturday night against a backdrop of a war in Ukraine that shows little sign of ending.

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Sunak and Starmer criticise decision to deny Zelenskiy a Eurovision speech

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Producers of event refuse Ukraine president’s request to speak over fears of politicising contest

Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer have voiced their disapproval of a decision to prevent Volodymyr Zelenskiy from being able to address this year’s Eurovision.

The prime minister and the Labour leader were united in criticising the decision to block the Ukrainian president’s request to speak at Saturday evening’s grand final. They were joined in their opposition by the former prime minister Boris Johnson.

PA Media contributed to this report

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Hosting Ukraine’s Eurovision party – podcast

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Hannah Moore reports from Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena where Britain is preparing to host the Eurovision song contest on behalf of last year’s winners Ukraine

On the eve of the Eurovision song contest finals, Hannah Moore travels to Liverpool to watch the rehearsals and hear from Ukrainians running stalls in ‘Eurovision Village’.

Chris West, the author of Eurovision! A History of Modern Europe Through the World’s Greatest Song Contest explains politics always plays a big part in the event but this year is particularly poignant.

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Eurovision organisers rebuff Zelenskiy request to give video speech at final

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European Broadcasting Union, which oversees song contest, says appearance by Ukrainian president could politicise the event

The owners of the Eurovision song contest have turned down a request from Volodymyr Zelenskiy to make a video appearance during the final on Saturday in Liverpool.

The Ukrainian president had hoped to appeal to the global audience of about 160 million people to continue their support for his country in the war with Russia.

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Risk of cyber-attack is main Eurovision worry, says BBC executive

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Cybersecurity experts drafted in to help thwart any sabotage attempt as UK stands in as host for Ukraine

The risk of a cyber-attack by pro-Russian hackers is the “main worry” for broadcasters staging the Eurovision song contest on behalf of war-torn Ukraine, a BBC executive has said.

Experts from the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre have been drafted in to help thwart any attempts to sabotage the competition’s public vote on Saturday.

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Liverpool predicted to get £40m Eurovision boost in visitor spending

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Extra 100,000 visitors expected amid £1bn lift for UK hospitality in May helped by coronation, bank holidays and Eurovision

Liverpool is likely to receive a £40m boost as tens of thousands of Eurovision fans descend on the city to celebrate the annual song contest next week.

Liverpool, which saw off Glasgow to be chosen as host after last year’s winners, Ukraine, were unable to hold the event amid Russia’s invasion, is expecting an influx of visitors.

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Liverpool plans huge Eurovision sing-along in solidarity with Ukraine

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Project hopes Beatles classic will ‘unite the world’ and show victims of the conflict that they’ll never walk alone

An ambitious campaign to create the world’s biggest sing-along as an expression of solidarity with Ukraine during the Eurovision song contest is gaining momentum.

The #HelpUkraineSong project is aiming to “unite the world through music” by getting as many people as possible to sing the Beatles’ With a Little Help from My Friends at noon on Saturday 13 May.

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