Mustii, during the second semi-final of Eurovision, May 9, 2024 in Malmö ©BelgaImage
Mustii, the Belgian candidate for the Eurovision song contest, was not selected Thursday evening to reach the final of the musical competition. He defended the title “Before the party’s over” during the second semi-final held in Malmö, Sweden.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict: essential to a competition supposed to be apolitical
Chosen based on public votes, the Latvian, Austrian, Dutch, Norwegian, Israeli, Greek, Estonian, Swiss, Georgian and Armenian candidates advance to the final which will take place on Saturday. They join candidates sent by Serbia, Portugal, Slovenia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Finland, Cyprus, Croatia, Ireland and Luxembourg, who have already been selected in the first semi-final on Tuesday . Six countries are automatically qualified for the final: Sweden, title holder, and the “big five” – Germany, Spain, France, Italy, United Kingdom – the biggest contributors to the organization of the competition.
The participation of Israeli singer Eden Golan, performing the title Hurricane, in the competition, was contested in view of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, with several petitions across Europe demanding the exclusion of the country. The Belgian Mustii also carried a political message Thursday evening during his performance in Malmö. Black letters forming the word “Peace” were visible on his arms. Shortly before, the Swedish singer Éric Saade, whose father is of Palestinian origin, also wore a keffiyeh around his arm.
Thousands of people marched through the streets of Malmö on Thursday to protest against Israel’s participation in Eurovision. According to the police, between 10 and 12,000 people gathered in the afternoon. At the start of the evening, around fifty pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered in front of the Malmö Arena, where the European song competition takes place, before being moved by numerous police officers. Protesters also gathered at the Eurovision village, where the semi-final in which Israel competed was broadcast on the big screen.
In Belgium, some 70 people – according to the organizers – demonstrated Thursday evening in Brussels in front of the main entrance of RTBF and VRT, which were broadcasting the second semi-final of the Eurovision song contest. The VRT unions also briefly interrupted the broadcast of the start of the second semi-final of the competition on Thursday for protest action. A message of support for the Palestinian people was broadcast on the air.
