un man and a woman burned a Quran in Malmö, Sweden, a day before the start of the Eurovision Song Contest festivities. This is what emerges from a video posted Friday on social networks. A Palestinian flag was also burned in central Malmö, not far from two song festival sites.
Swedish police are under fire for allowing the burning of the Quran so close to the big event. From Saturday, numerous concerts and parties will be organized in the Swedish city for a week, until the grand finale of the song festival on May 11.
In total, more than one hundred thousand visitors are expected in Malmö. Besides the musical event, due to the war in Gaza, several demonstrations have also been announced, both from pro-Palestinians and pro-Israelis. According to Swedish channel SVT, police expect more than 40,000 participants on Thursday for a demonstration against Israel’s participation in the song contest. This action will take place just before the second semi-final in which Israel will participate.
On Thursday, Israel’s National Security Council strengthened its travel advice for the Swedish city. Israelis planning to travel to Malmö are urged to reconsider their decision.
Many artists, including Swedish ones, had called for a boycott of Israel because of the war. But the organization rejected this appeal.
