This Saturday, May 11, the Malmö Arena in Malmö (Sweden) hosted the grand final of Eurovision 2024, in which 25 countries have competed to win the crystal microphone. The edition, whose victory was won by Switzerland, has become one of the most controversial in recent years, since Israel’s participation has not been very welcome among the rest of the delegations due to its conflict with Palestine. This has been demonstrated in the performance of Iolanda, the representative of Portugal, who has worn nails with the colors of Palestine.
The last week has been marked by the controversial participation of Israel, a tension that exploded this Saturday. It was during the morning of this May 11 when the representative of the Netherlands, Joost Klein, was disqualified after being involved in “an incident” with a member of the production team. On the other hand, the attitude of the Israeli media and the country’s delegation has generated protests from several delegations and their artists.
One of the artists who has shown herself most strongly has been Iolanda, the representative of Portugal in the European competition. The artist wanted to launch a show of support for the Palestinian people by wearing nails with the colors of the territory’s flag. A gesture that has not gone unnoticed on social networks, where Internet users have wanted to highlight this display of affection.
But it was not the only detail with which the Portuguese delegation has shown its support for Palestine. In a clear tone of denunciation, Iolanda paraded in a black design, constructed from an embroidered bodysuit with transparencies and a sarong-type skirt that belongs to a Palestinian brand.
2024
A most controversial edition
But Iolanda has not been the only one to take a stand. This Saturday, Bambie Thug, the representative of Ireland, decided to be absent from the dress rehearsal to inform the European Broadcasting Union of a complaint about the pejorative comments made about her by the Israeli broadcasting corporation (KAN). During the rehearsal of the flag parade this Saturday, three delegations did not come out: Ireland, Greece and Switzerland – something that did not happen in the grand final.
Nor did France agree with everything that happened. During the rehearsal, Slimane, her representative, interrupted his performance to speak out and ask for peace. Likewise, Alessandra Mele, who was to be the spokesperson for the votes of the Norwegian jury, announced hours before the start of the gala that she would not finally participate in the contest and was positioning herself against the participation of Israel. Loreen, winner of the last edition, assured that she would not go out to present the trophy to the Middle Eastern country if she won the competition.
