The last edition of Eurovision was marked by the controversial participation of Israel in the contest, a debate that overshadowed Switzerland’s victory with Nemo or the Spanish performance of Nebulossa with Bitch. A part of the followers of the European festival criticized that the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) accepted the presence of the Middle Eastern country, ignoring the conflict it is currently experiencing with Palestine.
Likewise, the eurofans They questioned the lack of coherence on the part of the organization in keeping Israel in the contest while Russia She was expelled for her political and warlike attacks on Ukraine. The EBU, which has always defended the apoliticality of Eurovision, made that decision to defend the development of the contest. But this 2024 they have not achieved it, and proof of this was the boos from the public while Israel performed.
The members of Nebulathe duo representing Spain, agree that The festival experience from within was stained by this controversy. In his recent interview with Malbert on the podcast Dear Hatervocalist Mery Bas has confessed that “the ugly part” they experienced at Eurovision was that There were “police with machine guns inside the hotelsnipers, demonstrations, riots, tension…”.
For his part, Mark Dasousa has opined that The EBU “has to look at” the contradiction between allowing Israel to participate and vetoing Russia. “We are always going to be on the side of people who respect human rights and not violate them, regardless of their color or side. The moment the EBU accepts that, it risks what happened happening “.
What happened: tensions with Israel always in the background
Beyond the controversy over the mere presence of Israel, the criticism of eurofans They also addressed the behavior of the country’s press credentials, of which the Spaniard was a victim. Juanma Fernandez. The journalist claimed to have been berated and photographed by four members of the Israeli press after shouting “Free Palestine” at the end of a rehearsal by the representative of the Asian country. “In eleven years that I have been covering Eurovision, I have never felt so insecure,” she denounced. In fact, RTVE itself reacted by asking the EBU to guarantee press freedom.
This controversy was joined by another that affected the Netherlands representativeJoost Klein, who was expelled before the final a run-in with a festival photographer. Although this situation was not related to Israel, Klein had expressed his discomfort with the country’s presence in the contest and the eurofans They criticized that the EBU harshly punished the Dutchman’s behavior while allowing the provocations of the Israeli delegation.
Spain, between Ireland and Israel
Nebulossa, who remained neutral in this controversy during the development of the contest, has now explained a episode “of tension between Ireland [cuya representante fue muy crítica con Eurovisión] and the Israeli delegation“: “We were in the middle of the flag parade and we experienced an exchange of words and shouts on the part of the Irish singer, who He gave them a sermon because they were recording it“explains Desousa.
Bas assures that it was a very “unpleasant” moment, while his partner admits having felt “uncomfortable” because “The people around the girl from Israel were armed“: “When they started yelling at each other, I had an armed guy next to me and I didn’t know how I could react. Any strange movement could trigger a movement in there. “And they allowed that“Adds Bas.
“That is what the EBU has to improve,” says Dasousa. “The girl from Ireland was right in what she said: Eurovision is us, it is the public, we are the musicians who go there. The people of EBU have to look at it, and I think they have learned something,” he says confidently.
Even so, the artist acknowledges that he was concerned to see Bambie Thug, representative of Ireland, so “altered”, who confronted “people who are on the defensive.” “I understand perfectly, we are aligned on this, but…”, they say from Nebulossa.
