As a big fan of Eurovision, it pains me to boycott the contest this year but I can't stomach the thought of endorsing mass-murderers.
The EBU banned Russia from competing after their invasion into Ukraine (after a lot of public outcry, I must add), so why can't they ban Israel as well? If the problem is they "don't want Eurovision to be political", well tough luck, it already is and has been from the very start.
The answer, of course, is money.
Exactly. Allowing Israel to compete is an endorsement of their atrocities as it lends them legitimacy and a platform to present their country in a positive light.
But I guess taking a stance against genocide isn't reason enough to lose their biggest sponsor, Moroccan Oil, an Israeli company.
BP (British Petroleum) bought Amoco, which stood for American Oil Company, and didn't change its name for a long time. Then, for a while, it was "BP Amoco," which, when spelled out, would be, "British Petroleum American Oil Comapny." Good job guys.
And then there is the German-owned BMW, which makes and sells the (formerly British) Mini Cooper, and still has the rear break lights look like the Union Jack.
But according to Chris West, author of Eurovision! A History of Modern Europe Through the World’s Greatest Song Contest, politics has always been at the heart of things. “The whole idea for creating a European Song Contest was very much about bringing people together around a common culture and identity after WW2,” he tells Rolling Stone, explaining that including countries like Israel, Russia and Ukraine was really about bringing them into the “Western European cultural umbrella.”
Many of Eurovision’s most inspirational stories are political ones. The 1974 contest in Brighton is remembered as ABBA’s breakthrough year, but it’s also the year that Portugal’s entry, “E Depois do Adeus,” became a rallying cry of the revolution that overthrew the authoritarian government and started Portugal’s transition to democracy. Drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 win — including points from Russia, where Putin was implementing an anti-gay crackdown at the time — was a landmark moment for LGBTQ+ representation. Ukraine was victorious in 2016 with Jamala’s “1944” — a song that featured lyrics in Crimean Tatar language, which was thought to be a nod to Russia’s 2014 annexation of the region. In 2022, Ukraine won again with the resilience anthem “Stefania.”
This year, acts include Nebulossa — a sultry Spanish queen flanked by shirtless male dancers in sparkly corsets and knee-high boots — and Baby Lasagna — Croatia’s bonkers techno banger with pirate costumes, which encapsulates Eurovision to a tee.
Twelve months ago, when Swedish music superstar Loreen triumphed to bring the show to her home city — a contest that serendipitously coincides with the 50th anniversary of ABBA winning with “Waterloo” — Eurovision felt unstoppable.
Alexander has learned the hard way that queer joy and unity — messages he has advocated for throughout his career, including a famously rousing speech at 2019’s Glastonbury festival — are in themselves divisive against a backdrop of war crimes allegations.
Not even Ireland — a country that has become known for pro-Palestinian activism, where over 400 artists signed a letter calling for a boycott, and whose entrant, Bambie Thug, recently said in an interview: “If I wasn’t in the competition, I would also be boycotting.” Iceland, too, looked like a possible holdout, but confirmed its participation on the final day of the deadline.
The lack of nations threatening to boycott reflects the geopolitical reality that many of Eurovision’s competing countries are much closer allies of Israel than Russia, including the “Big Five” — France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the U.K. — who make the largest financial contributions each year and get an automatic pass to the final.
After qualifying for Saturday’s grand final, Ireland’s Bambie Thug claimed that they were asked to remove an Irish inscription from their costume, which translated to “ceasefire” and “freedom for Palestine.” Eurovision has a history of reprimanding pro-Palestinian sentiment: In 2019, Iceland’s broadcaster was fined after its act, Hatari, waved a Palestinian flag during the ceremony in Tel Aviv.
The original article contains 3,503 words, the summary contains 291 words. Saved 92%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
"serendipitously" my ass, the contest was rigged. Loreen was a previous winner, got extra setup time and props, and the jury voting was extremely skewed. EBU wanted to take advantage of the 50th anniversary of ABBA. Finland was robbed - the crowd favorite by far!
There have been lots of cheating scandals, but usually it's broadcasters collaborating on a voting scheme or contestants using the pre-recorded backup vocals to cover their poor live performances.
Holy shit, read this title and genuinely thought it was The Onion. I had to read the sublemmy name like 3 times to realize this is Not The Onion. My fucking god what reality do we live in. We split from another universe some time in the 1970s and are living this shit show, LOL.
The high baggage Spacey endorsement likely won't attract many Democrats but might impress the Lindsey Graham and Matt Gaetz types on the Republican side.
It's pretty damn hard to siphon voters from Don Cheeto Poorleone, they way they've attached their face holes to his blistered pucker en masse. How else are they almost as full of shit as he is?
Yeah I get that but that due to him being more of an all natural hippie guy. His wife owns an all natural company and he stays in shape by doing yoga. He's been that way for years. RFK jr believes the conspiracy shit. Never forget Woody discovered that Liem was related to Chris Hemsworth after making two movies with him. He's smart but not bright.
rollingstone.com
Hot