Israel qualified for the Eurovision final after protests interrupted rehearsal
Six people with too large Palestinian flags tried to prevent the singer’s performance, but were quickly removed from the hall. According to the rules of the arena, all flags are allowed, but there are restrictions on their size.
| The competition, whose slogan is « united through the music », has been accompanied by protests about Israel’s participation for the second consecutive year. |
Dozens of former participants, including last year’s winner Nemo, called on the country to be excluded from the competition for the war in Gaza. Both propalistic and outsual protests are being held this week in Basel, which hosts Eurovision this year, according to BTA.
Yuval Rafael survived the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 and will present Israel with the song New Day Will Rise. In an interview with the BBC earlier this week, Rafael said her team was silent on the audience during her rehearsals when there were distractions in the background.
Despite the continued tension, her song continues to be among the favorites to win according to bookmakers. However, the Swedish band KAJ continues to be with their song about the Bara Bada Bastu sauna, which qualified for the final after the first semi -final. With the greatest chances after them is the representative of Austria – JJ, with the song Wasted Love, who managed to qualify after the second semi -finals.
Photo Gales: Eurovision participants passed on a turquoise carpet in Basel
Miriana Conte from Malta with the song Serving, who had to change her title after a complaint from the BBC, also reached the final. Luxembourg, Denmark, Armenia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Greece also qualified, who joined Poland, Nedeland, Portugal and Ukraine. The finalists after the first semi -finals are the Icelandic duo VAEB, the Norwegian singer Kyle Alessandro, DJ Gabri Ponte, a representative of San Marino, and the Estonian Tommy Cash with the song Espresso Macchiato.
However, a total of 11 of the 37 performers who arrived in Basel have dropped out. Twenty of the finalists were selected by viewer voting, while six countries automatically qualified for the final: the host Switzerland and the so -called. Big Five – countries contributing to the most funds for the competition – France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom.
| The big question about the final is whether Celine Dion will return to the Eurovision stage, who won the 1988 competition with the song Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi as a representative of Switzerland. |
During the first semi -finals, her video magazine was released, in which she said she would not want anything but to be with the audience in Basel. « Switzerland will forever take a special place in my heart. This is the country that believes in me and gave me a chance to be a part of something so extraordinary, » said the singer, repeating her message in French.
