2024-02-25 15:40:00
If the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) considers the Israeli contribution to be too political, Israel will not send a replacement to Malmö.
Israel is considering canceling its participation in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) in Malmö, Sweden, due to possible opposition to its submitted entry, which might be considered too political. Israel’s public broadcaster Able to announced that he had “no intention” of replacing the ESC song entitled “October Rain” if the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) declared it invalid for allegedly having too political content. This would mean “that Israel would not be able to take part in the competition” if the song was not approved by the EBU.
There had previously been calls to exclude Israel from this year’s competition because of the war in the Gaza Strip. The EBU had rejected this with reference to the fact that it was not governments competing once morest each other at the ESC, but rather public broadcasters as members of the EBU.
According to Israeli media reports, singer Eden Golan’s song “October Rain,” sung largely in English with some Hebrew words, refers to the victims of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
The singer qualified to represent Israel at the world’s largest music competition in Malmö in May. The ESC will take place in Sweden from May 7th to 11th.
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