Eurovision host Sweden tightened security for Israeli singer Eden Golan • FRANCE 24 English

it’s been a Eurovision uh week like no other as you say incredibly tense buildup just on the security side um this was perhaps in the top three if not the number one police operation there’s ever been in Sweden um hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of officers uh reinforced by their colleagues from both Norway uh and Denmark special units Riot units as well uh helicopters overhead all all weekend from Thursday to Saturday drones in the air spotting where where people were moving around um now there were thousands of people who demonstrated through Malmo both on Thursday and yesterday Saturday everything was was generally peaceful the only time there was really anything that could be called trouble uh was outside the arena itself now Sweden has very strong freedom of of expression laws but you tend to need to have uh permission to have a demonstration well outside the arena not long before Aiden Gan was going to take to the stage um people had gone there in secret and suddenly sort of blossomed up into a into a demonstration right outside the gates um now the police tried to contain that they kind of formed formed a wall some of the protesters uh tried to rush the entrance of the Arena where the Eurovision was uh was taking place um but on the on the whole despite that it wasn’t a a violent event I think the instance of pepper spray was maybe one officer using pepper spray uh on one person I was kind of caught up in the crush but again crush is a bit is a bit strong for it people were removed fairly peacefully and um and taken away to demonstrate in another area now those demonstrations carried on throughout the night until about until about 2:00 a.m. um people were happy to see that is is hadn’t won but still there’s there’s a lot of anger um among the very large um Muslim and Middle Eastern diaspora community in Malmo many other other people uh who came here to demonstrate from across Sweden and elsewhere in Europe as well uh that Israel had been allowed to compete during their war in Gaza comparing that with the situation as your reporter mentioned of Russia not being allowed to compete in the Eurovision song contest

Reporting from Malmo, FRANCE 24’s Paul Rhys says Israeli singer Eden Golan spent the Eurovision week in Malmo under tight security as host Sweden deployed additional police officers to secure the contest. 
#Sweden #Eurovision #Israel

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20 comments

  2. So … Israel took 5th place on Eurovision….
    Doesn't look like too many people share views of the anti-Israeli protests ….

  4. Maybe it would be a good idea to cancel the song contest next year. Despite the right to protest, it can also be abused.

  5. Imagine the chaos over there if Israel won the contest. And the protesters are campaigning for a Palestinian state that would never allow the Swiss winner to exist.

  8. Seychelles doesn’t want any isrealis visiting our peaceful islands. Your money and your hands has blood on it.
    Seychelles condemns lying Israel and stands with Palestine.
    Thank you SA
    Arrest warrants coming soon.

  11. worst eurovision of my life… if they really faked last years results in order to get Sweden on 50th aniversery of ABBA – they got what they deserved

  13. Its fantastic that the people of Europe gave the second highest vote support to Israel and Eden Golan !…

  17. If Russia is excluded so should Israel be excluded. Russia is more of a European country than Israel. Why is it there anyway? Double standards perhaps?

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