Israel’s Eurovision performance drowned out by boos and ‘Free Palestine’ chants at Jury Show

Footage posted to social media by attendees at the Eurovision Song Contest’s Jury Show offer glimpses of a chaotic scene Wednesday night.

Videos posted to X depict the crowd booing and chanting ‘Free Palestine’ throughout Eden Golan’s performance for Israel, almost drowning the singer out entirely.

On May 8, 16 countries taking part in the semi-final of the international competition took the stage to perform their songs to an arena of fans in Sweden.

While television viewers of the final performance will determine the winner of the contest, juries still cast their votes at the Jury Show in order to determine an outcome in case voting breaks down during the finals.

One X user called the atmosphere in the venue ‘horrible’ and said you could ‘feel the tension,’ while others simply shared videos of the loudly booing crowd.

This development comes after widespread criticism of Israel being allowed to enter the competition at all, given the country’s ongoing attacks on Palestinians in Gaza.

The war against Hamas has killed more than 35,000 people in Palestine, and injured a further 77,000 in Gaza, according to figures obtained by Al Jazeera.

Among continued calls for a permanent ceasefire, many disagree with the European Broadcasting Union’s decision to allow Israel to participate in the song competition.

This dissent was obvious in Malmö, Sweden as angry voices almost entirely overpowered Israel’s entry, according to the videos shared to social media.

One user even claimed that security threatened to kick them out for booing and chanting during Golan’s performance.

Contradictory to this, it’s clearly stated on Eurovision’s website that peaceful protest is allowed.

The site reads: ‘The EBU is a firm advocate for freedom of speech and the right for people to express their deeply held views and opinions. We understand that people may wish to make their voices heard and support the right of those who wish to demonstrate peacefully.’

Many have called for a boycott of the competition in protest of Israel’s involvement, particularly following revelations that the country’s original song entry included what some perceived to be anti-Palestine lyrics.

Lyrics in the song, October Rain, prompted accusations that the country was ‘spreading propaganda’ and that the song contains a political message. After furious backlash, the country agreed to change the lyrics.

Even other country’s performers have spoken out on the issue, including Ireland’s entry Bambie Thug, who stated that they don’t agree with the European Broadcasting Union’s decision to include the country in the contest.

Some have protested in other ways, with former Swedish contestant Eric Saade – who was a part of the opening act of the show this week – taking to the stage wearing a keffiyeh on his arm, a symbol that is commonly used to demonstrate support towards Palestine.

Amid the backlash, Israel’s National Security Council issued a warning against Israelis travelling to Malmö for the competition over concerns about ‘targeted threats.’ They raised the threat to level 3, the second-highest after level 4, which imposes a total travel ban.

The Second Semi-Final of the competition will be broadcast on April 9 live from Malmö, Sweden and the Grand Final will be broadcast on April 11.

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