Norwegian group Gåte had reservations about participating in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest and almost pulled out at the last minute. The band’s guitarist, Magnus Børmark, told newspaper Aftenposten he felt the artists were “forced into a political role”, and therefore had to shoulder the responsibility for the political questions surrounding the contest. “We eventually had constructive talks with the EBU. Things were just good enough for it to be implemented,” Børmark said.
This year’s song contest saw multiple controversies amid the build up to the finale last Saturday. On top of the shock disqualification of Dutch entry Joost Klein, Eurovision organisers the EBU faced significant criticism for the inclusion of Israel amidst the Israel-Palestine crisis. In addition, there were reports of a “crisis meeting” between four countries and the EBU before the finale began.
Nemo, Switzerland’s Eurovision Song Contest winner, suggested that the competition might need “fixing” after hearing of the EBU’s policy banning nonbinary flags did not sit well with him. Nemo, who became the first nonbinary Eurovision winner in history, said there was a “double standard”, and confirmed that he “smuggled” his flag into the contest.
Portuguese Eurovision entry Iolanda also fell afoul of controversy when her finale performance was replaced with separate footage due to the keffiyeh pattern on her nails, which are associated with Palestine. The broadcaster may even consider a “formal protest” to the Eurovision organisers if they conclude Iolanda was “discriminated” against.
Irish entry Bambie Thug accused the Eurovision organisers of “not supporting them” amid their complaint to the EBU, claiming KAN incited violence against him twice or thrice. They later declared: “Fuck the EBU. The thing that makes this is the contestants, the community behind it, the love and the power and the support of all of us is what is making change.”
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