this post was submitted on 08 May 2024
145 points (93.4% liked)

Europe

8324 readers
1 users here now

News/Interesting Stories/Beautiful Pictures from Europe 🇪🇺

(Current banner: Thunder mountain, Germany, 🇩🇪 ) Feel free to post submissions for banner pictures

Rules

(This list is obviously incomplete, but it will get expanded when necessary)

  1. Be nice to each other (e.g. No direct insults against each other);
  2. No racism, antisemitism, dehumanisation of minorities or glorification of National Socialism allowed;
  3. No posts linking to mis-information funded by foreign states or billionaires.

Also check out [email protected]

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
[email protected]
145
Eurovision expresses disappointment over performer wearing pro-Palestinian symbol (tribune.com.pk)
submitted 6 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
65 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

The musician was seen wearing a keffiyeh on his arm, a symbol commonly used to show support for Palestine.

In reponse, a representative of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) said in a statement: “All performers are made aware of the rules of the contest, and we regret that Eric Saade chose to compromise the non-political nature of the event.”

Despite facing criticism for its decision not to exclude Israel and worldwide protests condemning the organizers' choice, the competition maintained its stance.

“Politics does influence the event from time to time,” said Paul Jordan, a contest enthusiast and researcher who was part of its communications team from 2015 to 2018, in an interview with CNN.

However, he noted, “the presence of Israel has become such a big issue (that) I think it’s going to overshadow the event.”

The news comes during Israel’s seizure and closure of the Rafah crossing in Gaza, which has raised concerns that already-scarce food and medical supplies will be further depleted and lead to a “catastrophic” humanitarian disaster.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] Atomic 17 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I'll add Eric Saade's own response

Den sjalen fick jag av min pappa som liten grabb, för att aldrig glömma var familjen kommer ifrån. Då visste jag inte att den en dag skulle kallas 'politisk symbol'. Det är som att kalla Dalahästen för politisk symbol. I mina ögon är det bara rasism. Jag ville bara vara inkluderande och bära något som är äkta för mig – men EBU verkar tycka att min etnicitet är kontroversiell. Det säger ingenting om mig, men allting om dem. Jag säger som årets ESC-slogan: United by music”.

Translated;

I got that shawl from my father as a little boy, to never forget where the family comes from. I didn't know then that it would one day be called a 'political symbol'. It's like calling the Dala horse a political symbol. In my eyes, that's just racism. I just wanted to be inclusive and wear something authentic to me – but the EBU seems to find my ethnicity controversial. It says nothing about me, but everything about them. I say as this year's ESC slogan: United by music”.