the winner takes it all
May 11, 2024 1:12 AM Subscribe
Good morning Europe! The Grand Final of the 68th Eurovision Song Contest 2024 will take place today in Malmö, Sweden (detailed previously on the Blue).
At least, it's supposed to.
Never a simple show to arrange, this year has been particularly dogged by controversies and protests around the inclusion of Israel in the lineup, with many criticising the EBU's "apolitical" stance.
But what looks to be the biggest upset in the running of the event so far is the unknown incident involving Dutch singer Joost Klein, who was supposed to perform in yesterday's dress rehearsal (which would also be shown to the worldwide juries for their votes) but was stopped at the last minute, much to the disgust of the crowd in the stadium.
The specifics of the incident are still unknown, but this morning Dutch media reported that the police received a complaint about Klein and will be investigating. Nobody knows if Joost will be performing tonight, or whether the Netherlands will be formally disqualified, resulting in potentially signficiant changes to the voting outcome.
Unfortunately, this has had an impact on the opening of the 'Rest of the World' voting, which was supposed to begin 24 hours before the final and has still not started as of this post, leaving a much narrower window for voters and for the organisers to verify the results.
Never a simple show to arrange, this year has been particularly dogged by controversies and protests around the inclusion of Israel in the lineup, with many criticising the EBU's "apolitical" stance.
But what looks to be the biggest upset in the running of the event so far is the unknown incident involving Dutch singer Joost Klein, who was supposed to perform in yesterday's dress rehearsal (which would also be shown to the worldwide juries for their votes) but was stopped at the last minute, much to the disgust of the crowd in the stadium.
The specifics of the incident are still unknown, but this morning Dutch media reported that the police received a complaint about Klein and will be investigating. Nobody knows if Joost will be performing tonight, or whether the Netherlands will be formally disqualified, resulting in potentially signficiant changes to the voting outcome.
Unfortunately, this has had an impact on the opening of the 'Rest of the World' voting, which was supposed to begin 24 hours before the final and has still not started as of this post, leaving a much narrower window for voters and for the organisers to verify the results.
The Dutch performer being canned is really a typical example of European attitudes - the tiniest criticism of Israel, or even the perceived criticism, and doors will close in your face. Not every European, thank god, but enough people to make life difficult.
Anyway, boycott the Eurovision this year. Why does Israel get a pass when Russia gets the boot?
posted by The River Ivel at 2:15 AM on May 11 [23 favorites]
Anyway, boycott the Eurovision this year. Why does Israel get a pass when Russia gets the boot?
posted by The River Ivel at 2:15 AM on May 11 [23 favorites]
According to the Dutch press reporting from a press conference held just now, the police investigated "someone" (assumed to be Klein) for "unlawful/illegal threats":
As far as I can tell, voting still isn't open and there's been no word if the Netherlands is disqualified or not.
posted by fight or flight at 2:23 AM on May 11 [2 favorites]
The Malmö police were at the Malmö arena yesterday to investigate what had happened in the case of the "incident" at the Eurovision Song Contest during the week.This is rumoured (note: not known) to be a female EBU photographer who may have gotten into an argument with Klein on Thursday, then presumably pressed charges on Friday. No idea why the event organisers didn't pull Klein out of the show earlier rather than waiting until literally the last minute, when the flags and staging was already being set up, though it should be noted that this is the first time this has happened in recent Eurovision history, so they may have actually been totally unprepared.
- We have a man who is suspected of illegal threats. The suspected crimes must have been committed at the Malmö arena on Thursday evening, says Pelle Vamstad, police spokesperson.
The man is not deprived of his liberty. The police do not want to answer whether the person is the Dutch artist Joost Klein.
As far as I can tell, voting still isn't open and there's been no word if the Netherlands is disqualified or not.
posted by fight or flight at 2:23 AM on May 11 [2 favorites]
Like a lot of people who normally tune in, I haven’t watched this year, and probably won’t tonight either. I’m sure the show will be good, but the EBU’s cack-handed attempts to depoliticize their show has made it so it’s impossible to watch without thinking about the invasion of Gaza. It’s difficult to enjoy silly pop songs when your mind keeps returning to the deaths of thousands of innocent civilians.
posted by Kattullus at 2:26 AM on May 11 [17 favorites]
posted by Kattullus at 2:26 AM on May 11 [17 favorites]
It’s difficult to enjoy silly pop songs when your mind keeps returning to the deaths of thousands of innocent civilians.
That's exactly it. Someone commented to me recently that they applaud my scruples for not tuning in (although I normally do so religiously), but I just don't think I'd be able to enjoy myself because of this.
The EBU's attempts to police participants' expressions of solidarity have made things worse for them, not better.
posted by lewiseason at 2:36 AM on May 11 [13 favorites]
That's exactly it. Someone commented to me recently that they applaud my scruples for not tuning in (although I normally do so religiously), but I just don't think I'd be able to enjoy myself because of this.
The EBU's attempts to police participants' expressions of solidarity have made things worse for them, not better.
posted by lewiseason at 2:36 AM on May 11 [13 favorites]
Just got a push notification Joost Klein has been disqualified.
posted by DreamerFi at 3:21 AM on May 11 [1 favorite]
posted by DreamerFi at 3:21 AM on May 11 [1 favorite]
Eurovision is a joyful, powerful event – but it can’t carry the weight of the war in Gaza — Gaby Hinsliff, Guardian
It’s ridiculous, of course, to expect the organisers of a cheesy song contest to resolve a tangle that has defeated presidents: wrong, too, to heap such heavy burdens on a bunch of pop stars never selected for their diplomatic skills. You might as well ask Love Islanders to fix the climate crisis.posted by Klipspringer at 3:50 AM on May 11 [8 favorites]
Yet like all glorified popularity contests, Eurovision is a mirror in which countries can see themselves as others see them, and this year is no exception. The ordinary citizens’ sense of being powerless to help; the private qualms of leaders who supported Israel’s right to defend itself after the 7 October massacre, but feel compromised by its conduct in the resulting war; the unrivalled capacity of social media to kill the joy in everything while boiling every morally complex argument down to dumb vitriol – it’s all there reflected in the glitterball, twinkling grotesquely back at us. Are you watching Eurovision? Or is it, this year, watching us?
Given that Israel got 40% of the vote in the leaked Italian results, it seems like a foregone conclusion that they will win the audience vote in a landslide.
That leaves the EBU in an impossible position, because if Israel actually wins I think it might actually end Eurovision at least in its current form, but they'd have arrange that Israel got absolutely scalped in the jury vote to prevent them winning and that would probably anger the main sponsor of Eurovision, an Israeli hair care company.
posted by zymil at 4:16 AM on May 11 [13 favorites]
That leaves the EBU in an impossible position, because if Israel actually wins I think it might actually end Eurovision at least in its current form, but they'd have arrange that Israel got absolutely scalped in the jury vote to prevent them winning and that would probably anger the main sponsor of Eurovision, an Israeli hair care company.
posted by zymil at 4:16 AM on May 11 [13 favorites]
I read somewhere from a friend's social media (sorry, no idea if this is true, can't find it right now) that live TV broadcast sound from Malmö was edited to remove anti-Israel crowd reactions and replaced with general applause etc, which I kind of feel is another level of denial altogether. Anyone got any info on this?
posted by fridgebuzz at 4:29 AM on May 11 [2 favorites]
posted by fridgebuzz at 4:29 AM on May 11 [2 favorites]
Oh, it was actually mentioned in an article linked in the post.
posted by fridgebuzz at 4:32 AM on May 11 [1 favorite]
posted by fridgebuzz at 4:32 AM on May 11 [1 favorite]
They claim they didn't, fridgebuzz, but that doesn't mean that they can't or won't.
They've been editing live broadcasts to "reduce" booing and add positive crowd noises since 2015 when the crowd was booing the Russian entry. I wouldn't be shocked if this technology is put to heavy use tonight, though with social media being what it is and people able to provide live updates and footage from within the stadium they're less likely to get away with it.
posted by fight or flight at 4:35 AM on May 11 [3 favorites]
They've been editing live broadcasts to "reduce" booing and add positive crowd noises since 2015 when the crowd was booing the Russian entry. I wouldn't be shocked if this technology is put to heavy use tonight, though with social media being what it is and people able to provide live updates and footage from within the stadium they're less likely to get away with it.
posted by fight or flight at 4:35 AM on May 11 [3 favorites]
I watched the first semifinal and disliked all the songs and then realized it was because I wasn't in the mood because I don't think Israel should be there. So I quit watching. I'll watch some other year's contest tonight instead.
posted by JanetLand at 6:20 AM on May 11 [6 favorites]
posted by JanetLand at 6:20 AM on May 11 [6 favorites]
There might be more absences tonight than just Joost Klein. Icelandic media is reporting that Ireland’s Bambie Thug didn’t show up for practice or the flag carrying thing (translating from Icelandic, don’t know what it’s called in English), and the contestant’s from Switzerland and Greece also didn’t do the flag whatever.
posted by Kattullus at 6:42 AM on May 11 [5 favorites]
posted by Kattullus at 6:42 AM on May 11 [5 favorites]
I already had mixed feelings this year before this whole disqualification, since commercial interests prevailed and certain countries were not banned from entering. Russia was banned a few years ago after a huge campaign, but they were not a sponsor I suppose. The
Europapa propaganda parody video captures this feeling well.
We don't know the details yet, but so if it was something serious, of course it's good they took action and it's very good they're not releasing info about bystanders, because unfortunately there could be death threats in the current climate.
But for now, it really sucks to have our country disqualified and not get any reasons. I'm afraid it'll just really drag the whole thing down for years and we'll go back to the pre-Anouk attitude of just ignoring Eurovision and sending our worst artists in.
Time to go outside, at least the weather's nice!
posted by kwartel at 6:42 AM on May 11 [8 favorites]
Europapa propaganda parody video captures this feeling well.
We don't know the details yet, but so if it was something serious, of course it's good they took action and it's very good they're not releasing info about bystanders, because unfortunately there could be death threats in the current climate.
But for now, it really sucks to have our country disqualified and not get any reasons. I'm afraid it'll just really drag the whole thing down for years and we'll go back to the pre-Anouk attitude of just ignoring Eurovision and sending our worst artists in.
Time to go outside, at least the weather's nice!
posted by kwartel at 6:42 AM on May 11 [8 favorites]
I haven't watched since 2018, for obvious reasons, but the news is wild. The beauty is that one country dropping out is a weirdo, but the Israeli delegation and press seem to have been going around intentionally picking as many fights as possible, posting on social media about Bambi (Ireland), getting in people's faces and harassing them (Joost), that they might have derailed the whole thing by their own petulant inability to accept any international judgement.
posted by Audreynachrome at 6:47 AM on May 11 [12 favorites]
posted by Audreynachrome at 6:47 AM on May 11 [12 favorites]
“Just empty words” — Alessandra withdraws as Norway’s Eurovision points spokesperson over Israel’s participation
Bambie Thug asks EBU to assess KAN's commentary, which according to them breaches EBU rules and deserves dequalifcation.
From the comments: "At this point I can't even keep up. If we keep up at this rate by show time tonight it will be 1 man standing on a box playing a banjo to 5 people and a dog."
Joost Klein Megathread on r/eurovision
This is fine.
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 6:57 AM on May 11 [11 favorites]
Bambie Thug asks EBU to assess KAN's commentary, which according to them breaches EBU rules and deserves dequalifcation.
From the comments: "At this point I can't even keep up. If we keep up at this rate by show time tonight it will be 1 man standing on a box playing a banjo to 5 people and a dog."
Joost Klein Megathread on r/eurovision
This is fine.
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 6:57 AM on May 11 [11 favorites]
posted by BobTheScientist at 7:35 AM on May 11 [8 favorites]
French performer Slimane stopped his rehearsal performance to make a speech about peace.
The EBU is reportedly in a "crisis meeting".
I think they've realised that there's a very strong possibility that one or more of the performers will stage a protest onstage, or drop out at the last second to throw the entire thing into chaos, and they're now running around trying to figure out what to do.
Bets on the entire thing being cancelled or heavily edited before they even consider disqualifying Israel?
posted by fight or flight at 7:57 AM on May 11 [11 favorites]
The EBU is reportedly in a "crisis meeting".
I think they've realised that there's a very strong possibility that one or more of the performers will stage a protest onstage, or drop out at the last second to throw the entire thing into chaos, and they're now running around trying to figure out what to do.
Bets on the entire thing being cancelled or heavily edited before they even consider disqualifying Israel?
posted by fight or flight at 7:57 AM on May 11 [11 favorites]
Breaking news:
Four countries (Ireland, Great Britain, Switzerland and Portugal) are allegedly considering withdrawing from the performance tonight.
posted by fight or flight at 7:59 AM on May 11 [10 favorites]
Four countries (Ireland, Great Britain, Switzerland and Portugal) are allegedly considering withdrawing from the performance tonight.
On Friday evening, the delegations from Ireland, Great Britain, Switzerland and Portugal sat in crisis meetings with the Eurovision organizer EBU, according to VG's information.The clusterfuck gets clusterfuckier.
The four countries are said to have considered withdrawing from the competition.
The crisis meetings must have lasted late into the night.
The same countries were absent during the flag parade at the dress rehearsal.
Ireland's artist Bambi Thug posted an Instagram post on Saturday afternoon. It does not say what the talks with the EBU are about, only that it "was a situation" and that the EBU "has taken the matter seriously".
posted by fight or flight at 7:59 AM on May 11 [10 favorites]
Until about an hour ago I thought the EBU would be able to pull themselves out of this PR hole, given that it’s an organization made up of media professionals. Then I saw that Swedish public radio is reporting that Jean Philip De Tender, who’s EBU’s director of media, is saying that they have a zero tolerance policy towards workplace misconduct. I can’t imagine that the Dutch delegation, who’re reportedly apoplectic about the situation, are being soothed. I’m honestly starting to wonder if there will be a Eurovision broadcast tonight, other than maybe the ABBAtars who’ll reportedly perform “Waterloo”.
posted by Kattullus at 8:14 AM on May 11 [5 favorites]
posted by Kattullus at 8:14 AM on May 11 [5 favorites]
To paraphrase reddit:
Some might say the EBU is
(•_•)
( •_•)>⌐■-■
(⌐■_■)
Finally facing their Waterloo
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 8:15 AM on May 11 [20 favorites]
Some might say the EBU is
(•_•)
( •_•)>⌐■-■
(⌐■_■)
Finally facing their Waterloo
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 8:15 AM on May 11 [20 favorites]
More likely the applicable text is "Money Money Money"...
posted by chavenet at 8:24 AM on May 11 [3 favorites]
posted by chavenet at 8:24 AM on May 11 [3 favorites]
AVROTROS has made a statement regarding Klein's disqualification:
An incident occurred after last Thursday's performance. Against clearly made agreements, Joost was filmed when he had just gotten off stage and had to rush to the greenroom. At that moment, Joost repeatedly indicated that he did not want to be filmed. This wasn’t respected. This led to a threatening movement from Joost towards the camera. Joost did not touch the camera woman. This incident was reported, followed by an investigation by the EBU and police.posted by fight or flight at 8:43 AM on May 11 [14 favorites]
Yesterday and today we consulted extensively with the EBU and proposed several solutions. Nevertheless, the EBU has still decided to disqualify Joost Klein. AVROTROS finds the penalty very heavy and disproportionate. We stand for good manners -let there be no misunderstanding about that- but in our view, an exclusion order is not proportional to this incident.
We are very disappointed and upset for the millions of fans who were so excited for tonight. What Joost brought to the Netherlands and Europe shouldn’t have ended this way.
By making a speech during the rehearsal, the performers are making it impossible for a live edit to just patch in a tape from the rehearsal.
posted by Lanark at 8:54 AM on May 11 [13 favorites]
posted by Lanark at 8:54 AM on May 11 [13 favorites]
So glad that a healthy chunk of our national broadcaster's tax-funded budget is going to put on this shit show. Go outside and watch the aurora borealis instead.
posted by St. Oops at 9:08 AM on May 11 [5 favorites]
posted by St. Oops at 9:08 AM on May 11 [5 favorites]
Also worth mentioning that Malmö has a reputation for racial tension in Sweden, which doesn't bode well for the proceedings this evening.
posted by St. Oops at 9:11 AM on May 11 [1 favorite]
posted by St. Oops at 9:11 AM on May 11 [1 favorite]
Welp, I wasn't planning on watching the final because I'm going to a festival, but now I want to leave it early and go watch this. Holy cow.
I know I find foreign affairs and wars confusing and hard to follow, and I'm sure I'm missing crucial nuances of things, and I don't feel qualified to say anything beyond "I wish people weren't dying and that this could be resolved." I like the Guardian article:
And meanwhile I'm still confused as to how "bad" Joost's behavior was and if I should be concerned or if he was just being pestered by bees. I'm going to leave home for a few hours and expect more stuff to blow up while I'm out, for sure.
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:41 AM on May 11 [4 favorites]
I know I find foreign affairs and wars confusing and hard to follow, and I'm sure I'm missing crucial nuances of things, and I don't feel qualified to say anything beyond "I wish people weren't dying and that this could be resolved." I like the Guardian article:
while refusing to watch TV seems unlikely to succeed if Joe Biden’s threat to halt some arms shipments fails to have an effect, cultural boycotts have long had a role in expressing the kind of helpless outrage many feel over Gaza.I have to agree: boycotting Eurovision isn't going to help the situation. I have no idea how the hell a bunch of pop singers are supposed to solve what government leaders can't. I'm not sure how camping on quads at college helps, I don't know what would help. I get people feel powerless to help, because well, they probably ARE powerless to help. Berating people for not doing ...whatever..."right" (and what IS "right?!") doesn't make anything better either.
Britain’s Eurovision hopeful Olly Alexander, who is gay, duly responded to the boycott call from the campaign group Queers for Palestine with a carefully worded statement endorsing an immediate ceasefire, the return of hostages and the right for both Palestinian and Israeli civilians to live in safety, but concluding that his dropping out “wouldn’t bring us any closer to our shared goals”. Yet what followed when he posted it publicly on Instagram was a torrent of online abuse,
The ordinary citizens’ sense of being powerless to help; the private qualms of leaders who supported Israel’s right to defend itself after the 7 October massacre, but feel compromised by its conduct in the resulting war; the unrivalled capacity of social media to kill the joy in everything while boiling every morally complex argument down to dumb vitriol
And meanwhile I'm still confused as to how "bad" Joost's behavior was and if I should be concerned or if he was just being pestered by bees. I'm going to leave home for a few hours and expect more stuff to blow up while I'm out, for sure.
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:41 AM on May 11 [4 favorites]
I'm skipping this year. It's the first time I've missed Eurovision since I started watching almost 20 years ago, but I can't stomach the bullshit.
I feel sorry for the contestants, but I'm glad this year is shaping up to be a shit show - the EBU deserves it. They've been hyper sensitive about Israel's participation for years and they should have their faces rubbed in it and their hypocrisy exposed. They silence performers and even audiences who show any support for Palestine or who dare to mildly criticise Israel, but then they're all "love and peace 4eva!! unity!" throughout the show. That they're trying to silence Slimane's extremely tame speech (he espoused the same vague love/peace/unity message that is the norm for Eurovision) speaks volumes.
posted by Stoof at 10:51 AM on May 11 [12 favorites]
I feel sorry for the contestants, but I'm glad this year is shaping up to be a shit show - the EBU deserves it. They've been hyper sensitive about Israel's participation for years and they should have their faces rubbed in it and their hypocrisy exposed. They silence performers and even audiences who show any support for Palestine or who dare to mildly criticise Israel, but then they're all "love and peace 4eva!! unity!" throughout the show. That they're trying to silence Slimane's extremely tame speech (he espoused the same vague love/peace/unity message that is the norm for Eurovision) speaks volumes.
posted by Stoof at 10:51 AM on May 11 [12 favorites]
Käärijä was supposed to announce the points from Finland, but he’s stepped down. There was a kind of weird incident a couple of days ago where the Israeli singer was filmed dancing with him, and he didn’t want to be filmed, and there was fallout. In other Finnish news, this morning protesters gathered in the atrium of YLE, the Finnish public broadcaster, demanding that Finland steps away from the competition.
posted by Kattullus at 11:13 AM on May 11 [8 favorites]
posted by Kattullus at 11:13 AM on May 11 [8 favorites]
Oh, and also, while there is a real chance that Israel wins the televote, and might win the whole thing, the 40% of the televote thing in Italy might not be particularly representative, if it turns out to be true.
The Big Five countries, which pay more than the other ones, get a by to the final, so audiences are fairly small for the semifinal. Therefore, if voting for Israel in Eurovision has become a cause celebre among the far right, that would be outsized in this case.
On the other hand, usually getting 20% of a country’s televote will get you the 12 points, and usually less is necessary, so it doesn’t take that much for the far right to swing things, but it’s still a fairly big endeavor, and as far as I know there doesn’t seem to be any kind of organized campaign.
posted by Kattullus at 11:31 AM on May 11 [4 favorites]
The Big Five countries, which pay more than the other ones, get a by to the final, so audiences are fairly small for the semifinal. Therefore, if voting for Israel in Eurovision has become a cause celebre among the far right, that would be outsized in this case.
On the other hand, usually getting 20% of a country’s televote will get you the 12 points, and usually less is necessary, so it doesn’t take that much for the far right to swing things, but it’s still a fairly big endeavor, and as far as I know there doesn’t seem to be any kind of organized campaign.
posted by Kattullus at 11:31 AM on May 11 [4 favorites]
The FalastinVision song contest as a low-key alternative, streaming from Malmö.
posted by phigmov at 11:55 AM on May 11 [2 favorites]
posted by phigmov at 11:55 AM on May 11 [2 favorites]
Dutch jury has decided not to award points. it's off one of the above links but I can't really get it to link directly.
posted by jenfullmoon at 12:13 PM on May 11 [4 favorites]
posted by jenfullmoon at 12:13 PM on May 11 [4 favorites]
I don't know what to tell you. I'm surrounded by people who aren't super in Eurovision and they're have a great time this year, same as they have every year. Just a data point.
posted by Braeburn at 2:29 PM on May 11 [4 favorites]
posted by Braeburn at 2:29 PM on May 11 [4 favorites]
Happy I like classical music, and Blossom Dearie jazz of course.
posted by Czjewel at 3:23 PM on May 11
posted by Czjewel at 3:23 PM on May 11
I'm pleased that there was a reasonable, undramatic outcome. Israel placed high, but didn't win. I haven't seen all the performances (should get a VPN), but it was at least a better-than-average song. There was no violence. Good enough.
posted by Nancy Lebovitz at 8:37 AM on May 12
posted by Nancy Lebovitz at 8:37 AM on May 12
Today X/Twitter has been crawling with right wingers boasting about having voted for Israel 20, 60 or even 100 times. The limit was 20 votes per device, but some used multiple SIMs or devices, or in one case multiple credit cards from multiple countries. Various UK right-wing ghouls (Darren Grimes, Lawrence Fox, Tommy Robinson, Andrew Neil, etc) boosted the "vote multiple times for Israel to own the lefties/muslims/LGBTs" message. [X links are to accounts screenshotting the relevant tweets, not to the right-wing accounts themselves.]
And Netanyahu has jumped right on it, claiming the high televote numbers as evidence for European popular support of his government and their war crimes [X link to Netanyahu's oficial account]:
Given this, I'd say calls for a boycott were morally correct. But the obnoxious gaming of the public vote nearly gave Netanyahu victory, so I'm grateful for those who did watch and vote for other nations.
posted by Pallas Athena at 5:11 PM on May 12 [7 favorites]
And Netanyahu has jumped right on it, claiming the high televote numbers as evidence for European popular support of his government and their war crimes [X link to Netanyahu's oficial account]:
"Eden, what success and what honor you have brought us. They booed you and we shouted 'Douze points!'So, Netanyahu (or his staffers) was watching the figures-- viewers, votes-- as a metric for international approval of "his" Israel and his war. (Took out a whole billboard in Times Square to do it, too.) He is using the contest to launder his government's reputation.
I saw that you received almost the highest number of votes from the public and this is the most important thing, not from the judges but from the public, and you held Israel's head up high in Europe. You have brought immense pride to Israel. Congratulations!"
Given this, I'd say calls for a boycott were morally correct. But the obnoxious gaming of the public vote nearly gave Netanyahu victory, so I'm grateful for those who did watch and vote for other nations.
posted by Pallas Athena at 5:11 PM on May 12 [7 favorites]
the Irish Independent newspaper reports: EBU to review events at Eurovision as RTÉ contest boss admits the ‘foundations felt shaky’
Multiple witnesses have said that the KAN delegation engaged in harassment & illicit filming of other delegations, staff, and press personnel.
posted by adrienneleigh at 9:55 AM on May 13 [4 favorites]
Multiple witnesses have said that the KAN delegation engaged in harassment & illicit filming of other delegations, staff, and press personnel.
posted by adrienneleigh at 9:55 AM on May 13 [4 favorites]
I find it interesting that there is a lot of furor about Israel's participation in light of what is happening in Gaza, and yet Azerbaijan has been ethnically cleansing Armenians for years now and I haven't seen anyone calling for a boycott of Azerbaijan's Eurovision entries.
Also, Netanyahu is a horrible, horrible person.
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 1:15 PM on May 13
Also, Netanyahu is a horrible, horrible person.
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 1:15 PM on May 13
There were lots of protests in 2012, when Azerbaijan hosted Eurovision, and Loreen, the winner that year, met with human rights campaigners in the country and criticized the government.
That said, I agree that there should be more focus on Azerbaijan than there is.
posted by Kattullus at 6:00 AM on May 14 [4 favorites]
That said, I agree that there should be more focus on Azerbaijan than there is.
posted by Kattullus at 6:00 AM on May 14 [4 favorites]
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