Booing at Malmö not in the spirit of Eurovision

Booing at this year’s Eurovision went to another level when Israel’s Eden Golan took to the stage in Malmö, Sweden.

Vision posted by Eurofile.tv show how the audience was not “United By Music” but openly booed the entry due to violence in the Middle East. Much of this was masked in the broadcast by recorded applause and cheers -but in a contest based on voting this has also raised questions.

Last weekend’s event was marred in controversy following the disqualification of Netherland’s Joost Klein and acts threatening to pull out at the last minute.

The Dutch team also accused Israel’s delegation of filming them and sharing clips online without their permission.

A spokesman for Israeli public broadcaster Kan issued a statement to BBC News, accusing the other countries of anti-Israeli behaviour.

“This year, the Israeli delegation faced immense pressure and an unprecedented display of hatred, notably from other delegations and artists, publicly and collectively, solely because of the simple fact that we are Israelis and that we were there,” it said.

“However, throughout the journey, the delegation maintained a dignified and respectful approach towards artists and other delegations, striving to foster unity around music while adhering to the competition’s rules, unlike some other delegations.

“Despite the impossible challenges, Eden Golan handled the task admirably, earning respect, and the received points from the European audience speaks for itself,” Kan’s statement continued.

“We could not be more proud of the result.”

The EBU has said:

“We regret that some delegations at the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) in Malmö didn’t respect the spirit of the rules and the competition both onsite and during their broadcasts.

“We spoke to a number of delegations during the event regarding various issues that were brought to our attention.”

“The EBU’s governing bodies will, together with the heads of delegations, review the events surrounding the ESC in Malmö to move forward in a positive way and to ensure the values of the event are respected by everyone.

“Individual cases will be discussed by the event’s governing body, the Eurovision Song Contest Reference Group made up of representatives from participating broadcasters, at its next meeting.”

Israel finished fifth overall.