Moment Israeli singer Eden Golan’s Eurovision performance is nearly drowned out by boos and chants of ‘Free Palestine’ in chaotic scenes
Israel’s Eurovision performance has been booed and faced with chants of ‘Free Palestine’ in chaotic scenes.
Eden Golan was nearly drowned out by the protest during the Eurovision Song Contest’s Jury Show last night.
Videos shared online show pro-Palestine activists disrupting almost her entire performance, with people in the crowd calling the atmosphere ‘horrible’.
The singer, who was born in Israel but grew up in Russia, has faced death threats ahead of her performances at the Malmo Arena in Sweden in the competition this week.
The 20-year-old was performing her song ‘Hurricane’ when she was targeted by demonstrators who shouted and booed in protest against her nation.
It comes after calls for Israel to be barred from competing in Eurovision following the war in Gaza, which has seen 33,000 Palestinians killed after Hamas launched a series of terrorist attacks.
Eden Golan pictured performing her song Hurricane during rehearsal at the Malmo Arena on Wednesday
Footage showed members of the crowd booing and shouting during Golan’s performance on Wednesday night
Golan had caused controversy after she was accused of referencing the kidnapping and killing Israelis on October 7 by militant group Hamas with the lyrics of her original song, October Rain.
This was later replaced by Hurricane, a soulful and heartfelt track that was then approved by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which runs the event.
The protest during her performance took place during the jury show, which is held before the televised programme to allow jurors to give their scores early in case there are issues with the voting later on.
The arena was full of thousands of people who have flocked to the city of Malmo in south Sweden for Eurovision, the grand final of which is set to take place on Saturday.
Following her performance people shared videos on social media showing people booing while Golan was singing, with some in attendance describing it as ‘horrible’.
One person wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: ‘The atmosphere inside the arena was horrible. You could feel the tension. Shouts of ‘free Palestine’ in the quiet parts. Booing audible in places. People arguing in the standing section.’
Another person, who posted a video of boos raining down on the singer, added: ‘The atmosphere was so uncomfortable.’
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