EBU bans Palestinian flags during Eurovision

During this year’s Eurovision, Palestinian flags are prohibited. This is reported by the Danish Ekstra Bladet.

Next week the stage is set for the music competition Eurovision Song Contest, which this year takes place in Malmö. In the lead-up, there have been massive demonstrations, riots and threats of boycotts, as Israel has been allowed to participate. Many believe they should have been banned and denied participation, due to the ongoing war between Hamas and Israel.

Now the EBU, the European Broadcasting Union, has decided that Palestinian flags will not be allowed. The ban applies to both Palestinian flags and signs with political messages.

If you were to defy the ban and still bring one of the parts, you will be refused entry, writes the Danish newspaper.

On Eurovision’s official website, it appears that it is only permitted to bring national flags from the participating countries. However, the Pride flag is exempt.

The Palestinian flag is often used by protesters demonstrating against the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip. More than 35,500 people have lost their lives there since Israel launched a counter-attack against Hamas, which broke through the border on October 7 last year, killing more than 1,100 people.

Palestine is not participating in Eurovision.

The Israeli contribution, “October Rain” by Eden Golan, on the other hand, had to be rewritten when the EBU believed that they referred too much to the attack on 7 October, and were therefore political. It was not in accordance with the rules of the concurrence. The song is now called “Hurricane”.