Eurovision 2024, Eden Golan | Israel’s ambassador about Eurovision: – The predictions have failed

Israel’s Eurovision entry, Eden Golan, has wind in its sails. The country’s ambassador to Norway believes that the noise that has been surrounding Israel’s participation is not representative.

– Yesterday’s result is an encouraging sign of the growing support that actually exists for Israel in Norway, says Israel’s ambassador to Norway, Avi Nir-Feldklein, to NTB.

On Thursday, Israeli Eden Golan advanced from the semi-finals of Eurovision. At the same time, she made a big splash on the odds lists, and is now among the big favorites to win.

This despite the fact that on the same day as the semi-final in Malmö, there were large demonstrations in the city against Israel being allowed to take part in the song competition due to the war in Gaza.

– What happened yesterday showed that the predictions ahead of Eurovision failed, says the ambassador.

– Those who shout the loudest

In Norway, too, there have been several demonstrations against Israel being allowed to participate.

– It is important not to mix up the noise from the individuals who shout the loudest with those who actually represent the ordinary Norwegian, says Nir-Feldklein.

On Friday, VG published an opinion poll which showed that 42 per cent of those questioned believe that Israel should not be allowed to participate in the competition.

One in five Norwegians answered that they would boycott Eurovision because of Israel’s participation.

Got support

At the same time, statistics mentioned by NRK show that the viewing figures in Thursday’s semi-final were the highest when Israel and Norway performed their songs.

– We also noticed that several Norwegians posted on their social media that they had voted for Eden Golan. Among these were both representatives of the Storting and people who work in the Norwegian media, says Nir-Feldklein to NTB.

In an interview with VG, Dagen editor Vebjørn Selbekk says that he voted 20 times for Israel in the semi-final on Thursday. Frps Erlend Wiborg tells TV 2 the same.

(© NTB)