Right after Norway was called up to the final, Eden Golan and Israel also got a place in the final on Saturday.
Israel’s artist Eden Golan was met somewhat measuredly during the performance in Malmö. According to Aftonbladet’s photographer who is in place inside the arena, there was both booing and applause – something that could hardly be heard on the TV broadcast.
Expressen also writes that in addition to cheering, there was booing when Israel was called through to the final, and that this was not heard on TV.
– The sound in the arena is always a different experience than it is for the TV viewer, says SVT’s Eurovision producer Ebba Adielsson to the newspaper on the night of Friday.
– Does not censor sound
Before the semi-final on Thursday, she explained that SVT puts a so-called “sound mat” under all the artists’ contributions.
– As in all large TV productions with an audience, we work with the sound that is sent out to even out the level for the TV audience. It is to get as balanced a sound image as possible for the TV viewers, we do not censor sound from the audience in the arena, she said and clarified that it is the same arrangement for all the performances.
Israel’s public broadcaster KAN broadcast according to Times of Israel submitted a complaint to SVT and EBU on Thursday morning, due to booing in the hall during the dress rehearsals on Wednesday.
– We asked SVT to work to prevent things like this from happening again, and demanded that they allow Israel to participate on an equal basis with everyone else in tonight’s semi-final.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also reacted to the demonstrations in Malmö. In a video greeting to Eden Golan on Thursday, he wished her luck and said she was fighting “an ugly wave of anti-Semitism”.
– Overwhelmed by emotions
Eden Golan herself appeared earlier on the semi-final day as unfazed by all the noise around her. She was escorted by large forces from the Swedish police and Israeli guards to the Eurovision stage in Malmö, where on Thursday there were large protests against Israel’s participation.
Also read: One in five Norwegians will boycott Eurovision because of Israel’s participation
– I am overwhelmed with emotions. It is an honor to be here on stage and perform, she said at the press conference after it was clear that she had moved on.
– It’s crazy, and I’m so grateful to everyone who voted and supported us and me, I’m super excited to be able to go on stage one more time and share the love with everyone.
Then she gets this question from one of the press people in the hall:
– Have you ever thought that you could endanger the safety of other participants by being here?
– You don’t have to answer that question if you don’t want to, says the speaker.
Golan still chooses to answer.
– I think we are all here for one reason only. And the EBU has taken several precautions to make this a safe place for everyone. So I think it’s safe for everyone, Golan replied – to great applause from the press room.
It has been a tortuous road for Eden Golan and Israel until tonight’s semi-final. The contribution was initially called “October Rain”, but that title was too strong for ESC organizer EBU as several things in the text could be interpreted as hints to Hamas’ terrorist attack on 7 October last year.
And politics, as you know, is not something you should have in the ESC.
Israel had to change the text twice more before the EBU turned its thumbs up and accepted the country’s contribution under the name “Hurricane”.
