STORY: :: Thousands protest against Israel's participation in the Eurovision song contest
:: May 11, 2024
:: Malmo, Sweden
The 68th version of the contest, normally a festival of catchy songs and tongue-in-cheek kitsch, is taking place amid protests in host city Malmo over the participation of Israel, due to its war in Gaza.
Eurovision organizers have resisted calls for Israel to be excluded, but demanded that Israel tweak the lyrics of its original entry to remove what they said were references to Palestinian group Hamas' deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel, which sparked its war on Gaza.
Protesters have complained of double standards as the European Broadcasting Union banned Russia from Eurovision in 2022 following its invasion of Ukraine.
