Despite the immense pressures and challenges, Israel's Eden Golan triumphed in Thursday night's Eurovision Song Contest's semifinal. At 11:26 p.m. Israeli time, Israel's representative took the stage and performed her entry "Hurricane." Her performance was stirring, powerful, and precise – despite the boos by pro-Palestinians who tried to drown out her voice only to have their own noise canceled by organizers who turned off the crowd's microphones. Immediately after qualifying for the finals, Eurovision betting sites elevated Golan's ranking to second place in the Grand Final, which takes place Saturday.
Video: Eden Golan reacts to making it to the Grand Final / Credit: Kan News
The Countries Advancing to the finals from Thursday's semifinal are Latvia, Austria, Netherlands, Norway, Israel, Greece, Estonia, Switzerland, Georgia, and Armenia.
As expected, upon her entrance to the stage, boos were heard, and although not many Palestinian flags were visible, one person waving a Palestinian flag was removed from the venue by security personnel. Outside, there were massive protests and Eden had to arrive in a convoy of cars with helicopter escorts from above to make sure she was secure.
In total, 16 countries participated in this semi-final: Malta, Albania, Greece, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Austria, Denmark, Armenia, Latvia, San Marino, Georgia, Estonia, Norway, Netherlands, and of course, Israel.
According to a leak from the Italian broadcaster RAI, Israel won the semi-final in Italy with 39% of the votes – a strong showing from the home audience.
Eurovision 2024 has been particularly challenging for the Israeli delegation and fans of the competition. All Eurovision venues in the city are heavily secured by hundreds of local police officers, and even at the EuroClub's dance floor – the official party zone – and in the city's mall, police officers can be seen patrolling throughout the evening, even when the Israeli delegation is not present. Sharp-eyed observers also noticed snipers positioned on rooftops near the competition area.
Hours before Eden Golan's performance at the Eurovision semifinal, thousands of pro-Palestinian activists demonstrated throughout Malmö, demanding the removal of the Israeli delegation. The protesters claimed that Israel was committing war crimes in Gaza and called for the liberation of "Palestine".
The pro-Palestinian chants resonated across Malmö, with demonstrations taking place simultaneously at several central locations. Among others, environmental activist Greta Thunberg appeared wearing a keffiyeh alongside Palestinian flags. The Israeli delegation in Sweden has been met with a hostile atmosphere, with Eden Golan and the entire team receiving close security protection.
Many fans chose not to attend the competition due to justified safety concerns. Those who did attend remained cautious, avoided confrontations, but did not hesitate to wave the Israeli flag during Golan's performance and throughout the competition area.
