2024-05-12 04:56:26
Singer Aiko, representing the Czech Republic in the Eurovision television song contest, did not advance to the finals on Thursday. On the other hand, during the second semi-final evening in Malmö, Sweden, the Israeli Eden Golan succeeded, whose participation in the competition caused protests and strict security measures.
Places in Saturday’s final were secured by the favored representatives of the Netherlands and Switzerland. Eden Golan probably attracted the most attention with her song Hurricane. Because of her participation in the competition, around 10,000 people protested in the streets of the Swedish city, rejecting the current Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip. A numerically smaller group of supporters of Israel gathered at another location.
Therefore, due to the planned demonstrations and fears of violence, police officers from all over Sweden were called to Malmö, who were also reinforced by security forces from neighboring Denmark and Norway. Upon entering the arena where the competition took place, visitors were awaited by checks similar to those at the airport.
The representatives of Latvia, Austria, Norway, Greece, Estonia, Georgia and Armenia also reached the finals. A total of 26 countries will compete in Saturday’s competition.