Eurovision organisers ready to remove Palestinian flags or symbols

Palestinian flags and symbols will not be allowed at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, organisers have said.

Organisers of the competition said on Thursday they reserve the right to remove any Palestinian flags or symbols, displayed at next week’s event in Sweden, anticipating large protests by pro-Palestine groups in Malmo.

Ticket holders are permitted only to bring and display flags of the 37 participating countries, including Israel, and flags representing the LGBTQ community.

The Geneva-based European Broadcasting Union (EBU) reiterated that any "flags, symbols, clothing, items and banners being used for the likely purpose of instrumentalising the TV shows" would not be allowed.

The comments came in response to a report by the Swedish newspaper Goteborgs-Posten, which stated contest organisers had banned Palestinian flags and political banners at the event.

Swedish police have warned of tight security at the event, with authorities promising "visible" measures, including police armed with submachine guns and reinforcements from Denmark and Norway

Since its inception in 1956, the EBU has banned political statements from the stage with Eurovision declaring itself an apolitical contest.

While Israel is not in Europe, they are eligible to compete because its broadcaster is a member of the European Broadcasting Union.

For months, fans and activists have been calling for the event’s organisers to ban Israel from taking part, due to Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza.

A Dublin-based national radio station announced on Thursday that it will host a fundraiser for Palestine on the same night as the Eurovision Song Contest, amid growing calls for a boycott of the competition.

The event will offer an alternative to Eurovision for music lovers, featuring a mix of music by Palestinian and Arab artists, along with poetry and spoken word performances. Performers will include Palestinian-Jordanian beatboxer Abood Aladham, Dublin poet Myrna al Tarjuri, and queer Palestinian thespian Amir Abualarob.

Since the start of the war on 7 October, Israel has killed at least 34,600 Palestinians in Gaza alone, with 77,000 wounded in the same period. Gaza’s civil defence crews estimate that around 10,000 Palestinians are still under the rubble.

Israel’s indiscriminate bombing of the Strip has caused the collapse of the healthcare system and plunged the enclave into a deep humanitarian crisis.