During the second semi-final of the Eurovision, Swedish singer Eric Saade, of Lebanese-Palestinian father and Swedish mother, chose to wear a keffiyeh
Last night, the second semi-final of the Eurovision 2024 took place in Malmö. During the opening show, Swedish singer Eric Saade, of Lebanese-Palestinian father and Swedish mother, chose to wear a keffiyeh.
Scarcely begun, the 2024 edition of the Eurovision is already causing ripples. In Sweden, where Israel's participation, a country at war, has sparked calls for boycotts and protests, everything had been meticulously prepared to ensure that no slip-ups tarnished the smooth running of the contest. For example, spectators were forbidden from bringing a pro-Palestinian flag into the Malmö Arena: since 2017, only flags of the 37 participating countries were allowed, as well as emblems of the LGBTQ+ community. However, while nine competing candidates lent their voices to peace by publicly calling for a ceasefire and the release of hostages, Eric Saade's gesture during the Eurovision opening performance did not go unnoticed.
Invited to sing "Popular," the song with which he came third in the 2011 contest for Sweden, the 33-year-old artist, of Lebanese-Palestinian descent through his father, arrived on the gigantic central stage with a white keffiyeh draped over his arm, drawing the ire of the Swedish broadcaster Sveriges Television. "Eric Saade knows the rules that apply when appearing on the Eurovision Song Contest stage. We think it's sad that he uses his participation in this way," lamented Ebba Adielsson, the event's executive producer.
Eric Saade justified his presence at the Eurovision semi-final. "When you are no longer able to bear a symbol of your ethnicity in our so-called 'free world,' it is more important than ever for me to participate. The EBU's management of Eurovision is scandalous. Palestinian symbols are not allowed inside the Arena when other symbols representing other ethnicities are welcome. You can ban our symbols, but you cannot take away my presence," he wrote unapologetically.
Following his highly commented appearance in front of hundreds of millions of European viewers, Eric Saade expressed his disappointment on Instagram at seeing his gesture being politicized in this tense context by the Swedish media, adding that he had received the scarf from his father when he was still a child, to never forget his origin. He did not know that it would eventually be classified as a "political symbol" and just wanted to bring and include something that is true.
It remains to be seen why the organization scheduled the singer for Eurovision knowing about his activist engagement.
