The finalists for the next Eurovision Song Contest have been decided.
Israel, Georgia and Switzerland have been added to the list of countries that will compete in the Grand Final, to be held in Malmö, Sweden, on May 11 after the second semi-final on Thursday (May 24, 9).
The Israeli entry “Hurricane” by Eden Golan was previously titled “October Rain” but was rewritten to qualify after it was accused of promoting a political message about the Israel-Hamas war. It was.
Georgia is competing with former American Idol singer Ntsa Buzaladze singing “Firefighter,” while Swiss entrant Neroz is hoping for success with “The Code.”
The trio was added to the list along with Armenia, Austria, Estonia, Greece, Latvia, the Netherlands and Norway. They join the 10 previous entries (Croatia, Cyprus, Finland, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia and Ukraine) who qualified in the first semi-final, plus qualifiers from France, Germany, Italy and Spain. Joins the 6 entries that passed the. England and host country Sweden.
A total of 26 finalists will compete on Saturday night in Malmö.
Ahead of this glamorous event, bookmakers are predicting success for Croatia, with “Rim Tim Tagi Dim” performed by the Swiss national team and Baby Lasagna, and Ukraine's participation in the track “Teresa and Maria”. Performed by Alyona Alyona and Jerry Heil. '.
The 2024 Games have already been marred by controversy over Israel's participation amid continued shelling of Gaza, protests across the city of Malmö and the Eden stadium, where there were reportedly boos during rehearsals. There was also Golan.
Eurovision's organizing body, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), previously dismissed calls for a boycott of Israel's participation, saying in a statement: “The Eurovision Song Contest is an event that will be held across Europe and the Middle East. It's a contest for public broadcasters.
“This is a contest for broadcasters, not governments, and Israeli public broadcasting has been participating in the contest for 50 years.
“The Eurovision Song Contest continues to be a non-political event that unites audiences around the world through music.”