Intervention tonight on Twitter by one of the Israeli hosts in a message to the French competitor who is suffering Homophobic abuse following his selection on Saturday night
Dear @iambilalhassani shalom! I’m Assi Azar, one of the hosts of @Eurovision 2019. I see what you’re going through, and as a part of the LGBTQ community I also know how it feels to be loved by many, and rejected by those who are still in the dark. Stay strong! And see u soon ❤️.
Well this is a turn up for the books from Finland. Definitely unexpected.
I am incredibly excited to announce that I will be the 2019 @Eurovision representative for Finland! This is such a huge honor for me to represent my home country in this way, and I am SO excited to share this crazy experience with you all! @Yle_UMK#UMK19#eurovisionpic.twitter.com/MrXwb4yFEE
Sandstorm is an absolute classic in the world of dance music, so it could be interesting.
Doesn't help us if we send Kerrie-Anne...
LATE EDIT: It'll be interesting if it wins. The last winner to be a crossover hit in the UK was another dance track, Euphoria. You can't enter instrumentals however.
Either way, UMK just got interesting. Finland are clearly going for it - yes Saara did worse than us but that's not the point, they qualified. And if the reactions of the Finns in Lisbon on the night of SF1 were a barometer then that's half the battle won.
Last edited by JamesM0984 on 29 January 2019 10:19pm
Stars urge BBC to ask for Eurovision to be moved out of Israel
Dame Vivienne Westwood, Peter Gabriel and Wolf Alice are among 50 artists who have called for the Eurovision Song Contest to be relocated from Israel.
Citing human rights concerns, they have signed an open letter urging the BBC to ask organisers to move the contest.
"Eurovision may be light entertainment, but it is not exempt from human rights considerations," they wrote.
In response, the BBC said it was not appropriate "to use the BBC's participation for political reasons".
The annual contest is due to be held in Tel Aviv in May, following Israeli singer Netta's victory in 2018. The winning country usually hosts the following year's competition.
However, the group of cultural figures, which also includes Mike Leigh, Maxine Peake and Miriam Margolyes, said the event's "claim to celebrate diversity and inclusion must ring hollow" in light of Israel's occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.
"We cannot ignore Israel's systematic violation of Palestinian human rights," their letter read.
"The BBC is bound by its charter to 'champion freedom of expression'. It should act on its principles and press for Eurovision to be relocated to a country where crimes against that freedom are not being committed."
The letter comes a week before Eurovision: You Decide, a live BBC TV show through which the British public will vote for the act to represent the UK.
"For any artist of conscience, this would be a dubious honour," the letter said.
"They and the BBC should consider that You Decide is not a principle extended to the Palestinians, who cannot 'decide' to remove Israel's military occupation and live free of apartheid."
The BBC said Eurovision was "not a political event and does not endorse any political message or campaign".
A statement said: "The competition has always supported the values of friendship, inclusion, tolerance and diversity and we do not believe it would be appropriate to use the BBC's participation for political reasons.
"Because of this we will be taking part in this year's event. The host country is determined by the rules of the competition, not the BBC."
The European Broadcasting Union, which organises the contest, also emphasised the "non-political character of the event" and pointed out that preparations in Tel Aviv were already "well advanced".
Many of the signatories to Wednesday's letter have previously made calls for a cultural boycott of Israel, criticising artists such as Nick Cave, Radiohead and Lana Del Rey for organising concerts in the country.
Their campaign follows an earlier call for Eurovision to be relocated, made last September by a coalition of artists from across Europe.
That was organised by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which urges a complete boycott of Israel over its policies towards the Palestinians.
Israel says BDS opposes Israel's very existence and is motivated by anti-Semitism.
Stars urge BBC to ask for Eurovision to be moved out of Israel
Dame Vivienne Westwood, Peter Gabriel and Wolf Alice are among 50 artists who have called for the Eurovision Song Contest to be relocated from Israel.
Citing human rights concerns, they have signed an open letter urging the BBC to ask organisers to move the contest.
"Eurovision may be light entertainment, but it is not exempt from human rights considerations," they wrote.
In response, the BBC said it was not appropriate "to use the BBC's participation for political reasons".
The annual contest is due to be held in Tel Aviv in May, following Israeli singer Netta's victory in 2018. The winning country usually hosts the following year's competition.
However, the group of cultural figures, which also includes Mike Leigh, Maxine Peake and Miriam Margolyes, said the event's "claim to celebrate diversity and inclusion must ring hollow" in light of Israel's occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.
"We cannot ignore Israel's systematic violation of Palestinian human rights," their letter read.
"The BBC is bound by its charter to 'champion freedom of expression'. It should act on its principles and press for Eurovision to be relocated to a country where crimes against that freedom are not being committed."
The letter comes a week before Eurovision: You Decide, a live BBC TV show through which the British public will vote for the act to represent the UK.
"For any artist of conscience, this would be a dubious honour," the letter said.
"They and the BBC should consider that You Decide is not a principle extended to the Palestinians, who cannot 'decide' to remove Israel's military occupation and live free of apartheid."
The BBC said Eurovision was "not a political event and does not endorse any political message or campaign".
A statement said: "The competition has always supported the values of friendship, inclusion, tolerance and diversity and we do not believe it would be appropriate to use the BBC's participation for political reasons.
"Because of this we will be taking part in this year's event. The host country is determined by the rules of the competition, not the BBC."
The European Broadcasting Union, which organises the contest, also emphasised the "non-political character of the event" and pointed out that preparations in Tel Aviv were already "well advanced".
Many of the signatories to Wednesday's letter have previously made calls for a cultural boycott of Israel, criticising artists such as Nick Cave, Radiohead and Lana Del Rey for organising concerts in the country.
Their campaign follows an earlier call for Eurovision to be relocated, made last September by a coalition of artists from across Europe.
That was organised by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which urges a complete boycott of Israel over its policies towards the Palestinians.
Israel says BDS opposes Israel's very existence and is motivated by anti-Semitism.
And this is why they need better security in Tel Aviv before these bigots tarnish the non-political nature of the contest
It's been clearly stated that Eurovision is non-political so why hasn't the message been drilled into their thick skulls yet?
And this is why they need better security in Tel Aviv before these bigots tarnish the non-political nature of the contest
It's been clearly stated that Eurovision is non-political so why hasn't the message been drilled into their thick skulls yet?
I think it's a good idea to avoid derogatory language when talking about people on either side of this debate. There are sincerely and honestly held views on both sides that people feel incredibly strongly about.
There are many people who honestly believe you can't remove politics just by saying 'this is non-political', and just saying 'this is non-political' doesn't mean, to them, it is non-political...
I'm not equating Israel with South Africa, but similar 'keep politics out of this' language was used in pre-Apartheid South Africa when it came to sport and music, but many felt that they couldn't separate politics and personal morality from all areas of their lives.
I think it's important to respect the honestly and sincerely held views of others. It's OK to disagree with people.
And this is why they need better security in Tel Aviv before these bigots tarnish the non-political nature of the contest
It's been clearly stated that Eurovision is non-political so why hasn't the message been drilled into their thick skulls yet?
I think it's a good idea to avoid derogatory language when talking about people on either side of this debate. There are sincerely and honestly held views on both sides that people feel incredibly strongly about.
There are many people who honestly believe you can't remove politics just by saying 'this is non-political', and just saying 'this is non-political' doesn't mean, to them, it is non-political...
I'm not equating Israel with South Africa, but similar 'keep politics out of this' language was used in pre-Apartheid South Africa when it came to sport and music, but many felt that they couldn't separate politics and personal morality from all areas of their lives.
I think it's important to respect the honestly and sincerely held views of others. It's OK to disagree with people.
To be diplomatic, any large scale event which brings a significant amount of exposure and tourism is going to open itself up to political protests relating to the host nation.
The event itself can claim to be apolitical all it likes, but there is no escaping politics when we're talking about something the scale of Eurovision.
4"]To be diplomatic, any large scale event which brings a significant amount of exposure and tourism is going to open itself up to political protests relating to the host nation.
The event itself can claim to be apolitical all it likes, but there is no escaping politics when we're talking about something the scale of Eurovision.
The Metro newspaper write up about it talks about how the voting has made the contest political, in quite a patronizing tone.
Last edited by BM11 on 31 January 2019 7:20pm
JM
JamesM0984
One thing that might have influenced the decision to go to MediaCIty rather than do an OB is the flags issue from Brighton. The BBC were wrongly credited for the appearance of several EU flags in the hall, but it was infact a pro-Remain pressure group who were handing large amounts of them out in the queue outside the Dome along with a number of "B******s to Brexit" stickers. I do have to confess admiring their "Thank EU for the music" and "I will never give up on EU" etc. T Shirts, mind you.
The warm-up man had us do some "tests" before hand, but we were told to only wave flags at certain times as they were blocking camera angles . That said, they were still extremely obvious in the stalls, watching the show back when I got home the next night.
Personally, I sometimes question why the Brits take flags to their National Final. It's not something I really see go on at any other NF.
