Marina Satti of Greece performs the song “Zari” during the second semi-final at the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmo, Sweden, Thursday, [Martin Meissner/AP]
Greece’s Eurovision Song Contest entry Marina Satti has denied that she sought to offend anyone at a press conference with other finalists after Thursday night’s semifinal.
At the press conference, Satti appeared fatigued, gesturing with squints, sighs, and resting her head on her hands, while occasionally smiling at the camera, while the Israeli contestant, Eden Golan, replied to a journalist’s question.
“I didn’t intend to offend anyone,” Satti claimed in a social media post, in the wake of the controversy over her attitude when the Israeli contestant addressed the media after the second semi-final.
“I think that in all these days that we have been here, day after day, the entire Greek mission has brought only positive energy to the community and joy wherever and whenever we went,” Satti said.
“We are here for the music and we have reached our final goal – we are in the final.”
She said she was unaware of the extent of the controversy as she had her phone turned off during dress rehearsals on Friday.
Golan has become a focus for protests by pro-Palestinian demonstrators who want Israel kicked out of Eurovision over the war with Hamas, which has killed almost 35,000 people in Gaza. The war began with Hamas’ surprise attack into southern Israel in October, in which the militant group killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 250 others hostage.
A crowd estimated by police at more than 10,000 marched through the southern Swedish city on Thursday to chants of “Free Palestine” and “Israel is a terror state.” Banners accused Eurovision of being complicit in genocide and called for a boycott of the competition.
Another protest march is planned for Saturday, hours before Golan competes in the live Eurovision final against acts from 25 other countries.
The participation of one of those 25, the Netherlands’ Joost Klein, was in doubt after he failed to perform at a dress rehearsal on Friday where he was slotted to appear just before Israel. Contest organizer the European Broadcasting Union gave no explanation but said it was “currently investigating an incident that was reported to us involving the Dutch artist. He will not be rehearsing until further notice.” It was unclear whether his absence was related to Israel’s participation.
The EBU later said the investigation was “still ongoing” and Klein would not perform at Friday’s second dress rehearsal, which is used by juries in all Eurovision countries to award scores. It said he would be judged on his performance from Thursday’s semifinal instead.
Israel is allowed to compete in Eurovision, even though it’s not in Europe, because its national broadcaster belongs to the European Broadcasting Union, whose membership extends beyond the continent.
Golan has largely stayed out of sight in Malmo, apart from rehearsals and performances at the Malmo Arena. While other performers have taken the stage for fans in a Eurovision park in the city, Golan has not.
She was one of 10 acts who made it through Thursday’s semifinal, which was decided by votes from Eurovision viewers around the world. Golan has been greeted with a smattering of boos, as well as applause, from spectators in the arena. Bookmakers say she is likely to finish in the top half of the final competition, decided by a mix of public votes and national music-industry juries.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Golan for performing despite “contending with an ugly wave of antisemitism.”
“So be blessed, and know that when they boo you, we are cheering you on,” he said.
Golan’s song is a powerful ballad titled “Hurricane” – but that wasn’t its original name. The song was first called “October Rain,” an apparent reference to the October 7 Hamas attack. That fell foul of contest rules banning “political” content.
The retitled song contains less specific lyrics about going through a tough time, and asserts that “love will never die.” [AMNA/AP]