Norway’s Eurovision entry Gåte nearly dropped out of the competition this year
nme.comEurovision this year “until the last second”.This year’s song contest has seen multiple controversies arise in the build up to the finale, which aired last Saturday (May 11).On top of the shock disqualification of Dutch entry Joost Klein, Eurovision organisers the EBU (European Broadcasting Union) had faced significant criticism for the inclusion of Israel amidst the Israel-Palestine crisis.Additionally, there were reports of a “crisis meeting” between four countries and the EBU just hours before the finale was due to begin.
These four countries were later revealed to be the United Kingdom, Portgual, Ireland, and the eventual winner of this year, Switzerland.Now, Norway’s entry Gåte have spoken to Norwegian media about their own threat to pull out.
Guitarist Magnus Børmark told newspaper Aftenposten that he felt the artists were forced into a “political role”, and therefore had to shoulder the responsibility for the political questions surrounding the contest.“Withdrawing was on our plans until the last second,” he told Aftenposten. “We eventually had constructive talks with the EBU.
Things were just good enough for it to be implemented.”The controversies in this year’s competition did not stop at its build-up; Portuguese entry Iolanda’s finale performance was apparently replaced with separate footage due to her “pro-Palestine” nails.The singer wore nails with the pattern of a keffiyeh, a Palestinian scarf.
Read more on nme.com
