Swedish city Malmo, host of this year\u2019s Eurovision Song Contest in May, expects guests from 80 countries for the event and is also bracing for possible unrest on its sidelines, city officials said on Thursday.The annual music competition, the world\u2019s biggest of its kind, bills itself as a non-political event.However, the global political backdrop often weighs, and this year the European Broadcasting Union, which organises the contest, has resisted calls for Israel to be excluded due to its offensive in Gaza.\u201cThere is currently, according to the information we have from our partners, no direct threat to Eurovision,\u201d Malmo Safety Director Per-Erik Ebbestahl told a news conference. \u201cGiven the situation, things could change.\u201dCultural events across Europe have in recent months been affected by protests and boycotts over the war in Gaza.Israel this month tweaked its Eurovision submission to exclude lyrics that appeared to refer to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, after organisers said they would disqualify contestants who did not maintain the non-political spirit of the event.Malmo Mayor Katrin Stjernfeldt Jammeh said that wile many would visit the city for the competition and related festivities, many would also want to stage protests and express political opinions in connection with the event.\u201cWe stand behind the right of all people to express their democratic views. Then there is also always a risk that someone will use the attention for less peaceful purposes or to disrupt and fight,\u201d she told the news conference.\u201cI have great confidence in the police\u2019s ability to work for a safe city even when so many different people come to visit,\u201d she added.The contest is due to take place May 7-11.(Reuters)protests. Eurovision Song Contest, Malmo, protests<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Swedish city of Malmo, hosting the Eurovision Song Contest in May, expects guests from 80 countries and is preparing for possible unrest. The event, which is the world’s biggest music competition of its kind, aims to be non-political. Despite this, the European Broadcasting Union has faced pressure to exclude Israel due to its actions in Gaza but has resisted these calls. Malmo’s Safety Director, Per-Erik Ebbestahl, mentioned there is no direct threat to Eurovision, but the situation could change. Cultural events in Europe have recently been impacted by protests related to the Gaza conflict. Israel modified its Eurovision song to comply with the event’s non-political requirements. Malmo’s Mayor, Katrin Stjernfeldt Jammeh, emphasized the city’s support for democratic expression while acknowledging the potential for disruptive actions. The contest is scheduled for May 7-11.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":4968,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[383,426,2542,1498,2458,201,963,983,2286,988,145,283,298,299,2872,699,345,184,577,1222,1358,615,1846,293,18],"class_list":["post-4967","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-other","tag-attack","tag-competition","tag-conference","tag-confidence","tag-connection","tag-europe","tag-eurovision","tag-eurovision-song-contest","tag-festivities","tag-fight","tag-gaza","tag-guests","tag-hamas","tag-israel","tag-malmo","tag-music","tag-palestine","tag-police","tag-protests","tag-safety","tag-support","tag-sweden","tag-threat","tag-war","tag-world"],"acf":{"keyphrase":"","keywords":"","sourceimg":"","country-category":""},"yoast_head":"\n