Spain's involvement sparks excitement in Malmö.
Thus far, the performances from Spain and Greece have been extremely well-received in the hall. Thousands of people sing along to the song "Zorra" by the duo Nebulossa while in the hall. Greek singer Marina Satti's contribution resembles the South American Latin pop genre. Finland's "Windows95man" is currently on stage. Only nine entries remain before the voting process.
22:12 Absent from rehearsals: Irish entry follows through with their plan The Irish entry proceeds as planned, as does the one from Greece. Both Ireland's Bambie Thug and Greece's Marina Satti had previously missed the dress rehearsal. There's no official explanation for the artists' absence, but Bambie Thug had already drawn attention before today's finale by calling for Israel to be excluded.
21:46 Greta Thunberg is taken into police custody As per a Swedish newspaper known as "Expressen," a group of pro-Palestinian protesters engaged in a physical altercation with the police. According to a reporter on-site, the atmosphere is "tense." Climate activist Greta Thunberg has been taken into police custody.
21:39 Issues during the Israeli contribution While the musical aspect of the event commences in the hall, the host nation Sweden kick starts it followed by Ukraine and Germany - met with applause. Following Luxembourg's performance, the Netherlands was skipped. During the Israeli singer Eden Golan's song "Hurricane," whistling could be heard in the audience. The rest of the performance progressed without any hiccups.
21:21 Disruptions outside the arena There are loud demonstrations outside the Malmö Arena. Pro-Palestinian protesters hurl insults at the spectators as they approach the arena, as reported by an AFP journalist. There have been numerous altercations between the demonstrators and police. The law enforcement agencies manage to prevent some demonstrators from reaching the security area in front of the arena and breaking through it.
21:08 Entry of the artists The event begins with all the nations entering one by one. They're accompanied by well-known pop songs from Sweden. When Israeli artist Eden Golan takes the stage, there's a brief moment of excitement in the audience.
20:50 Israeli Foreign Minister: Let's show them who's boss Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz offers his support to singer Eden Golan shortly before the beginning of the final, "Eden bravely confronts extreme hatred and anti-Semitism," writes Katz on X. "Today we display to all the haters who leads the way." The Israeli artist and their contribution faced much backlash in the lead-up to and during the music festival due to the ongoing conflict in Gaza. There have been calls for Israel's exclusion from the competition.
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Sweden's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest brings a sense of anticipation with their music selection. The country's representation at this year's competition is a great opportunity to showcase Swedish entertainment. Furthermore, many fans are eager to see how Sweden will fare against other European acts in the musical competition.
Source: www.ntv.de
