Signs in Malmo, Sweden promoting this year’s highly anticipated Eurovision competition were vandalized this week, reports Ynet.
The graffiti was reportedly found in the competition’s host city a day after Israel unveiled its song entry “Hurricane”. The signs were spray-painted with red paint and calling to “Free Gaza”.
Israel is taking no chances at this tears competition as global antisemitism continues to spike over the Israel-Hamas war. A team from the Israel’s Shin Bet security agency has already been dispatched to Malmo to finalize security plans for the Israeli delegation in May.
Eden Golan was selected to represent Israel at Eurovision after winning the country’s national selection. Her entry, “Hurricane,” is a revamped version of “October Rain,” the song initially submitted for the competition. The original was disqualified due to its lyrics, which were considered too political for alluding to the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks.
Despite calls for Golan’s withdrawal from the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest because of the conflict in Gaza, the European Broadcasting Union announced in December that Israel would not be banned.
