Eurovision Was Traditionally a Lighthearted Spectacle – But It Has Become a Calculated Tool to Gloss Over Warfare.

A recent initialism surfaced a couple of months into the intensive bombing of Gaza by Israel. Labeled WCNSF, it signifies “Wounded child, no surviving family”. This term is unique to Gaza, as stated by health professionals including paediatricians. Typically, it is rare for medical staff to attend to a child who has seen the death of their entire family. But, there has been nothing “normal” concerning the devastating conflict in Gaza, where whole bloodlines have been obliterated and the number of young amputees exceeds that of any other place in the world. Nothing ordinary about numerous doctors returning from a devastated terrain with testimonies of children being systematically aimed at.

A Hell on Earth In Spite Of a Announced Cessation of Hostilities

The Gaza Strip continues to be a profound humanitarian disaster. Essential medical supplies are failing to reach those in need, and major human rights organizations assert that violations are ongoing. Officials rejects these claims, consistent with how it refutes everything it is implicated in. Yet as traumatised orphans are now suffering from the cold in makeshift tent camps, there is some ostensibly positive news: apparently nothing is going to stop the Eurovision from continuing with its declared purpose of “unity and cultural exchange.” Eurovision will continue to extend a blood-red carpet for Israel, even though a number of European countries have now boycotted in dissent. Because this, we are told, is what unity resembles.

Historically, Eurovision excluded Russia from taking part in 2022 because of the “serious conflict in Ukraine”. Yet the conflict in Gaza appears to be treated differently.

Contradictory Principles

Disregard the reality that Israel was criticized for unfair vote practices last year in what could be seen as an effort to inject politics into Eurovision. Ignore the report that a young child was allegedly fatally struck in Gaza recently. Neglect the data that attacks by settlers and systematic expulsions in the West Bank have escalated. Overlook the situation that foreign reporters are still prevented from independent reporting in Gaza. This entire context, it would seem, should be allowed to get in the way of Eurovision’s much-touted ethos of unity.

The Contest Continues Amidst Unimaginable Suffering

The contest reaches its seventieth anniversary next year – nearly twice the projected longevity of someone in Gaza today. The broadcast will air, but it will never be able to restore the whimsical pleasure it once represented. A contest that was originally built on togetherness has devolved into a transparent instrument to provide a cultural veneer for conflict.