Eurovision Was Traditionally a Lighthearted Spectacle – But It Has Transformed Into a Calculated Tool to Sanitize Conflict.

A freshly coined acronym surfaced several months into the intensive bombing of Gaza by Israel. Labeled WCNSF, it signifies “Child casualty without any family left”. This acronym is specific to Gaza, according to doctors such as paediatricians. Normally, it is uncommon for physicians to treat a minor who has lost their whole family. But, there has been nothing “normal” about the widespread destruction in Gaza, where entire family lineages have been eradicated and the number of children who have lost limbs exceeds that of anywhere else in the world. No sense of normalcy about numerous doctors arriving back from a landscape of rubble with reports of children being systematically aimed at.

A Hell on Earth Despite a Supposed Ceasefire

The Gaza Strip continues to be a profound humanitarian disaster. Essential medical supplies are not getting in those in need, and groups like Amnesty International assert that genocidal acts are still being committed. Officials rejects these claims, just as it refutes all charges it is charged with. Meanwhile, while grieving children who lost parents are now freezing in improvised encampments, there is a piece of uplifting information: apparently nothing is going to stop the international singing competition from continuing with its professed goal of “unity and cultural exchange.” Eurovision will continue to roll out a welcoming platform for Israel, even though at least four European countries have now pulled out in protest. And this, apparently, is what international harmony manifests as.

The contest, notably excluded Russia from competing in 2022 because of the “unprecedented crisis in Ukraine”. Yet the conflict in Gaza seems completely different.

A Selective Vision

Overlook the circumstance that Israel was alleged to have used questionable voting tactics last year in what could be seen as an effort to manipulate Eurovision. Set aside the news that a toddler was reportedly killed in Gaza just days ago. Pay no mind to the evidence that aggression from Israeli settlers and coerced removal in the West Bank have surged. Overlook the situation that international journalists are still blocked from unfettered access in Gaza. This entire context, evidently, should be permitted to obstruct of Eurovision’s much-touted ethos of unity.

The Show Goes On Against a Backdrop of Unimaginable Suffering

Eurovision reaches its seventieth anniversary next year – nearly twice the current lifespan of an individual in Gaza now. The broadcast will air, but it will likely never recapture the whimsical pleasure it once represented. A contest that was originally built on peace has devolved into a cynical way to whitewash war.