MALMÖ, Sweden — Inside Malmö Arena in southern Sweden this week, the Eurovision Song Contest has continued its decades-old legacy of serving as a safe space for harmony and extravaganza — much of it with a decidedly LGBTQ flair — where the world’s struggles and strifes are largely forgotten. The festivities will culminate in a spectacular final Saturday evening local time, when more than two dozen countries will compete for the glass microphone.
But outside the arena, on the streets of Malmö, thousands of protesters have expressed their anger at Israel’s involvement in this year’s competition, some with banners going so far as to dub this the “Genocide Song Contest.” Among the protesters was climate activist Greta Thunberg, whose mother, Malena Ernman, happened to represent Sweden at Eurovision in 2009.
