The Eurovision Song Contest Used to Be a Campy Joy – But It Has Transformed Into a Calculated Tool to Sanitize Conflict.

A new acronym surfaced several months after the start of the intensive bombing of Gaza by Israel. Known as WCNSF, it stands for “Child casualty without any family left”. This acronym is found only in Gaza, according to doctors including paediatricians. Ordinarily, it is unusual for medical staff to treat a young patient who has seen the death of their entire family. Yet, there has been absolutely nothing ordinary regarding the genocide in Gaza, where entire family lineages have been eradicated and the number of child amputees surpasses that of any other region in the world. Nothing normal about scores of doctors coming back from a sea of ruins with accounts of children being intentionally shot at.

An Unimaginable Crisis In Spite Of a Supposed Ceasefire

Conditions in Gaza persist as an utter catastrophe. Critical healthcare resources are not getting in those in need, and international watchdogs contend that genocidal acts are continuing. Authorities disputes these claims, consistent with how it disavows everything it is accused of. Yet as traumatised orphans are now enduring frigid conditions in temporary shelters, there is some ostensibly positive news: nothing is going to stop the Eurovision from pursuing its stated mission of “unity and artistic sharing.” The contest will continue to roll out a prestigious stage for Israel, even though a number of European countries have now boycotted in dissent. And this, it seems, is what unity looks like.

Eurovision, of course prohibited Russia from taking part in 2022 because of the “grave situation in Ukraine”. However, the situation in Gaza seems treated differently.

A Double Standard

Disregard the reality that Israel was accused of unfair vote practices last year in what seems to have been an attempt to politicise Eurovision. Set aside the news that a toddler was allegedly fatally struck in Gaza on a recent Sunday. Forget the fact that attacks by settlers and systematic expulsions in the West Bank have escalated. Disregard the condition that foreign reporters are still blocked from independent reporting in Gaza. This entire context, it would seem, should be seen as a barrier of Eurovision’s self-proclaimed spirit of unity.

The Pageant Proceeds While Ignoring Unimaginable Suffering

Eurovision reaches its seventieth anniversary next year – roughly two times the current lifespan of someone in Gaza at present. The broadcast will air, but it will never be able to restore the camp joy it historically embodied. An institution that initially championed peace has now become a cynical way to sanitize military aggression.