The Eurovision Song Contest Was Traditionally a Lighthearted Spectacle – Yet It Has Become a Strategic Method to Whitewash War.

A recent term surfaced a couple of months after the start of the intensive bombing of Gaza by Israel. Known as WCNSF, it means “Child casualty without any family left”. This designation is found only in Gaza, according to health professionals including child health specialists. Normally, it is uncommon for doctors to care for a child who has lost their whole family. Yet, there has been nothing “normal” about the devastating conflict in Gaza, where entire family lineages have been obliterated and the number of children who have lost limbs exceeds that of any other place in the world. Nothing normal about numerous doctors arriving back from a sea of ruins with testimonies of children being intentionally shot at.

A Hell on Earth Despite a Supposed Ceasefire

The Gaza Strip continues to be an utter catastrophe. Vital medicines and equipment are not getting in those in need, and groups like Amnesty International contend that atrocities are still being committed. The Israeli government rejects these claims, consistent with how it denies everything it is charged with. Yet as traumatised orphans are now freezing in makeshift tent camps, there is a little heartwarming news: nothing is going to stop the Eurovision from continuing with its declared purpose of “unity and cultural exchange.” Eurovision will continue to extend a prestigious stage for Israel, although a number of European countries have now withdrawn in objection. Because this, it seems, is what unity looks like.

Eurovision, of course banned Russia from taking part in 2022 due to the “grave situation in Ukraine”. However, the situation in Gaza appears to be treated differently.

A Double Standard

Overlook the circumstance that Israel was criticized for unfair vote practices last year in what seems to have been an bid to inject politics into Eurovision. Ignore the report that a three-year-old girl was reportedly killed in Gaza just days ago. Pay no mind to the evidence that attacks by settlers and coerced removal in the West Bank have surged. Forget the fact that global media are still blocked from independent reporting in Gaza. All of this, it would seem, should be seen as a barrier of Eurovision’s self-proclaimed spirit of unity.

The Pageant Proceeds Amidst Unimaginable Suffering

Eurovision reaches its seventieth anniversary next year – nearly twice the current lifespan of an individual in Gaza at present. The broadcast will air, but it will find it impossible to reclaim the whimsical pleasure it historically embodied. A competition that once promoted togetherness has devolved into a transparent instrument to sanitize military aggression.