Eurovision Used to Be a Campy Joy – But It Has Become a Cynical Way to Sanitize Conflict.
An recent term came to light a couple of months into the intensive bombing of Gaza by Israel. Known as WCNSF, it means “Wounded child, no surviving family”. This acronym is found only in Gaza, according to medical experts such as paediatricians. Normally, it is uncommon for medical staff to treat a child who has seen the death of their entire family. However, there has been absolutely nothing ordinary about the genocide in Gaza, where whole bloodlines have been wiped out and the number of children who have lost limbs exceeds that of any other place in the world. No sense of normalcy about numerous doctors coming back from a landscape of rubble with accounts of children being intentionally shot at.
A Hell on Earth In Spite Of a Reported Truce
Conditions in Gaza persist as an utter catastrophe. Essential medical supplies are being blocked those in need, and major human rights organizations contend that violations are continuing. The Israeli government has denied these accusations, consistent with how it denies everything it is implicated in. Meanwhile, while traumatised orphans are now freezing in improvised encampments, there is some ostensibly positive news: apparently nothing is going to stop the Eurovision song contest from pursuing its declared purpose of “unity and artistic sharing.” Eurovision will continue to roll out a welcoming platform for Israel, although a number of European countries have now pulled out in protest. Since this, apparently, is what global togetherness manifests as.
The contest, notably banned Russia from competing in 2022 due to the “grave situation in Ukraine”. Yet the conflict in Gaza seems entirely distinct.
A Double Standard
Disregard the reality that Israel was accused of irregular participation methods last year in what appears to have been an bid to politicise Eurovision. Set aside the news that a three-year-old girl was allegedly fatally struck in Gaza recently. Forget the fact that aggression from Israeli settlers and systematic expulsions in the West Bank have increased dramatically. Forget the fact that foreign reporters are still prevented from freely reporting in Gaza. All of this, evidently, should be seen as a barrier of Eurovision’s much-touted ethos of unity.
The Pageant Proceeds Against a Backdrop of Staggering Tragedy
The contest reaches its seventieth anniversary next year – almost double the projected longevity of a person in Gaza now. The show may go on, but it will likely never recapture the whimsical pleasure it was formerly known for. A competition that initially championed togetherness has devolved into a cynical way to sanitize military aggression.
