Eurovision Was Traditionally a Lighthearted Spectacle – But It Has Transformed Into a Cynical Way to Whitewash War.

An recent acronym emerged a few months into the intensive bombing of Gaza by Israel. Known as WCNSF, it signifies “Wounded child, no surviving family”. This term is unique to Gaza, as stated by medical experts including paediatricians. Ordinarily, it is rare for physicians to care for a child who has been bereaved of their complete family. But, there has been no semblance of normality about the widespread destruction in Gaza, where entire family lineages have been eradicated and the number of young amputees is greater than that of any other place in the world. Nothing normal in many doctors arriving back from a devastated terrain with reports of children being systematically aimed at.

An Unimaginable Crisis Despite a Announced Cessation of Hostilities

Gaza remains hell on earth. Critical healthcare resources are failing to reach those in need, and groups like Amnesty International contend that violations are ongoing. Officials has denied these claims, just as it denies everything it is implicated in. Meanwhile, while young survivors are now freezing in improvised encampments, there is a little heartwarming news: apparently nothing is going to stop the international singing competition from pursuing its stated mission of “unity and artistic sharing.” The contest will continue to roll out a blood-red carpet for Israel, although a number of European countries have now withdrawn in objection. Since this, it seems, is what global togetherness looks like.

The contest, notably excluded Russia from competing in 2022 because of the “serious conflict in Ukraine”. But the crisis in Gaza appears to be completely different.

A Selective Vision

Disregard the reality that Israel was accused of questionable voting tactics last year in what appears to have been an attempt to politicise Eurovision. Forget the fact that a three-year-old girl was allegedly fatally struck in Gaza recently. Pay no mind to the evidence that settler violence and coerced removal in the West Bank have escalated. Disregard the condition that international journalists are still denied unfettered access in Gaza. None of this, it would seem, should be permitted to obstruct of Eurovision’s self-proclaimed spirit of unity.

The Pageant Proceeds While Ignoring Profound Human Cost

Eurovision turns 70 next year – nearly twice the projected longevity of someone in Gaza at present. The event will proceed, but it will find it impossible to reclaim the camp joy it historically embodied. An institution that once promoted harmony has devolved into a blatant mechanism to sanitize military aggression.