The Eurovision Song Contest Used to Be a Whimsical Delight – Yet It Has Transformed Into a Strategic Method to Whitewash War.

A new term came to light a few months into the military campaign against Gaza. Known as WCNSF, it stands for “Injured child with no living relatives”. This acronym is found only in Gaza, according to medical experts including paediatricians. Ordinarily, it is rare for doctors to attend to a minor who has lost their complete family. However, there has been no semblance of normality about the genocide in Gaza, where complete genealogies have been eradicated and the number of children who have lost limbs is greater than that of any other place in the world. Nothing ordinary about many doctors coming back from a sea of ruins with testimonies of children being intentionally shot at.

A Hell on Earth In Spite Of a Supposed Ceasefire

Gaza remains hell on earth. Critical healthcare resources are not getting in those in need, and groups like Amnesty International contend that atrocities are still being committed. Authorities has denied these accusations, consistent with how it disavows everything it is accused of. Meanwhile, while grieving children who lost parents are now enduring frigid conditions in temporary shelters, there is a little heartwarming news: apparently nothing is going to stop the Eurovision from pursuing its stated mission of “togetherness and cultural exchange.” Eurovision will continue to roll out a prestigious stage for Israel, despite the fact that several European countries have now pulled out in protest. And this, we are told, is what unity manifests as.

Eurovision, of course banned Russia from competing in 2022 because of the “unprecedented crisis in Ukraine”. However, the situation in Gaza seems entirely distinct.

A Double Standard

Overlook the circumstance that Israel was alleged to have used unfair vote practices last year in what could be seen as an bid to politicise Eurovision. Forget the fact that a three-year-old girl was allegedly fatally struck in Gaza on a recent Sunday. Pay no mind to the evidence that aggression from Israeli settlers and systematic expulsions in the West Bank have surged. Overlook the situation that foreign reporters are still denied independent reporting in Gaza. This entire context, it would seem, should be allowed to get in the way of Eurovision’s cherished spirit of unity.

The Contest Continues Against a Backdrop of Profound Human Cost

Eurovision turns 70 next year – roughly two times the average life expectancy of a person in Gaza at present. The event will proceed, but it will likely never recapture the whimsical pleasure it historically embodied. A competition that was originally built on togetherness has now become a cynical way to sanitize military aggression.