There were large demonstrations near the Malmö arena – This is what happened when Israel’s result was announced – 2024-05-13 02:21:35

The Eurovision finals have been contested in Malmö on Saturday evening.

There have been many demonstrations in Malmö for Palestine. Demonstrators criticize the fact that Israel is allowed to participate in Eurovision.

The official demonstrations were peaceful during the day. When the final started at 10 pm Finnish time, a demonstration gathered in front of Malmö’s arena without permission from the authorities.

The situation has started to calm down, when the police have moved the demonstrators away from the arena.

The police have also arrested a climate activist The Greta Thunbergsays Expressen.

The police arrested climate activist Greta Thunberg on Saturday evening. Johan Nilsson/TT

The atmosphere was chaotic

Expressen reported after 20:00 on Saturday evening that the demonstrators supporting the Palestinians had gathered near the Malmö arena and the situation had escalated into chaos.

The police cleared the protesters in front of the arena. The police moved people further away.

Editor of Iltalehti Years Emilia Alentola followed the demonstration on site. Both Swedish and Danish police have been present. According to a rough estimate, there were a hundred policemen in front of the arena around ten o’clock in the evening.

Alentola said that it was confusing and restless in front of Malmö’s arena. The police had arrested several people.

According to Aftonbladet, the police have arrested one person on Saturday who is suspected of violently resisting an official. In addition, the police have arrested seven people citing serious disorder or the risk of it.

The police told Iltalehte that the demonstration in front of the arena has not sought or received permission from the authorities. According to the police, it is uncertain whether it is a group or an organization, or just people gathered together.

According to Expressen, people gathered especially at Hyllie station, which is in the immediate vicinity of the Malmö arena. The police have stopped rail traffic at the station.

According to the newspaper, people have become frightened when the police have tried to get them to leave the place. People have shouted, for example, “fuck the police” or “fuck the police”. The police have begun to carry people away one by one.

The police cordoned off a large area around the arena and cut off all access routes to the arena.

The story continues after the picture.

This is how Israel’s result was reacted

At around one in the morning, Alentola said that the atmosphere in front of the arena was boisterous, no longer confused or restless. The situation calmed down significantly after the police moved the protesters further away.

At one time, there was a small but loud group of protesters of around 100–200 people.

When it was clear that Israel could not win in favor of Eurovision scoring, people started to leave the venue.

The story continues after the video.

During the day, 8,000 people showed support for Palestine

An anti-Israel demonstration started at Suurtor in Malmö’s old town at 16:00 Finnish time on Saturday.

The demonstration was organized in support of Palestine. The European Broadcasting Union EBU’s decision to allow Israel to participate in the visas has been widely seen as unfair because the country is currently at war in Gaza.

The story continues after the video.

The police estimated for Aftonbladet that about 8,000 people participated in the Stoppa Israel demonstration. The police did not mention the arrests or other disturbances that had occurred somewhat earlier in the demonstration on Thursday.

– The demonstration seems to be going peacefully in all respects, said Iltalehti’s reporter from the spot.

There were significantly more people at Thursday’s demonstration, at that time the police estimated that 10,000–12,000 people were present. The police said at the time that they had arrested 9 people for disorderly conduct and arrested one person on suspicion of a serious violation of the bladed weapons law.

According to SVT’s information, the police have also granted permission for another demonstration. That demonstration will take place in the evening in front of the Eurovision arena, just outside the center of Malmö. Iltalehti has no information about the organizer of the demonstration.

The story continues after the picture.

According to Iltalehti’s editor, there seemed to be a little less movement in the demonstration than in the demonstration organized earlier in the week. No counter-protesters were seen around Suurtor.

The story continues after the video

Alentola said that quite a lot of families with children participated in the demonstration. Many slogans were specifically about children, such as “Mina barn är öksås dina” or “my children are your children too”.

Berkanin the family is one of many who have turned up with children – because it’s a peaceful event, they say.

– It is important to include the children so that they learn what is happening around them. This is about right and wrong, mom Anna Bard says.

The story continues after the picture and video.

The Stoppa Israel (Finnish: Stop Israel) demonstration is supported by more than 60 organizations. There are numerous Palestinian organizations, but also student organizations and political organizations. From the parties in the Swedish Parliament, the youth of the Left Party and the local branch of the party in Skåne will be there.

The story continues after the pictures.

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg also protested against Eurovision in Malmö. It is not certain whether he participated in the Stoppa Israel demonstration.

According to Iltalehti’s editor, numerous anti-Visu campaigns have been visible in Malmö’s cityscape.