A man and a woman burned a Koran in Malmö, Sweden, on Friday, a day before the Eurovision Song Contest festivities start there. This was shown in a video that went live on social media. A Palestinian flag was also burned during the action in Malmö city center, not far from two Eurovision locations.
Swedish police are being criticized for allowing the Quran burning so close to the big event. Starting today, there will be many concerts and parties in the Swedish city for a week, building up to the grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest on May 11.
A total of more than one hundred thousand visitors are expected in Malmö. In addition to the musical event, various protest actions have also been announced due to the war in Gaza, by both pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli demonstrators. According to the Swedish broadcaster SVT, the police expect more than 40,000 participants on Thursday for a demonstration against Israel’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. The action is just before the second semi-final in which Israel plays.
On Thursday, the Israeli National Security Council tightened the travel advice for the Swedish city. Israelis planning a visit to Malmö are advised to reconsider.
Many artists, including Swedish ones, had advocated a boycott of Israel because of the war. But the organization rejected that.
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