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“Boycott Eurovision” a man shouts into a microphone, “shame on Eurovision”.

For a song contest striving to avoid politics, Eurovision 2024 is proving challenging.

Thousands of pro-Palestinian protestors gathered in Malmo today to demonstrate against Israel’s inclusion in the contest as the war in Gaza rages on.

Read more: Everything you need to know about this year’s show

Tonight, Israeli entrant Eden Golan will find out if she’s through to the final.

A decision to allow Israel to participate has been contentious, prompting some to boo during Golan’s dress rehearsal.

The Pro-Palestinian demonstration ahead of the Eurovision Song Contest. Pic: AP
Image:
Pic: AP

The outcry follows months of demonstrations and calls for a boycott.

Among the crowd today a group carries a sign reading “murder on the dance floor”.

“I’ve come because I want to kick out Israel from Eurovision,” one woman tells me.

Eurovision protest
Image:
Demonstrators are calling for a boycott of the contest

Eurovision protest

“Some people would argue that you shouldn’t mix politics and music, but I feel that is a very narrow view of the world because in the end it is all about politics, it is all about momentum,” adds Hussein who says he’s here because he has Palestinian roots.

Golan says she wants to unite people with music but the ongoing protests add to the tensions surrounding the contest.

Israel's Eden Golan with Hurricane for Israel. Pic: Sarah Louise Bennett/EBU
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Israel’s Eden Golan performs her song Hurricane. Pic: Sarah Louise Bennett/EBU

Police aren’t taking any chances

Security in the city is tight.

This year’s song contest has prompted one of the biggest police operations ever in Sweden.

Against the backdrop of two wars and the recent Moscow terror attack, they are not taking any chances.

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Eurovision fans on Israel

“We are aware that Sweden as a country is at a four on a five-point terror-threat scale and we obviously have that with us in our planning,” Jimmy Modin, a spokesperson for Swedish police, said.

“We will have a lot of police officers from all over Sweden but also from Norway and Denmark, who will work with us during this week and we will also be flying with our drones.”

Despite the security presence, some here are nervous.

Read more:
Eurovision fans arrive in Sweden
Ireland reaches Eurovision final for first time since 2018
Eurovision facing controversy

Protesters gather during the Stop Israel demonstration against Israel's participation in the 68th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) in Malmo, Sweden, May 9, 2024. TT News Agency/Johan Nilsson via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. SWEDEN OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN SWEDEN.
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Pic: TT News Agency/Johan Nilsson

Fredrik Sieradzki, a spokesperson for Malmo’s Jewish community says antisemitism has been rising since 7 October.

Some fear Jews will be targeted during the contest.

“People think that something will happen and [some] are getting away from Malmo. Some are very afraid and they will not go out. They won’t be at the venues where there will be celebrations and for sure not where there is a big demonstration,” Mr Sieradzki says.

Police are hoping their sheer numbers on the streets will offer reassurance.

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And the tensions have not destroyed the Eurovision spirit.

Many here still only have music on their minds.

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Dancing On Ice dedicated to The Vivienne as vigil held in Liverpool to remember drag queen

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Dancing On Ice dedicated to The Vivienne as vigil held in Liverpool to remember drag queen

RuPaul’s Drag Race star The Vivienne was remembered at a vigil in their home city of Liverpool on Sunday night.

James Lee Williams, originally from Colwyn Bay in North Wales, died on 5 January aged 32.

Hundreds of fans and friends of The Vivienne gathered at Liverpool‘s St George’s Hall.

Buildings across the city were lit up in green to commemorate the drag queen and their role as the Wicked Witch of the West in the Wizard Of Oz musical.

Fellow drag queen Danny Beard said the vigil was “a celebration of someone who touched the lives of so many”.

“The Vivienne was one of the world’s most recognisable drag queens, a proper world class entertainer,” they added.

“And above all a shining beacon in all of our lives and especially for the LGBT community.”

James Lee Williams - better known as The Vivienne
Image:
James Lee Williams – better known as The Vivienne. Pic: PA

Since The Vivienne first rose to prominence in 2019, they appeared on a number of TV programmes, including Blankety Blank over the Christmas period.

The first episode in the series of Dancing On Ice on Sunday night also featured a tribute to The Vivienne, who competed on the 2023 series.

Presenter Holly Willoughby said many would have been “saddened by the tragic news”.

“They were a huge part of our show, making it all the way to the final in 2023,” she added.

“They will be very sorely missed and our thoughts are with The Vivienne’s loved ones at this time. So sad.”

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In a tribute released after Mr Williams’s death, a Dancing On Ice spokesperson said they were “deeply saddened” by the news.

They said Mr Williams had made “TV history through their groundbreaking and spellbinding skating partnership”, becoming the first drag act to reach the Dancing On Ice final.

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The Wanted star Max George recalls moment he wrote will from hospital bed before heart surgery

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The Wanted star Max George recalls moment he wrote will from hospital bed before heart surgery

The Wanted star Max George has told of the moment he wrote his will from a hospital bed, as he was convinced he “was going to die”.

In December, George revealed he had to undergo urgent heart surgery after being diagnosed with a block.

In an interview with The Sun, his first since he underwent the lifesaving surgery, the 36-year-old described the moment when he thought he would die.

He said: “If I could go from being absolutely on top of the world to being told ‘the bottom part of your heart isn’t working’, I kept thinking in my head, ‘Well, what if the top half stops working overnight?'”

“That first night I wrote a will, I thought I was going to die,” the 36-year-old musician added.

On the night of 13 December, George said his heart rate and blood pressure dropped, “I felt like I was dying,” he said.

He had a pacemaker fitted by doctors during the surgery, but the former Strictly Come Dancing star said he made a will on his phone fearing the worst.

More on The Wanted

Before the surgery, George said his thoughts turned to his partner, British actress Maisie Smith, and his family who he feared he’d leave behind.

He shared updates on social media throughout the process.

While the procedure was complicated by collapsed veins caused by the condition, the surgery was successful and he returned home before Christmas.

He described his pacemaker as “the best Christmas present”.

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Tom Parker, who also rose to fame in the 2010s with the boy band along with George, died at the age of 33 after being diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour.

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Former Little Mix star Jesy Nelson announces pregnancy – and it’s twins

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Former Little Mix star Jesy Nelson announces pregnancy - and it's twins

Former Little Mix star Jesy Nelson has announced she is pregnant with twins.

The singer, 33, said she was “eating for three now” on her Instagram alongside a polaroid picture of her with Zion Foster, with whom she was reported to have split up last year.

Nelson shared the touching post on Sunday, letting the world know she is set to become a mum for the first time – including two baby emojis next to her message.

The cosy picture shows the pair smiling in a kitchen.

Nelson rose to fame with the girl band Little Mix, which formed on The X Factor in 2011 and earned a string of UK number-one singles.

However, she left in December 2020 after nine years, saying the pressures of being in the group had taken a toll on her mental health.

Read more:
Little Mix ‘went to therapy’ after star’s ‘traumatic’ exit

Nelson has since performed as a solo artist but still had praise for her former bandmates, telling The Graham Norton Show in 2021: “To me they are still the sickest girl band in the world.”

Little Mix continued as a trio after Nelson’s departure in December 2020 before going on hiatus in 2022.

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