Protesters waved Palestinian flags outside the competition site before the second semi-final on Thursday night. Photo: LEONHARD FOEGER/REUTERS
Chapter According to The Telegraph, employees of the Israeli security agency personally oversaw security measures for the Eurovision Song Contest participant.
The entire Israeli delegation, including 20-year-old singer Eden Golan, ordered to remain in their hotel rooms and are guarded 24 hours a day by the Shin Bet, Israel's secret service.
Israel was so concerned about the Eurovision contestant's safety that Ronen Bahr, the head of Shin Bet, flew to Malmo before the competition began implementing the strictest security measures.
Golan performed her song Hurricane late Thursday night. night, after some audience members booed her during a dress rehearsal on Wednesday.
A source told The Telegraph: “Eden Golan and the entire delegation are being protected by local Swedish police and the Shin Bet.”
“She and the entire delegation are very well protected in their hotel. She should not leave the hotel.
“The head of the Shin Bet even flew there on the eve of the event to make sure that everything was in place. They knew it would become a flashpoint.
“It is incredible that at the height of the war the head of the Shin Bet felt the need to go to Malmö due to security concerns.”
As Golan prepared to take to the stage on Thursday night, Eurovision organizers said they would not “censor” the audience during the live performance, despite booing during rehearsals.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) said: “As did In all major television projects with an audience, SVT works on the broadcast sound to equalize the levels for viewers.
“This is done solely to achieve the most balanced sound mix for the audience; and SVT do not censor the sound of spectators in the arena.
“The same principle applies to all competing acts, as well as warm-ups and intervals.”
Gre Ta Thunberg was among the expected 10–12 000 protesters marched through Malmo on Thursday Photo: JOHAN NILSON/TT VIA AP
Concerns about the safety of the Golan arose after Swedish climate change activist Greta Thunberg joined a large pro-Palestinian protest near the venue.
The 21-year-old man was among the estimated 10-12,000 people marching in Malmö with a demand to withdraw Israel from the competition.
Protesters shouted: “Boycott Israel” and “What is our mission? Israel is out of Eurovision”, as well as the controversial chant “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”, which was condemned as anti-Semitic.
A banner in the style of the Eurovision logo with the words “genocide” was held in the middle of the march.
The banner at the center of the protest march showed the Eurovision logo changed to “genocide”. 
A flyer handed out at the protest march included a QR code for a donation to UNRWA, the aid agency accused of links to Hamas. Israeli officials who helped organize tight security at the singing competition may have learned from the mass crowd in their planning. the killings of the country's athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics.Two Israeli athletes were killed on September 5, 1972, when Palestinian terrorists broke into an apartment in the Olympic village. Nine more people, five of the eight terrorists and one policeman, were killed in a failed rescue attempt 20 hours later.
A large police presence was seen outside the Malmö Arena on Thursday evening amid chanting from pro-Palestinian protesters. and held placards.
The police presence in Malmö increased. Photo: MARTIN MEISSNER/AP PHOTO 
Officers monitor pro-Palestinian protesters gathering in Malmo. Photo: JOHAN NILSSON/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK 
Pro-Israel demonstrators also took to the streets of Malmö on Thursday Photo: JACOB GRONHOLT-PEDERSEN/REUTERS < p>Police from Sweden, Norway and Denmark regularly patrolled the arena, city center and Eurovision village amid the threat of protests and riots.
The 20-year-old Golan will compete against the Norwegian gates of San Francisco. Marino's band Megara, Switzerland's Nemo and Denmark's Saba, who in a joint statement in March called for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the “safe return” of Israeli hostages.
The artists rejected calls from Palestinian groups for a boycott of the music competition, saying, that they “strongly believe in the unifying power of music.”
Golan, who has sung and danced on stage since childhood, told ITV News this week she couldn't have asked for “a better year to represent my country “.
Her emotional track Hurricane was reworked from a previous song called October Rain, which was renamed after it was thought to reference the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7.
Despite booing from the crowd during her rehearsal, Golan's live performance at the second Eurovision semi-final was received with delight. to loud applause at the Malmö Arena.
The 20-year-old singer's relief was palpable as she completed her hotly anticipated performance on stage and gesticulated happily.
The applause for her became even louder at the end of the song, during the verse where she transitions. from singing in English to poetry in Hebrew.
The competition has been marred by controversy over Israel's participation amid the country's ongoing military campaign against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, now in its seventh month.
Activists display the Swedish flag next to the Palestinian flag on a roof in Malmö. Photo: JOHAN NILSSON/TT/SHUTTERSTOCK
At the opening At Tuesday's ceremony, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organizes the event, said it was “regretful” that the Swedish star took to the stage wearing a distinctive keffiyeh scarf to show her support for Palestine.
In history On Instagram, Eric Saade explained that it was “a way to show part of my heritage” and that it was a gift as a child from his father, who is of Palestinian descent.
He also said: “I just wanted to be inclusive and wear something that is authentic to me, but the EBU seems to think my ethnicity is controversial. It says nothing about me, but everything about them.”
Eurovision organizers expressed regret about Eric Saade from Sweden. came on stage with a keffiyeh on his wrist. Photo: JESSICA GOW/TT
It has been made clear to participants and participants that Eurovision is a non-political event and therefore no political statements will be permitted.
Non-binary Irish contestant Bambi Thug said after his performance on Tuesday night that they were banned from writing “ceasefire” and “free Palestine” on their bodies.
Speaking at a press conference after the first semi-final, they said : “It was very important to me [to include these messages] because I am for justice and peace.
“Unfortunately, today I had to change these messages by order of the EBU.”
The European Broadcasting Union also announced last week that it reserves the right to remove any Palestinian flags or pro-Palestinian symbols from the exhibition, which will last until Saturday.
Ticket holders are only allowed to bring and display flags of countries taking part in the event , as well as a rainbow-colored flag.
Organizers condemned “unfair” abuse of competitors
In April, organizers spoke out against the “unacceptable and completely unfair” abuse of competitors “against the backdrop of a terrible war in the Middle East.”
< p>Israel, which was due to perform towards the end on Thursday night, has been a strong contender at Eurovision in recent years, winning with Netta Barzilai's Toy in 2018 and reaching the final 12 times since 2003.
One of the protesters , Kaya, said Israel was “not welcome” in the same way Russia was banned from the 2022 competition due to its invasion of Ukraine.
A university student told The Telegraph: “We feel strongly and believe that a cultural boycott [of Israel] is very important to make them feel that they are not welcome and have no audience.
“They are not welcome, because they commit genocide to Palestinians just as they don't welcome Russia.”
Environmental activist Lisa Bjerke, who held a sign reading “Climate for Palestine,” said climate justice is intertwined with a “humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.”
“We are a group of people actively fighting for climate justice. A movement that also believes that Palestine's calls for peace and justice are part of this – without this there can be no climate justice,” she said.
The ecology teacher, a 34-year-old Malmö local, added: “ They also relate to the fact that the climate crisis is a humanitarian crisis, just like the situation in the Gaza Strip.”
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