Friday

29th Mar 2024

Russian singers booed at Eurovision

  • Russia's Tolmachevy Sisters qualified for the Eurovision final on Saturday (Photo: Sander Hesterman (EBU))

They looked cute, young and innocent, but when the Tolmachevy twins were selected for the Eurovision Song Contest finale on Tuesday evening (6 May) in Copenhagen, the 10,000-strong audience booed.

The Russian sisters, who are only 17 years old and have already won a junior version of the pan-European song contest, carefully avoided press questions about Russia's politics and its role in the disintegration of Ukraine.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

Their song 'Shine' was about "telling all the world to show some love". It also contained the verses: "Living on the edge / closer to the crime /cross the line a step at a time."

Ukrainian contender Mariya Yaremchuck, who also made it into Saturday's final, was less tight-lipped about what is happening in her country.

"Everyone in Ukraine was shocked. Actually when I was preparing in Ukraine I couldn't even focus on working because we were all influenced by that," Yaremchuck said at a press conference in Copenhagen.

"It really affects me because I will try my best to prove that Ukrainians are a strong nation and conflicts end, but music lives. I hope Ukraine will start a new life and a new page," she said.

Geopolitics have always played a role at the kitsch-pop contest where countries can only vote for others, not for themselves.

In 2009 after another Russian military intrusion in Georgia, the country wanted to run with a Putin satire 'We don't wanna Put In', but the organisers said the song was too political and asked either to change the lyrics or run with another song. Subsequently, Georgia withdrew from the contest.

Booing however is rare at the live shows, says Ewan Spence, a Eurovision expert. He could only recall one other rowdy reception – of Sweden at the 2006 Eurovision in Athens.

As for the votes that came from viewers in Crimea, the Ukrainian territory annexed by Russia, the organisers said they would still count for Ukraine.

"In Crimea, there is a Ukrainian telecom network in service. This means that the votes from the area are part of the Ukrainian televote at this year's Eurovision Song Contest," Stephanie Caflisch, a spokeswoman for the European Broadcasting Union told this website.

US and EU breaking taboos to restrain Israel

The US abstained and all EU states on the UN Security Council backed a call for an "immediate ceasefire" in Gaza, as Europe prepares to also blacklist extremist Israeli settlers.

Opinion

Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Rather than assuming a pro-European Labour government in London will automatically open doors in Brussels, the Labour party needs to consider what it may be able to offer to incentivise EU leaders to factor the UK into their defence thinking.

Latest News

  1. Kenyan traders react angrily to proposed EU clothes ban
  2. Lawyer suing Frontex takes aim at 'antagonistic' judges
  3. Orban's Fidesz faces low-polling jitters ahead of EU election
  4. German bank freezes account of Jewish peace group
  5. EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania
  6. 'Swiftly dial back' interest rates, ECB told
  7. Moscow's terror attack, security and Gaza
  8. Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us