“The consequences of this action will be discussed”
Members of Icelandic group Hatari had banners featuring the Palestine flag confiscated from them at the Eurovision Song Contest after they showed them to the TV cameras during the voting segment of the show.
The band held up the Palestinian flag as their final score was being announced by the hosts.
Their decision to display the Palestinian flag was met by some boos in the arena.
Hatari drummer Einar Hrafn Stefánsson shared a clip to his Instagram account, showing two staff members demanding the flags from the group.
The group, described on the official Eurovision site as an “award-winning, anti-capitalist, BDSM, techno-dystopian, performance art collective” have said they are against Israel hosting the contest, which has been the subject of boycott calls.
The Eurovision has since released a statement which reads: “In the live broadcast of the Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final, Hatari, the Icelandic act, briefly displayed small Palestinian banners whilst sat in the Green Room.
“The Eurovision Song Contest is a non-political event and this directly contradicts the Contest rules. The banners were quickly removed and the consequences of this action will be discussed by the Reference Group (the Contest’s executive board) after the contest.”
The Netherlands won this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, with 25-year-old Duncan Laurence securing 492 points for the song Arcade.
Here are the staff members attempting to remove the banners displaying the Palestine flag.
Clip via Kristmundur
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