This article forms part of the OnEurope archive and was originally published on oneurope.co.uk. It has been permanently migrated to oneurope.net, the official home of OnEurope.
With domestic pressure to boycott Eurovision 2024, Iceland played us a game of will they, won’t they, keeping us hanging until the last minute before confirming their participation, despite running their selection process as planned. The shadow of the Israel-Gaza war at the opposite end of Europe remains a long one.
The shadow fell over the selection itself with the inclusion of Bashar Murad, a queer Palestinian artist from East Jerusalem. Although his song did not have a political message his nationality inevitably prompted debate. When it came to the final two songs in Iceland’s Super Final Bashar was poised against Eurovision alumnus Hera Bjork, who triumphed with a sizable swing of public votes coalescing behind her and against Bashar, who had comfortably led both the public and jury vote until then.
Hera’s a well-loved fan-favourite and as a performer you couldn’t ask for a safer pair of hands. Her song is the exact upbeat pop we’ve come to expect from her, though to my ear a rather more lightweight version of it that we’ve previously heard. Lyrically it’s a little awkward, contriving a tale of fear of heights as a metaphor for caution to fall in love and risk another heartbreak. Musically it’s in the vein of a dance-pop anthem by [insert female pop star’s name here] featuring [and DJ’s name here], only it’s quite a bit less anthemic.
Frankly, I think Iceland’s missed a trick. Eurovision is never just about the song. Small p politics is never far away, and sending a Palestinian artist with a genuinely interesting song would have ensured the Icelandic entry garnered the rare mainstream press attention that catapults only a small handful of songs onto the front-pages during Contest week – every news outlet would have wanted to interview him, creating the audience awareness a Dana International, Jamala, or Kalush Orchestra can create. God love Hera Bjork – and I adore her – but Iceland has gone from a top 10 contender to a very likely non-qualification. Ditch that Super Final! Now!
Photo: Anna Maggy/EBU
