Icelandic band Hatari raises pro Palestine banner during Eurovision

Eurovision organizers may punish Iceland for live on camera protest

Icelandic band Hatari, who finished 10th at the Eurovision contest, held up Palestinian banners on live television.

by Staff Reporter

Entertainment 19 May 2019

Have you heard? It’s all over the internet.

Ever since it was announced that the hugely popular Eurovision Song Contest was being held in Tel Aviv many have called for a boycott to support Palestinians and their cause. In fact, thousands of hard core fans boycotted the event and have actively raised funds for Palestine.

Although all the acts participating in the contest aren’t allowed use their platform on the stage as means of political protest, one band may have found a way around it.

Iceland, bondage punk band Hatari held up Palestinian flags and banners supporting Palestine as the camera pointed at  them when the country’s official points were being announced by the hosts. You’ll see in the clip below that the camera moved away, as the crowd started to boo and the hosts looking obviously awkward as they continued on with the next country’s score.

This was all live by the way.

WATCH: Icelandic band Hatari hold up Palestinian banner during Eurovision 2019

One band member shared video of a security official asking for other band members to hand over the flag following the incident on camera. See the clip from his Twitter below.

Hatari are Reykjavík-based techno industrial punk-rock group consisting of Klemens Nikulásson Hannigan, Matthías Tryggvi Haraldsson and Einar Hrafn Stefánsson. They finished 10that the Eurovision competition with their song Hatrið mun sigra.

Their performance was visually out there – a giant metal cage, smoke, flames, leather masks, bondage gear and latex. And their which warned about the dangers of a unity-free Europe trended online pretty quickly.

WATCH: Hatari’s Eurovision performance

Eurovision organisers has already that Iceland might face some consequences for Hatar’s protest, which would be discussed by the contest’s executive board.

“The Eurovision Song Contest is a non-political event and this directly contradicts the contest rule,” they said

Other than protests in the city leading up to the show and Hatari’s performance, the one and only Madonna decided to make a statement of her own.

When criticized for not boycotting the show Madonna had said that she wanted to create “a new path toward peace”.

At the end of her performance, Madonna showed both Israeli and Palestinian flags on the backs of two of her dancers as they walked off stage arm in arm.

This visual statement came after the statement she made before taking the stage.

“Let’s never underestimate the power of music to bring people together.”

Let’s hope you’re right Madge!

WATCH: “The political reality is conflicting and absurd”/ Hatari speak about what they have seen during their stint in Eurovision

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