Sound switched off for Israel: Skandal at ESC public in Biel – politicians leave the hall

During the public inspection of the ESC final in the congress house in Biel, the sound was eliminated during the Israeli contribution in protest. Two municipal councils left the hall as a result.

It should be a peaceful cultural festival – but now the Biel project “Full A lot” is at the center of a political scandal. During the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday evening a week ago, the performance of the Israeli singer Yuval Raphael was broadcast on a canvas in the congress house.

Suddenly the sound stopped – other music was played instead. A protest, as it later turned out.

The two Biel city councilors Lena Frank (Greens) and Anna Tanner (SP) then left the room together with other visitors. “I was surprised – I didn't expect that,” said Frank zu Ajour.ch. The protest was not in the spirit of the full-many project, for which it is jointly responsible and which is financed by the city of around CHF 400,000. “Full a lot is politically neutral,” says Frank. It distances itself from the campaign, but understands the desire to send a signal against the war.

City of Biel also wants to investigate the incident

The public inspection was actually organized by the Queerbienne Association – but it pulled out at short notice. Instead, the association “Les Vénusiennes” took over the organization. The members decided together and anonymously to silence Israeli performance.

The protest was spontaneous, they say. “This gesture reflects our refusal to separate art and politics when serious violations of the humanitarian law of international humanitarian law are documented,” wrote an anonymous spokesman to the Ajour editorial team via WhatsApp.

The campaign shared the audience: while some clapped, others said loudly that the sound was switched on again. A spontaneous coordination in the hall ended with a majority in favor of the original sound – but the Israeli performance was over until then.

The incident initially had no consequences for the protest group. Nathalie Imhof from the organizational team spoke immediately afterwards to the participants. Further cooperation with the associations involved is not planned, but full amount should remain an open place for the LGBTQ community. The city of Biel itself now wants to investigate the incident.

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