The concert of 2014 Eurovision Song Contest winner Conchita Wurst in Sweden has seen a small Palestinian protest.
The Austrian singer and drag queen, real name Thomas Neuwirth, headlined the Eurovision village in Folkets Park, Malmo, on Monday evening.
At the outset of the gig, the 35-year-old called for “unity and freedom” and dedicated their song Dirty Maria to everyone who “believes in freedom” amid the conflict in the Gaza strip and Ukraine.
Their performance saw demonstrations at the back from a crowd of people waving Palestinian flags and carrying a sign saying: “Stop murdering Palestinians.”
They also briefly attempted to disrupt the performance by shouting during segments of the show.
Israel has denied carrying out war crimes in Gaza after the deaths of 34,000 people since October, according to the latest figures.
Malmo is expecting a large gathering of pro-Palestine protesters from Thursday, on the day Israeli entrant Eden Golan competes in the second Eurovision semi-final.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has previously defended its decision for Israel to take part saying that, unlike Russia, members decided not suspend the country as there had been no “consistent breaches of membership obligations and the violation of public service media values”.
It has also banned the use of Palestinian flags and pro-Palestinian symbols from the shows at Malmo Arena.
Wurst also sang All That I Wanted after saying they were “celebrating life, celebrating artists, celebrating joy”.
The bearded diva, who rose to fame with Rise Like A Phoenix at the contest, has previously hosted Eurovision.
