Eurovision Song Contest presenter Rylan Clark has been hailed by fans for appearing to take a stand amid the controversy surrounding Israel’s inclusion in the singing competition.

Thousands of protesters took to the streets of the Swedish City of Malmo in a bid to remove Israel singer Eden Golan from the semi-finals. And so when British TV presenter seemingly chose to not turn up for a quick fire interview by the lifts for the show’s TikTok account, many believed he had taken a political stance.

Rylan had previously been doing a number of interviews with contestants while posing as a bell boy in the hotel lift – but Eden reportedly did not have that opportunity. In the footage of Eden’s interview, a voice can be heard asking the singer questions as she stepped into the elevator alone.

It remains unknown why Rylan was not present during the segment – but fans have their own theories and claim he was making a political statement. The devastating outbreak of conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Palestine has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people since October last year.

Fans hail Rylan Clark for seemingly taking a political stand against Israel being in Eurovision Song Contest ( 
Image:
TikTok/ @eurovision)

Israeli singer Eden Golan faced backlash from thousands of pro-Palestine protesters over taking part in Eurovision contest

One fan took to X, formerly known as Twitter and wrote: “Not @Rylan refusing to do Eden Golan’s elevator interview. We Stan this.” Another person penned: “Well done @Rylan for doing the right thing!” However the European Broadcasting Union claim there are several videos that do not contain Rylan. They said: “There are several videos in that content series that do not include Rylan “

This comes after the presenter defended the contest amid pro-Palestine protests. Speaking from Malmo, Rylan spoke to ITV’s Good Morning Britain about the host city’s efforts. He said: “Malmö is doing an amazing job of hosting.” And acknowledging the political tension in the city he added: “It’s a song contest, it’s all about the music and that’s what we’re here for.” And co-host Scott Mills added: “It does feel a little different, but it’s about the music and the joy that we have every single year at Eurovision.”

Things became so intense earlier today, Eden was warned to stay in her hotel room while protesters gathered in the streets. Even Greta Thunberg, 21, the famous Swedish environment activist, was part of the huge Stop Israel demonstration ahead of the show’s second semi-final tonight [Thursday 9 May].

According to reports, Israel’s national security agency Shin Bet had warned Eden not to leave her accommodation except to perform as the Swedish city was expecting a large crowd of protesters. She already received backlash when she put forward her song October Rain as many believed the lyrics were in reference to the militant group Hamas kidnapping and killing Israelis on October 7. In March the song had changed to Hurricane, which was approved by the European Broadcasting Union.

Five thousand people took to the streets earlier today. Speaking to the press, Greta told one publication: “Young people are leading the way and showing the world how we should react to this.” But she refused to be drawn in on why she had joined the protest.

The Mirror contacted Rylan, the BBC and Eden Golan for a comment.