Eurovision is a big happy party where nations around the world come together to sing cheesy pop tunes and have fun, and is not the kind of place you’d expect any kind of politically motivated protest.
It’s not like the UK doesn’t have a hard enough job on its hands, trying to win the hearts of the Eurovision audience after spectacularly, as a nation, we’ve stuck our middle finger up to the continent in the form of Brexit.
So when the UK’s entrant, SuRie, got stage rushed last night, (May 12), during her performance, everyone was miffed. It’s just not on, alright. Not here. We’re not having it.
BBC News reports the guy who ran onto the stage appeared to say: ‘Nazis of the UK media, we demand freedom.’
I’ve watched it a load of times. Really can’t make out what he was shouting. Loads of people on Twitter couldn’t either.
You’d think if you were going to make a big political statement on a big stage you’d practice your lines. Rehearse. Make sure you speak clearly into the microphone.
Also, don’t have your political slogan obscured by your flamingo shirt. Great spot there, Helen.
The outrage was summed up perfectly by the commentator on the Australian broadcaster SBS.
Joel Creasy nailed it, describing the invader as:
Some absolute c*ckhead.
Despite the interference, SuRie continued the performance of her song Storm. She declined the opportunity to perform the song again.
The BBC said:
SuRie and her team are extremely proud of her performance and have together decided that there is absolutely no reason to perform the song again.
SuRie ultimately came 24th out of the 26 nation field.
Hours after her performnace SuRie took to Twitter to break her silence.
She wrote:
Well, I’ve always said anything can happen at Eurovision …
The tweet was ended with the female Larry David shrug emoji.
The Evening Standard reports the man responsible for the stage invasion is known as Dr ACactivisim, who stormed the stage at the National Television Awards disturbing Dermot O’Leary and The Voice in 2017.
The European Broadcasting Union issued a statement following the incident confirming the man had been arrested and detained:
The statement said:
The EBU regrets a stage invasion took place during the UK performance. The person responsible is currently in police custody.
The UK singer SuRie and her team were offered the option to sing again but decided not to because they were extremely proud of her performance and have decided that there is absolutely no reason to perform the song again.
Israel’s entry Netta won the competition, watched by an estimated 200 million people around the world with her song Toy.
Her unconventional singing style has been likened to the sound of a chicken clucking.
Cyprus’s Eleni Foureira came second with the song Fuego.
The real winner though is SuRie, cos she’s got the hearts of Twitter on her side. And we all know, that’s what really matters.
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Tim Horner is a sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated with a BA Journalism from University College Falmouth before most his colleagues were born. A previous editor of adult mags, he now enjoys bringing the tone down in the viral news sector.