Olly Alexander’s Eurovision interview has been cancelled ahead of the Grand Final tomorrow so the star can rehearse.
He and other acts were due to speak to the media this afternoon but will no longer be doing so.
The singer, 33, is representing the United Kingdom with his hit Dizzy in the final in Malmö, Sweden on Saturday.
An email sent from the organisers of the show on Friday read: ‘Please note that the big five and Sweden media conference originally scheduled for 18.30 (5.30pm BST) has been cancelled because all artists want to focus on rehearsals.’
The big five also includes Italy, Germany, France and Spain.
The cancellation of the media conference is the latest development in the most chaotic and political Eurovision so far, which has already seen the Dutch act pulled and the Isreali entry picketed.
Olly Alexander ‘s Eurovision interview has been cancelled ahead of the Grand Final tomorrow so the star can rehearse
He and other acts were due to speak to the media this afternoon but will no longer be doing so
It comes amid the most chaotic and political Eurovision so far which has already seen the Dutch act pulled and the Isreali entry picketed
The buildup has been overshadowed by the Gaza-Israel conflict, with activists calling on organisers to ban the Jewish state.
Huge pro-Palestine protests attended by the likes of Greta Thunberg have already taken place in the host city of Malmo in Sweden – forcing Israeli singer Eden Golan to take shelter in her hotel guarded by armed police.
Dozens of officers patrolled streets surrounding the hotel, carrying out identity checks on car drivers and pedestrians and also patrolling the city centre following demands she be excluded from the competition.
Inside the venue all has not been running smoothly either, with an announcement that the Dutch entry Joost Klein will not be rehearsing ‘until further notice’ due to an unexplained ‘incident’ being investigated by the European Broadcasting Union.
Meanwhile, venues across Britain are coming under pressure to cancel Eurovision gigs after coming under pressure from activist groups.
Action group Brighton Queers for Palestine has posted the contact numbers for bars that are continuing with their nights as they tell their followers to ‘call and ask them to reconsider screening Eurovision’ as they accuse them of ‘complicity in genocide’.
And some London venues have been forced to cancel their events as they fear for the safety of their staff amid the backlash – with others saying they had decided to close in solidarity with Palestine.
It comes as Rishi Sunak blasted Eurovision protests taking place in Sweden as ‘wrong’ and ‘outrageous’.
Olly Alezxander performs his song Dizzy during the dress rehearsal on May 10
Olly Alexander has faced intense pressure from some over his participation with calls for him to refuse to compete against Israel
Israel’s singer Eden Golan has been confined to her hotel under armed guard due to concerns for her safety amid the Israel-Gaza conflict
Thousands of pro-Palestinian activists have attended protests around the Eurovision venue in recent days
Dutch singer Joost Klein was pulled from a dress rehearsal on Friday as broadcasters investigate an unexplained ‘incident’
There was also a shock announcement on Friday afternoon after Dutch entry Klein missed his penultimate dress rehearsal slot.
It is unclear if the singer, 26, will be performing in Saturday night’s final, or if any other act will replace him.
The EBU said in a statement: ‘We are currently investigating an incident that was reported to us involving the Dutch artist. He will not be rehearsing until further notice.
‘We have no further comment at this time and will update in due course.’
Klein was seen during the opening flag parade at the start of the rehearsal, but then did not appear for his stage slot around half an hour later.
Olly Alexander has also faced intense pressure from some over his participation with calls for him to refuse to compete against Israel.
A group of 450 artists, individuals, and organisations, including actor Maxine Peake, signed an open letter disseminated by the LGTBQ+ solidarity group ‘Queers for Palestine’ asking Alexander to withdraw from the contest over Israel’s war with Gaza.
The singer responded in March with a lengthy statement, vowing that he will remain in the competition, and he would instead focus on collaborating with other Eurovision contestants on how to ‘use our platform to come together and call for peace.’
UK bars and other venues are facing pressure from campaign groups to cancel planned Eurovision screenings
LGBTQ entertainment venue the Royal Vauxhall Tavern made the decision to close this week, telling fans this week that they ‘will not be open for any event on Saturday night’
The Royal Vauxhall Tavern in London is one of several venues to have announced it will be closing completely on Saturday
Police use pepper spray and fight back Pro-Palestinian protesters in central Malmo this week
Eden Golan pictured performing her song Hurricane during rehearsal at the Malmo Arena on Wednesday
The It’s A Sin star also sparked debate when he said he is ‘ambivalent’ about the Union Jack as it can feel ‘divisive’ and ‘nationalist’.
He added earlier this week that he wanted to ‘reclaim’ the Union Jack ‘in a positive way’.
In the interview Alexander also admitted his odds of being crowned winner in the singing competition look ‘low’.
The pop star, speaking before his first performance, said: ‘I saw that one of my odds said that I had like a 1% chance of winning so I like those odds,’ he said. ‘It’s better than zero?’
‘I think it’s all kind of part of the drama, kind of quite like the sort of the drama of the odds,” he added.
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