Eurovision 2024: Pro-Palestine activists protest against Israel's entry Eden Golan

Thousands of people gathered in a Swedish city on Saturday, to protest against Israel’s participation in an international music competition amid the war in Gaza.

The Eurovision Song Contest, which is being held in Malmo, was plunged into further controversy after a French participant called for peace in Gaza and a Norwegian official resigned.

Israel's presence in the contest has caused fierce debate among fans, performers and politicians, and has touched a nerve in Malmo, home to Sweden's largest community of Palestinian origin.

Israel is competing after its original song, October Rain, was considered too political by contest organisers, the European Broadcasting Union. Singer Eden Golan will now perform Hurricane and is one of the favourites to win.

Thousands gathered to protest against Israel’s participation in Malmo on Saturday.

“We're not against Eurovision, we're against that Israel is taking part in this Eurovision. We don't want its representative in Malmo because of what's happening in Gaza,” Swedish pensioner Ingemar Gustavsson said.

More than 100,000 fans were expected to visit Malmo for the show, which has a television audience of millions of people.

Eden Golan at the final dress rehearsal. AP

Police said there have been no direct threats made at the competition, but they have also bolstered their numbers with reinforcements from Norway and Denmark.

The EBU confirmed in March that Golan would take part despite calls for her exclusion from thousands of musicians around the world.

Before the grand final Alessandra Mele posted to Instagram to say she will no longer be the person who announces the points awarded by Norway during Eurovision.

In a video the former Eurovision contestant said: “Even though I'm thankful that I was given the opportunity to do so, I've taken the decision to withdraw. United by music – Eurovision's motto is the reason why the music unites people, brings them together.

“But right now, those words are just empty words. There is a genocide going on and I'm asking you all to please open up your eyes, open up your heart, let love lead you to the truth.

“It's right in front of you. Free Palestine.”

Also on Saturday, during dress rehearsals French contestant Slimane stopped singing and called for peace in Gaza.

Slimane told the audience: “Everybody, I just need to say something. Sorry I don't speak English very well but when I was a child I dreamt about music, I dreamt about this dream, to be a singer and to sing peace here.

“Every artist here wants to sing about love and sing about peace. We need to be united by music yes, but with love for peace. United by music yes, but with love for peace. Thank you so much, thank you Europe.”

Israel is one of 25 nations competing in the contest.

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Who's who in Yemen conflict

Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government

Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council

Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south

Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory

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Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley

Director: Rupert Wyatt

Rating: 3/5

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Director: James Cameron

Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana

Rating: 4.5/5

Match info

Bournemouth 1 (King 45 1')
Arsenal 2 (Lerma 30' og, Aubameyang 67')

Man of the Match: Sead Kolasinac (Arsenal)

if you go

The biog

Favourite car: Ferrari

Likes the colour: Black

Best movie: Avatar

Academic qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in media production from the Higher Colleges of Technology and diploma in production from the New York Film Academy

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Brief scores:

Scotland 371-5, 50 overs (C MacLeod 140 no, K Coetzer 58, G Munsey 55)

England 365 all out, 48.5 overs (J Bairstow 105, A Hales 52; M Watt 3-55)

Result: Scotland won by six runs

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E-cigarette report

Big tobacco believes UAE is 'seriously considering' lifting e-cigarette ban

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

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Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching

How Tesla’s price correction has hit fund managers

Investing in disruptive technology can be a bumpy ride, as investors in Tesla were reminded on Friday, when its stock dropped 7.5 per cent in early trading to $575.

It recovered slightly but still ended the week 15 per cent lower and is down a third from its all-time high of $883 on January 26. The electric car maker’s market cap fell from $834 billion to about $567bn in that time, a drop of an astonishing $267bn, and a blow for those who bought Tesla stock late.

The collapse also hit fund managers that have gone big on Tesla, notably the UK-based Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF.

Tesla is the top holding in both funds, making up a hefty 10 per cent of total assets under management. Both funds have fallen by a quarter in the past month.

Matt Weller, global head of market research at GAIN Capital, recently warned that Tesla founder Elon Musk had “flown a bit too close to the sun”, after getting carried away by investing $1.5bn of the company’s money in Bitcoin.

He also predicted Tesla’s sales could struggle as traditional auto manufacturers ramp up electric car production, destroying its first mover advantage.

AJ Bell’s Russ Mould warns that many investors buy tech stocks when earnings forecasts are rising, almost regardless of valuation. “When it works, it really works. But when it goes wrong, elevated valuations leave little or no downside protection.”

A Tesla correction was probably baked in after last year’s astonishing share price surge, and many investors will see this as an opportunity to load up at a reduced price.

Dramatic swings are to be expected when investing in disruptive technology, as Ms Wood at ARK makes clear.

Every week, she sends subscribers a commentary listing “stocks in our strategies that have appreciated or dropped more than 15 per cent in a day” during the week.

Her latest commentary, issued on Friday, showed seven stocks displaying extreme volatility, led by ExOne, a leader in binder jetting 3D printing technology. It jumped 24 per cent, boosted by news that fellow 3D printing specialist Stratasys had beaten fourth-quarter revenues and earnings expectations, seen as good news for the sector.

By contrast, computational drug and material discovery company Schrödinger fell 27 per cent after quarterly and full-year results showed its core software sales and drug development pipeline slowing.

Despite that setback, Ms Wood remains positive, arguing that its “medicinal chemistry platform offers a powerful and unique view into chemical space”.

In her weekly video view, she remains bullish, stating that: “We are on the right side of change, and disruptive innovation is going to deliver exponential growth trajectories for many of our companies, in fact, most of them.”

Ms Wood remains committed to Tesla as she expects global electric car sales to compound at an average annual rate of 82 per cent for the next five years.

She said these are so “enormous that some people find them unbelievable”, and argues that this scepticism, especially among institutional investors, “festers” and creates a great opportunity for ARK.

Only you can decide whether you are a believer or a festering sceptic. If it’s the former, then buckle up.