THE Portuguese entry at the Eurovision Song Contest this year wore an outfit with a connection to Palestine.
Iolanda came in 10th place overall with her song Grito and was awarded 12 points by the UK jury, the highest possible score.
However, the competition proved divisive this year with protests over Israel’s continued involvement in the contest amid the ongoing bombardment of Gaza.
READ MORE: Eurovision final: Ireland's Bambie Thug hits out at organisers amid Israel row
Irish entry Bambie Thug has since hit out at organisers saying they did not do enough to protect them amid a row with Israel.
Following Iolanda’s performance, her costume designers took to Twitter/X to explain the inspiration for the costume she wore during the opening ceremony.
What’s the connection to Palestine?
The outfit was designed by Trashy Clothing, which on Twitter/X describes itself as an “anti-luxury, luxury label from Palestine”.
In a thread on Twitter/X, the fashion label explained the inspiration for the outfit.
The story behind iolanda's custom dress, designed by us, which she wore during Eurovision's flag parade in front of over 160 million viewers - a thread... pic.twitter.com/5etyhl1FKw
— Trashy Clothing (@trashyxclothing) May 11, 2024
“The dress is inspired by the works of Palestinian satirical cartoonist Naji Al Ali, his work delves into themes of corruption, greed, resistance, betrayal and colonialism,” they said.
“The dress is inspired by multiple elements, including the Palestinian kouffeyeh, which features a motif resembling a fisherman’s net, symbolising the fishermen of Palestine.”
The thread featured some more images, explaining that one of the themes was about “oil and greed” and that “we wanted her dress to look like oil spilled all over her body”.
It added: “For the past 216 days, Naji’s drawings depicting empires, the bourgeoisie and bootlickers watching the killing of Palestinians couldn’t ring more true to the reality of the Zionist occupation and the American-sponsored genocide on Gaza”.
What had Eurovision said about Palestine?
In the lead-up to the event, Eurovision organisers forced Ireland’s entry to remove pro-Palestinian body paint they had been wearing.
They also said they “regretted” the decision by the opening act of the semi-final Eric Saade to wear a keffiyeh symbol, often used by those who want to show they are pro-Palestine.
Israel’s act Eden Golan meanwhile was met with boos during her performance on Saturday evening.
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