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Eurovision Contest Host Sweden Braces for Anti-Israel Protests

FILE - Swedish pop group ABBA celebrate winning the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest on stage at the Brighton Dome in England with their song Waterloo, April 6, 1974. (AP Photo/Robert Dear, File)
FILE - Swedish pop group ABBA celebrate winning the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest on stage at the Brighton Dome in England with their song Waterloo, April 6, 1974. (AP Photo/Robert Dear, File)
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Eurovision Contest Host Sweden Braces for Anti-Israel Protests

FILE - Swedish pop group ABBA celebrate winning the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest on stage at the Brighton Dome in England with their song Waterloo, April 6, 1974. (AP Photo/Robert Dear, File)
FILE - Swedish pop group ABBA celebrate winning the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest on stage at the Brighton Dome in England with their song Waterloo, April 6, 1974. (AP Photo/Robert Dear, File)

Sweden said it plans to host a dazzling Eurovision Song Contest, watched by 200 million people worldwide, but visitors face heightened security amid planned protests over Israel's participation and a new geo-political backdrop since Sweden joined NATO.
The contest, the world's biggest of its kind, takes place in Malmo from 7-11 May and is expected to draw 100,000 visitors to Sweden's third-largest city which has a large Muslim population.

Organizers plan a special tribute to Swedish pop group ABBA, who won Eurovision 50 years ago this year. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organizes the contest, has resisted calls for Israel to be excluded due to its war in Gaza, Reuters reported.

Controversy over the conflict has already hit various cultural events across Europe. Much focus is expected to be on Israeli contestant Eden Golan and her song Hurricane, as multiple large pro-Palestinian protests are planned outside the venue in Malmo.

Israel was permitted to compete after it agreed to modify the lyrics of its original song "October Rain" which the EBU said made reference to the Oct. 7 Hamas onslaught in Israel.

EBU brands Eurovision a non-political event and insists that the contest is between public service broadcasters, not governments.

Still, it banned Russia in 2022 from Eurovision after several European public broadcasters called for the country to be expelled following its invasion of Ukraine.

Sweden is hosting the annual competition for the seventh time, after Swedish singer Loreen won last year's competition in Liverpool with her song "Tattoo".

Ebba Adielsson, executive Eurovision producer from Swedish broadcaster SVT, promised "some smashing shows." She ruled out an ABBA reunion but said the event would celebrate the group's 1974 win with their song "Waterloo", a victory that launched the band onto the international stage.

Swiss contestant Nemo is the favorite to win this year, according to bookmakers, followed by Croatia's Baby Lasagna, Joost Klein of the Netherlands, and Italy's Angelina Mango.

'HIGH THREAT-LEVEL'

Visitors from 89 countries expected in Malmo will have to pass through airport-like security checks when entering venues around the city.

"There's a high threat level combined with a lot of people," said Per-Erik Ebbestahl, Malmo's security director.

Organizers face the risk of protests escalating into violence, heightened terror threats in the country, and increased tensions with Russia after Sweden's NATO membership.

In central Malmo there are official posters for Eurovision but also protest banners replicating the same colorful design, with the word Eurovision replaced by 'genocide' and the words: "Israel out of Eurovision or Eurovision out of Malmo."

Police say security will be tighter compared with when Sweden last hosted the event in 2016.

"The situation around the world is complex, and also the security for Sweden is different," said Petra Stenkula, Malmo police chief. "We are ready for anything that can happen."

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Should You Stretch before Exercise? After? Never? Here’s What to Know

Philadelphia Eagles stretch as they get ready during practice at NFL football training camp, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP)
Philadelphia Eagles stretch as they get ready during practice at NFL football training camp, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP)
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Should You Stretch before Exercise? After? Never? Here’s What to Know

Philadelphia Eagles stretch as they get ready during practice at NFL football training camp, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP)
Philadelphia Eagles stretch as they get ready during practice at NFL football training camp, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP)

For many people of a certain age, high school gym class began with reaching for their toes. Then, over the years, we were told it was better to stretch after exercise.

It turns out, both those things can be true, but the differing advice has created some confusion.

Stretching can help make you more flexible, improve range of motion in your joints — and feel good. David Behm, who researches human kinetics at Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John’s, Canada, offers this advice on when to stretch and how to do it safely:

Warm up first

It’s almost always good to stretch, but it’s better if you warm up first, said Behm, author of "The Science and Physiology of Flexibility and Stretching." He recommends a light aerobic activity such as jogging, walking or cycling for five or 10 minutes.

Follow that with some static stretching, the traditional way of reaching and holding a position (think back to that gym class). You can then do activity-specific dynamic stretching, in which you warm up the muscles with repetitive movements like leg lifts.

Behm says one minute is "the magic number" for how long to do static stretching per muscle group without fatigue.

Expand your definition of 'stretching'

Should you always stretch before exercising? If it's traditional stretching, not necessarily.

The better question, Behm says, is, "Should people increase their range of motion? Should people have better flexibility? And that is yes, because it helps prevent injuries. It helps with health. But you don’t have to stretch to achieve that."

Resistance training, for instance, can be an effective form of stretching, he said. Doing a chest press increases range of motion in your deltoids and pecs, whether with barbells, dumbbells or machines, so there is no need to stretch beforehand. Just make sure to start with a small amount of weight to warm up and then add more to train.

"You probably don’t have to do extra stretching unless you’re a gymnast, a figure skater, or even a golfer who needs a great range of motion through that swing," Behm said.

Nor do you need to stretch first if you’re going for a leisurely run. Simply start with a slow jog to warm up and then increase the pace.

Don't do it if it hurts

After exercise, "light stretching is OK, as long as you don't reach a point where you're feeling pain," Behm said. Since your muscles will be warm by that point, overdoing it makes you more likely to injure yourself.

Foam rollers can help with muscle recovery and have been shown to increase range of motion as well as stretching.

Do some static stretching before sports

If you’re playing a sport, Behm said, static stretching beforehand helps reduce muscle and tendon injury.

"If you’re going to do an explosive movement, change of direction, agility, sprint, any of these explosive activities that involve your muscles and tendons," he said, "you’re going to be stronger if you do static stretching."

People can especially get in trouble when they go back to a sport they used to play, whether it's tennis, surfing or any sort of team activity.

Also, stretch both sides equally. Lacking flexibility on one side also can lead to injury.

Sounds simple. Why all the confusion? Different studies over the years have either encouraged or discouraged stretching before exercise. Behm says that partly because some studies didn't reflect real-life conditions, or were designed with elite athletes in mind, not regular people.

"If you’re Usain Bolt, it makes a difference," said Behm. Not so much for the rest of us.