Eurovision winner Loreen passionately defends the contest amid calls for a ... trends now

Eurovision winner Loreen has defended the contest amid ongoing calls for a boycott over Israel's inclusion.

The singer, 40, won the contest for Sweden for a second time in 2023 for her song Tattoo, 11 years after she first took home the crown for Euphoria in 2012.

Israel's participation in the Eurovision has been controversial this year with some believing the country should not be included given the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. 

But Loreen has insisted the contest brings joy to the millions of people around the world who watch it.

Speaking to The Sun, she said: 'Positive attracts positive and negative attracts negative. If we were to boycott or shut this hub of positive energy, punishing millions for the distortion somewhere else, that would be so destructive.'

'Right now we need more countries to connect with this, more artists, more creators, more people to generate good energy.

'Distortion, I call it distortion, these weird things happening are trauma-tising all of us. Start generating love because that is key to healing traumas and all this negative energy.'

Loreen added that she has stopped checking her social media lately because she 'can't cry all day' while looking at everyone's opinions.

The Swedish star is only the second performer to win the Eurovision twice after Johnny Logan won for Ireland in 1980 and 1987. 

Loreen will be unveiling her transcendent new spiritual-pop single, Forever via Promised Land Recordings at the Eurovision final on Saturday. 

She explained: 'And now in the second chapter, Forever, there is an awakening. It's about a moment where you've gone through all the earth and dust – you've gone through life – and you can see things clearly. You're leaving all your illusions behind and you're free.'

Earlier this week, Loreen announced her juggernaut 2025 UK & European tour kicking off in Netherlands on 15 February with 20 stops across Europe before she makes her way to Birmingham on 17 March, a headline show at London’s iconic Eventim Apollo on 19 March before continuing onto Liverpool, Manchester, Bristol and Glasgow before wrapping in Dublin Ireland at 3 Olympia on 27 March. 

Tickets went on sale on Friday at 9am at LoreenOfficial.com. 

It comes after Israel's Eden Golan made it through Thursday night's semi-final in Malmo with her song Hurricane. She will now perform in the final on Saturday. 

Golan was ordered to stay in her hotel room earlier on Thursday by her country's national security agency as thousands of pro-Palestine protesters demonstrated in Malmo, calling for her to be excluded from the competition. 

Greta Thunberg joined the thousands of protesters in the southern Swedish city demonstrating against Israel competing in the famous song contest.

The prediction was correct, with as many as 5,000 people taking to the city's streets today, including the young Swede - who was pictured wearing a keffiyeh, a black and white shawl commonly used to show support for Palestine, around her body in the centre of the crowd within a sea of Palestinian flags.