Taking a stance: Mika, a British-Lebanese singer who hosted Eurovision 2022 in Turin, posts a fundraising video for Lebanese children through the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF).
Mika, the singer known for his mid-2000s hits and for hosting Eurovision 2022, recently posted a video on social media to raise funds for Lebanese children. At the beginning of the video, Mika states:
“For the past few days, you’ve all seen the unbearable images of Lebanon, the country where I was born, affected by the escalating of violence […] It’s too much for me to bear. I’ve decided to join and support UNICEF’s appeal for the children of Lebanon.”
The singer proceeds to present data on the number of casualties and emphasizes the mass evacuation taking place in the country.
One-Sided Portrayal of the Situation
Mika chooses to present the situation in a one-sided manner. The video makes no mention of the reality faced by residents of northern Israel, who have been suffering from hundreds of rockets aimed at populated areas on a daily basis over the past year. Mika does not mention the evacuation of tens of thousands of Israeli residents from the border, nor does he bother to mention the deaths of children in Israel from Hezbollah attacks.
Mika also fails to mention the terrorist organization Hezbollah, whose headquarters are located in the heart of civilian neighborhoods, where it stores weapons and hides the organization’s commanders.
Although Mika does not directly link Israel to the attacks in the video, hundreds of anti-Israeli responses to the video were quick to follow.
Mika’s Background
Mika was born in Beirut, Lebanon, and his family emigrated to Paris when he was one year old, and later to London. He began his music career in the UK in 2006 with hits like “Relax, Take It Easy”, “Grace Kelly”, and “Love Today”. In addition to his international singing career, Mika also served as a judge on five editions of the Italian version of “X Factor” and the French version of “The Voice”.
Mika hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in 2022, held in Turin, Italy, alongside Laura Pausini and Alessandro Cattelan. During the interval act in the Eurovision final, Mika performed a medley of four of his songs.
Mika’s Success in Israel Despite Pro-Lebanese Stance
Despite the singer’s pro-Lebanese stance, Mika enjoyed great success in Israel, winning the title of “Singer of the Year” in the annual charts in 2007 and 2008, and placing third in the “Singer of the Decade” category in Galgalatz radio station’s decade chart.
Eurovision 2025: The 69th Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Basel, Switzerland, on May 13, 15, and 17, 2025. The St. Jakobshalle arena, which will host the competition, is expected to accommodate about 12,000 spectators for each show. The contest will take place in Switzerland following the country’s third historical win with the song “The Code”, performed by singer Nemo. This will be the third time the competition has been hosted in Switzerland, after the contest was held there in 1956 and 1989..
