Israel's Eurovision contestant Eden Golan 'is told not to leave her room except for when she performs for her own safety' - as singer, 20, expresses her support for Israeli civilians held hostage by Hamas

Israel's Eurovision hopeful has been told to only come out of her hotel room to perform over fears for her safety. 

Eden Golan, 20, arrived in host city Malmo, in Sweden, on Tuesday afternoon for rehearsals of her emotionally-charged ballad Hurricane, and will reportedly be under round-the-clock bodyguard protection.

The young singer is understood to have been told by Israel's security service, Shin Bet, to stay bolted up in her room, according to Israeli media, with pro-Palestinian activists planning two large demonstrations to protest at the country's participation. 

Swedish police will get reinforcements from Denmark and Norway, and there will be more officers on the streets carrying 'heavier weapons' as security is heightened amid concerns the protests could lead to unrest and an increased threat of terrorism.

Organisers had threatened to disqualify Israel unless Russian-Israeli Golan rewrote her first song entry October Rain as they found it too politically charged with it being widely recognised as being in reference to Hamas' October 7 massacre. 

She arrived in Malmo wearing a yellow ribbon pin to show solidarity with hostages who are still being held in captivity by Hamas. 

Golan wrote on Instagram: 'As I begin this journey, I'm filled with so many emotions - excitement, anticipation, a little nervous, but most important the desire of wanting to put on the best performance I know I can. 

'I am honoured and filled with so much pride to represent our country - this song represents us, all of us, including those who are home and aren't - we are waiting for you.'    

She took to the stage for her first rehearsal on Tuesday dressed in a stone-coloured maxi dress that resembled bandages, designed by stylist Itay Bezaleli who said they wanted to 'express what we currently feel as a nation'. 

Last month, former Shin Bet official Mickey Weinberg told Israel's Channel 12 she would be followed by a body guard wherever she goes and security team would have likely visited the country weeks earlier to scope out the area. 

The TV station also revealed Golan had held talks with Shin Bet before she made the 2,000-mile trip in which she was advised to stay in her hotel room and only to come out for performances and official events. 

Despite the fears over her safety, Golan says she has received a lot of support and hasn't seen any negative comments about her song. 

The star said she was surprised the organisers turned down 'October Rain'.

'I was kind of shocked when the European Broadcasting Union didn't approve the song,' Golan said. 'I don't think the first version was political.'

'The song is about a girl going through her own problems, her own emotions,' she said. 'It wasn't anything to do with October 7.'

Commentators thought some of the original lyrics, like 'There is no air left to breathe' and 'They were all good children, every one of them', were about victims of the Hamas attack.

Some have pointed out what they say are lingering allusions to October 7 in the new song's music video, while lyrics like 'I'm still broken from this hurricane' have done little to dispel speculation.

But Golan argued 'Hurricane' works on multiple levels and was open to interpretation.

'Any person who listens to it can connect to the song on their level,' she said.

'Our people, our country, connects to it on a very different, deeper emotional level because of the tragedy we've been through.'

There have been fears this year's Eurovision will be a prominent target for Islamic extremists because of the inclusion of Golan.

There have been 11 applications to Swedish police by pro-Palestinian and Israeli-supporting groups to protest in front of the Malmo Arena during the contest, whose grand finale will be on Saturday May 11th.