Lithuania causes a stir with same-sex kisses at Eurovision semi-finals

Illustrated rainbow pride flag on a pink background.

The Lithuanian performance at tonight’s Eurovision semi-finals featured dancers swapping around and kissing their same-sex partners.

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Lithuania’s act Monika Linkyte and Vaidas Baumila, performed their catchy country-pop tune ‘This Time’, and caused a stir as part-way through, dancers swapped, and kissed their same-sex partners.

Following the performance, Lithuania qualified for the Eurovision Finals, taking place on Saturday.

Eurovision

Eurovision fans celebrated the statement made, given that although same-sex marriage is legal in Lithuania, same-sex marriage and same-sex civil partnerships are banned.

Not the first performance to cause a stir with a same-sex kiss, back in 2013, Finland’s Eurovision entrant Krista Siegfrids found herself with a place in the final, following her performance of her pro-equal marriage song, which included a lesbian kiss.

Turkey’s official television station was urged by human rights groups to broadcast the final of Eurovision, following reports that it had cancelled the broadcast due to the lesbian kiss.