Eurovision 2024 – live: ‘Life is forever changed’ says Bambie Thug after chaotic contest
Switzerland was crowned the winner as boos were heard during appearances by Israel’s entry Eden Golan, while the UK’s Alexander managed to avoid coming last in the contest
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Reactions to the most chaotic Eurovision in history are pouring in after Switzerland act Nemo was crowned as this year’s winner.
The 68th Eurovision Song Contest was held in Malmö, Sweden, with scores arriving from the 25 countries that performed in the final, and in the wake of behind-the-scenes chaos.
Despite winning the contest, Nemo has not held back in their assessment of the organisers after it was revealed audience members were not permitted to bring non-binary flags into the arena.
Meanwhile, Irish delegate Bambie Thug has tearfully accused organisers of “not supporting them” over a row with an Israeli broadcaster. Afterwards, they said their life is “forever changed”.
Throughout the event, Pro-Palestine demonstrations took place outside the arena, with Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg removed by police.
Israel’s delegate Eden Golan performed early in the contest, with the BBC’s Graham Norton remarking on the boos heard by the crowd.
The UK’s entry Olly Alexander received a rather low score for his song “Dizzy”, after Ireland’s Bambie Thug dazzled with “Doomsday Blues”, following speculation that they could pull out of the final after missing the dress rehearsal.
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Switzerland’s Nemo Mettler crowned winner of Eurovision after public vote
Switzerland has been crowned the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 champion, winning thanks to singer Nemo and their song “The Code”.
The 24-year-old pop singer, who goes by they/them pronouns, won over both the jury and the public voters, after what looked like an initially close match with fellow favourites Croatia, France and Italy.
Their song “The Code”, which incorporated elements of opera, pop, rap and dance, was written by Benjamin Alasu, Lasse Midtsian Nymann, Linda Dale and Nemo. It riffed cleverly on the Habanera aria from Georges Bizet’s 1985 opera Carmen, and had drawn comparisons to the dramatic themes of the James Bond franchise.
Accepting the trophy from 2023 winner Loreen, Nemo thanked voters and said they “hoped this competition can continue to live up to its promise to stand for dignity and peace everywhere”, a pointed remark that seemed to nod to the controversy that has surrounded this year’s event.
The 68th Eurovision Song Contest was overshadowed by rumours of backstage rows, tears, a disqualified contestant and public protests over Israel’s participation in the grand final.
Full report:
Switzerland’s Nemo wins the Eurovision Song Contest 2024
Singer beat competition including delegates from Croatia, France, Portugal and Israel at the final in Sweden
Eurovision 2024 review: Contest unfolds under the darkest shadow in its history
Eurovision 2024 unfolded under the darkest shadow in its history -review
After banning Russia, Eurovision organisers painted the song contest and its ‘anti-political’ ethos into a corner
The scores are in for Israel
A total of 375 points for Israel, who are promptly overtaken by Ukraine with a huge score from the public.
But then... 337 points for Croatia’s Baby Lasagna, pushing them to the No 1 spot!
Bad news for Norway as they come dead last in the 2024 Eurovision final
Poor Norway, but really they didn’t arrive with the same standard they usually do, just a good singer, which is very hard to make stand out.
Some very low public scores elsewhere, meaning the votes have gone to two or three big favourites...
More votes for Switzerland, with Ireland and Portugal still doing well!
It’s looking like it could be a very tight race between Switzerland and Ireland, although we’ve still got the rest of the jury and then the public vote to get through.
The UK’s Olly Alexander is still languishing behind Israel, which currently has 19 points.
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