This Saturday's Eurovision Song Contest final in Malmo, Sweden, had an unusually tense and fraught atmosphere, with months of protests against Israel's participation in the contest, suspensions of contestants hours before the show began and standoffs between police and friendly groups. Palestinian protesters outside the stadium at night.
However, once the finals began, the commotion quickly disappeared. Instead of protest and outrage, there was the usual high-camp spectacle featuring a singer emoting about a lost love, nearly naked dancers, and at one point a performer crawling out of a giant egg.
At the end of the four-hour show, Nemo, representing Switzerland, won with “The Code,” a catchy track in which the non-binary performer raps and sings operatically about his journey to realize his identity. “I went to hell and back again/To get myself on the right path,” Nemo sang in the refrain. “Now I’ve found paradise/I’ve broken the code.”
The show took place while Nemo, whose real name is Nemo Mettler and uses his/her pronouns, balanced on a giant spinning disk.
Nemo is Switzerland's first Eurovision winner since Celine Dion in 1988, who represented the country despite being Canadian. They earned 591 points from the music industry judges of participating countries and domestic viewers, beating Croatia's leading rock singer Baby Lasagna (547 points) to take second place.
Israeli singer Eden Golan, who had been the target of protests ahead of the event, earned 375 points and ranked 5th.
On Saturday night, some audience members booed Gollan as she performed her song “Hurricane,” while other fans cheered to drown out the noise.
Eurovision said Israel's invasion of Gaza began after the October 7 Hamas attack that Israeli officials said left about 1,200 people dead and 240 taken hostage, but cultural groups around the world are concerned about how artists should respond to the conflict on stage. I have been thinking about it. It's a special challenge.
Pro-Palestinian groups and many Eurovision fans have tried in vain for months to get the European Broadcasting Union, the event's organizer, to ban Israel from participating because of its activities in the Gaza Strip. 1.7 million. Activists said there was precedent. Eurovision 2022 banned Russia after the country invaded Ukraine.
The European Broadcasting Union (EU) repeatedly dismissed these claims, saying the program was a contest between singers, not countries.
Although Israel is not in Europe, it is a member of the European Broadcasting Union, and has participated in Eurovision since 1973, winning four times. Other non-European countries, including Australia, also participate in the show, with the final attracting tens of millions of live TV viewers.
There was always controversy surrounding Israel's participation, as well as the pro-Palestinian march in Malmo this week. Eurovision organizers have banned the display of any slogans or symbols that could provoke opposition, including the Palestinian flag. Two audience members waved ban flags during rehearsals this week, but security staff were quick to remove the items.
Slimane, a leading French pop singer, also stopped singing during a rehearsal calling for peace. “I’m sorry, I’m not good at English,” he said. “All the artists here want to sing about love and peace.”
Even in the finals, the pro-Palestinian protest on stage consisted of small gestures. Portugal's leading singer Iolanda performed wearing fake fingernails printed with a check pattern similar to the kaffiyeh, a symbolic Palestinian scarf.
The uproar surrounding Israel's intervention was not the only crisis surrounding this week's competition. Just hours before Saturday's final, organizers banned Dutch participant Joost Klein from participating. Earlier in the day, Swedish police said in a statement that a man was suspected of making 'unlawful threats' towards Eurovision staff and that police had passed the file on to prosecutors to consider charges. Eurovision organizers said in a statement that Klein was the subject of an investigation and that “it would not be appropriate” for him to compete in the final.
Dutch public broadcaster AVROTROS, which appointed Klein to represent the Netherlands, opposed his disqualification. In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for the broadcaster said the organizers' actions were “proportionate.” The statement said Klein made “threatening movements” toward a female camera operator who was filming him without her consent. He touched her.
Ahead of Saturday's final, some fans in the stadium sang Klein's song to protest his absence.
But the evening ended on an optimistic note as the votes were tallied and a winner was chosen. “I hope this competition can keep its promise and continue to advocate for peace and dignity for all people in this world,” Nemo said through tears after receiving the trophy.