Eurovision 2024: Switzerland’s Nemo wins with “The Code.”

MALMO, Sweden (AP) — Swiss singer Nemo won the 68th Eurovision Song Contest early Sunday with “The Code,” an operatic pop-rap ode to the singer’s journey toward embracing his gender-neutral identity.

Nemo beat Baby Lasagna from Croatia to the title by winning the most points from a combination of national juries and viewers from around the world. These are the first non-binary

“Thank you very much,” Nemo said after the result was announced. “I hope this competition can deliver on its promise and continue to uphold peace and dignity for every person.”

Nemo’s victory in the Swedish city of Malmö follows a turbulent year for the pan-continental pop competition which saw large street protests against Israel’s participation who tilted the feel-good musical celebration in a chaotic pressure cooker overshadowed by the war in Gaza.

A few hours before the final, a Dutch competitor Joe Klein was kicked out of the competition following a backstage altercation that police were investigating.

Nemo beat out finalists from 24 other countries, all of whom performed in front of audiences of thousands and an estimated 180 million people. viewers around the world. Each competitor had three minutes to merge catchy tunes and breathtaking spectacle in performances capable of capturing the hearts of spectators. Musical styles ranged from rock and disco to techno and rap, sometimes a mixture of several.

The competition returned to Sweden, home of last year’s winner Loreen, half a century after ABBA won Eurovision with ‘Waterloo’ – Eurovision’s most iconic moment. ABBA did not appear in person in Malmö, unlike their digital “ABBA-tars” from the “ABBA Voyage” show.

A trio of former Eurovision winners – Charlotte Perrelli, Carola and Conchita Wurst – took to the stage to sing “Waterloo” as votes were cast and counted.

Swedes, identical twins Marcus and Martinus, opened the competition with their optimistically named song “Unforgettable,” followed by Ukrainian duo alyona alyona & Jerry Heil with “Teresa & Maria”, a powerful tribute to their war-torn country.

After the German balladeer Isaak and the Luxembourg singer Tali, the Israeli singer Eden Golan took the stage in front of a wall of sound – boos mixed with cheers – to perform the power ballad “Hurricane”. Golan climbed the ratings chart throughout the week, despite protests over his presence, and finished in fifth place.

Eurovision organizers ordered a change to the original title of his song, “October Rain” – an apparent reference to the October 7 Hamas attack that killed around 1,200 people in Israel and sparked the war in Gaza.

The show was typically Eurovision eclectic: Lithuania’s Silvester Belt was an affable young crooner, while Estonian group 5Miinust x Puuluup offered a folk-pop-zombie hybrid featuring the talharpa, a traditional stringed instrument. Greek singer Marina Satti and Armenia’s Ladaniva both fused elements of folk song and dance with power pop, while Britain’s Olly Alexander delivered the upbeat dance track “Dizzy.”

Also among the contestants was the zany 1990s nostalgia of Finland’s Windows95man, who emerged from a giant egg on stage wearing very little clothing. Irish goth Bambie Thug summoned a demon on stage and brought a scream coach to Malmö, while The Spanish Nebula boldly reclaimed a term used as an insult toward women in “Zorra.”

Nemo was one of the competition’s favorites, alongside Baby Lasagna, whose song “Rim Tim Tagi Dim” is a catchy rock track that addresses the issue of young Croatians leaving the country in search of a better life .

Although Eurovision’s motto is “United through music”, this year’s event has proven divisive. Protests and dissensions have overshadowed a competition that has become a country party varied – and sometimes confusing – musical tastes from Europe and a forum for inclusion and diversity with a huge LGBT audience.

Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters marched Saturday for the second time in a week in Sweden’s third-largest city, which has a large Muslim population, to demand a boycott of Israel and a ceasefire in the war of Gaza which has lasted for seven months. killed nearly 35,000 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory.

Several hundred people gathered outside the Malmö Arena before the final, with some shouting “shame” at arriving music fans and clashing with police who blocked their path. Climate activist Greta Thunberg was among those escorted by police.

Klein, the Dutch artist, was kicked out of the competition after a female member of the production team filed a complaint, competition organizer the European Broadcasting Union said. The 26-year-old Dutch singer and rapper was a favorite among bookmakers and fans with his song “Europa”.

Dutch television station AVROTROS, one of dozens of public channels that collectively finance and broadcast the competition, said that when Klein walked off stage after Thursday’s semi-final, he was filmed without his consent and in turn makes a “threatening movement” towards the camera.

The network said Klein did not touch the camera or the cameraman, and called his expulsion “disproportionate.”

The tensions and nervousness were palpable in the hours leading up to the final. Several performers were absent from the Olympic-style performers’ entrance at the start of the final dress rehearsal, although all appeared at the finale.

Powerful French singer Slimane cut his ballad “Mon Amour” short during the dress rehearsal to deliver a speech urging people to be “united by music, yes, but with love, for peace.” He did not rehearse his speech during the evening finale.

Several contestants made references to peace or love at the end of their performances.

Lorene, last year’s Eurovision championsaid the world events were “traumatic” but urged people not to shut down the “community of love” that is Eurovision.

“What Heals Trauma…Does Trauma Heal Trauma?” Does negativity cure negativity? It doesn’t work like that,” she told The Associated Press. “The only thing that truly heals trauma – it’s science – it’s love. »

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Hilary Fox in Malmö, Jari Tanner in Helsinki, and Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, contributed to this report.

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A previous version of this story was corrected to show that the Dutch broadcaster’s spelling is AVROTROS, not AVROTOS.