The winner of the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest has been confirmed and crowned. The annual music festival concluded with Switzerland’s Nemo winning first place for their rendition of “The Code.”
With his song “Rim Tim Tagi Dim,” Nemo defeated Baby Lasagna of Croatia, who was the clear favorite to win; he finished in second place. Israel and France were first, and Ukraine came in third.
There was significant controversy leading up to the suspenseful grand final: Joost Klein of the Netherlands was eliminated just hours before the winner was to be announced. The singer had advanced from the semi-finals with his rendition of the song “Europapa.” But he wasn’t there for rehearsals the next day.
After a female member of the production staff reported to Swedish police that Klein had reportedly made “unlawful threats” following the semifinals at Malmö Arena, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the producers of Eurovision, declared that Klein had been disqualified from the competition.
Following Sweden’s Loreen’s victory in 2023, the coastal town of Malmö hosted the Eurovision finals. The contest’s top competitors were Marcus & Martinus from Sweden with “Unforgettable,” Alyona Alyona & Jerry Heil from Ukraine with “Teresa & Maria,” Germany’s | ISAAK with “Always On The Run,” Luxembourg’s TALI with “Fighter,” and Joost Klein from the Netherlands with “Europapa” before to the conclusion.
Prior to the the finale, Eden Golan of Israel was competing to win with “Hurricane.” Israel’s entry in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest turned into a stressful minefield for both the competitors and the event’s administrators. Thousands of demonstrators crowded Friisgatan, dubbed “Eurovision Street,” waving Palestinian flags and calling for an end to the Israeli government’s military occupation of Gaza.
Musician Olly Alexander, who competed for England this year, justified his choice to stay in the competition earlier this month by putting himself apart from the competition and the larger dispute.
It goes without saying that I wish a lot of things had been different. And it really is, this is far greater than myself and Eurovision,” he said to The Times. Naturally, I hope this ridiculous humanitarian issue and the war would end. I’d like to see peace, and I’ve found that this experience can be really I’ve simply been quite depressed and anxious. However, I continue to think that gathering people for amusement is a positive thing. That is why I desired to compete in Eurovision.
