Eurovision 2024 Concludes With Controversial Grand Finale

Just hours after Eurovision 2024 kicked out one of its most promising competitors, the song contest crowned a new winner: Swiss singer Nemo, with a narrative work on their embrace of their nonbinary identity entitled “The Code.”

Even before Nemo and their competition from 24 other countries hit the stage, Eurovision 2024 was rocked by controversy. The contest, which was held this year in Malmö, Sweden, faced protests from its first day over the decision to include a participant from Israel, given increasing dismay over the toll its war against Hamas has taken on civilians in Gaza.

Eden Golan, a 20-year-old who—per the Associated Press—practiced for her Eurovision slot by singing her song “Hurricane,” while being booed, took fifth place. Her song was originally entitled “October Rain” as a reference to the October 7 attack on Israel, until Eurovision organizers ordered a name change.

As Golan and her fellow singers performed, thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside to demonstrate against both the war and Golan’s Eurovision inclusion. Among them was climate activist Greta Thunberg, The Wrap reports. Thunberg had tweeted, “Malmö says NO to genocide! People from all over Sweden are gathering in Malmö this week, where Eurovision is taking place, to protest against Israel’s participation in the competition,” the day before the finale, and had been spotted at protests against the contest earlier in the week.

Meanwhile, French contestant Slimane broke with Eurovision’s “no politics” rule from inside the competition, the BBC reports. During the final, audience-attended dress rehearsal on Saturday afternoon, he stopped mid-song to say, “Everybody, I just need to say something. Every artist here want[s] to sing about love and sing about peace. We need to be united by music, yes, but with love for peace.”

“United by music, yes, but with love for peace. Thank you so much. Thank you, Europe.” The singer was awarded fourth place in the contest for his song “Mon Amour.”

Slimane’s remarks join those of Irish contestant Bambie Thug, who came in sixth at this year’s contest. According to the Irish Independent, the non-binary singer accused Israeli broadcaster KAN of inciting “violence against me twice, three times.”

“That broadcaster has disobeyed the rules, and I hope next year they won’t be allowed to compete because of that,” Thug said.

“I’m so proud of all of us in the top 10 that have been fighting for this shit behind the scenes because it has been so hard, it has been so horrible for us, and I’m so proud of us.”

Another competitor, Joost Klein of the Netherlands, lost his slot in the finale after an alleged incident involving a Eurovision employee. “We maintain a zero-tolerance policy towards inappropriate behavior at our event and are committed to providing a safe and secure working environment for all staff at the Contest,” event organizers said in a statement.

These issues, as well as others that arose during the days-long competition, made for an especially fraught contest this year. In a press conference after their win, Nemo, who is Eurovision’s first-ever nonbinary winner, alluded to controversies, saying “I hope this contest can live up to its promise and continue to stand for peace and dignity for every person.” the AP reports.

Nemo is the first Swiss contest winner since 1988 when Canadian Celine Dion competed as a Swiss representative. accepted the trophy on behalf of “people that are daring to be themselves and people that need to be heard and need to be understood,” they said. “We need more compassion,” the singer pled. “We need more empathy.”