Switzerland’s Nemo wins Eurovision; Israeli fans decry ‘political’ voting
MALMO, SWEDEN—Switzerland’s Nemo won the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday, becoming the first artist identifying as nonbinary to claim victory, as Israeli fans decried “political” voting that saw their compatriot place fifth.
Twenty-four-year-old Nemo’s “The Code” won the highest score (365) from nations’ juries, and enough of the popular votes (226) to get 591 points.
Nemo edged out Croatia in the final, held in Sweden’s Malmo—home to the country’s largest community of Palestinian origin.
“I hope this contest can live up to its promise and continue to stand for peace and dignity for every person in this world,” a teary-eyed Nemo said while receiving the trophy.
Nemo’s journey toward realizing their nonbinary gender identity served as inspiration for the highly personal winning entry.
“‘The Code’ is about the journey I started with the realization that I am neither a man nor a woman,” Nemo said.
In Zagreb, a crowd gathered at a square to follow Croatia’s Baby Lasagna, who finished second with 547 points.
“There is no room for sadness, only pride,” 34-year-old spectator Nina Plese told Agence Frane-Presse (AFP).
“This young man has brought the whole of Croatia together. We can be proud of him and he deserves to be welcomed back home.”
Nemo, Baby Lasagna and Israel’s contestant Eden Golan, had been bookmaker favorites to win the competition, watched around the world by millions of lovers of pop music—and kitschy shows.
Boos and cheers
Twenty-five nations competed on Saturday but much of the focus has centered on the controversy of Israel being able to take part.
When Golan went on stage to perform her “Hurricane,” both cheers and boos could be heard from the audience in the Malmo Arena.
Boos could also be heard while Israel delivered its points to other acts and any time a country gave “Hurricane” high scores.
Golan finished fifth with 375 points.
Music fans who gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday to watch the Eurovision contest decried juries’ snubs of Israel as “obviously political.”
Of the juries composed of music professionals representing competing countries, 22 handed Switzerland the highest score of 12, which gave Nemo 365 points.
Croatia got 210 jury points.
None of the national juries gave Israel a 12 and it ended up 12th overall with 52 points.
The rules barred a country jury to give their candidate the highest score, thus Israel’s jurors could not give Golan a 12.
Of the popular vote, Israel won in 15 countries, including in Britain, France and Germany as well as in the “rest-of-the-world” category, giving it a score of 323.
Croatia won the popular vote of nine nations garnering 337 points.
Only viewers in Ukraine awarded Switzerland’s Nemo the full 12 points for a total of 226.
The mood was electric at the packed Layla bar in Tel Aviv as the show got underway, with the crowd going wild when Israel’s contestant Eden Golan appeared on screen.
Arriving with her long lavender-streaked hair and matching nails, Golan performed her song “Hurricane” wearing a white chiffon gown billowing in the artificial wind and smoke filling the stage.
As she performed, many at Layla voiced hope that she would win.
That would send the message that “maybe we are not hated so much, and that the music really won”, said Tal Bendersky, 23, draped in an Israeli flag.
But as votes started ticking in, and it became clear that few of the juries representing the 37 countries with voting rights were offering Golan even a handful of votes, spirits fell.
Fans went from jumping around and waving Israeli flags to sitting downcast, some with their heads in their hands.
“This is clearly political,” said Guy, a 20-year-old who declined to give his last name.
‘Amazing’
“Eden was amazing…But there are people who hate us. They don’t see the whole picture,” he told AFP.
“We didn’t get much from the countries. That’s obviously a political thing,” Layla manager Tal Shur agreed.
“No one wants to show that they support us.”
Before the competition, thousands of musicians around the world called on the European Broadcasting Union, which oversees the event, to exclude Israel from Eurovision, citing its war in Gaza.
Outside the Malmo arena, police pushed back protesters where more than a hundred demonstrators waved flags and chanted “Free Palestine.”
The Gaza war started with Hamas’s unprecedented Oct. 7 attack on Israel that resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 34,971 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry.
Although police have said no direct threats have been made at the competition, they boosted their numbers with reinforcements from Norway and Denmark.
To gain access to the Malmo Arena, the around 9,000 spectators had to pass through a reinforced security system designed in particular to discourage protesters.
The contest itself was also rattled earlier on Saturday by the disqualification of Dutch contestant Joost Klein due to an incident with a camerawoman. —reports from AFP, REUTERS
