Switzerland wins the competition, divided by the controversy

4 mins

It is a return to grace for the Swiss. The country wins the 68th edition of the competition Eurovision of the song with 591 points awarded to its representative Nemo, who came to perform The Code. The queer artist and his catchy refrain “ wo ho ho » were able to captivate more than 200 million European viewers. The last time the country won the competition was in 1988 with Celine Dion and its tube Do not go without me.

“ I hope this competition can continue to encourage peace and dignity for everyone “, he declared as he received the glass trophy, with tears in his eyes.

With his pink toupee outfit, Nemo imposed his style and his universe by winning numerous “12 points”, the maximum possible points, from the majority of the 37 countries juries of the competition. Aged 24, his career began in 2012 in a musical in Switzerland and over time acquired a little notoriety, singing in Swiss German, his native language. He made a shift from 2020 and sings in English, the language most commonly sung at Eurovision.

Second place, with 547 points by Baby Lasagna and his song Rim Tim Tagi Dim for Croatia. THE bookmakers once again had a hollow nose since he was one of the favorites. Third place goes to Ukraine, with Alyona Alyona and Jerry Heil singing Teresa & Mariascoring 453 points.

France ranks 4th in the competition

With his romantic ballad entitled My love, French singer Slimane takes 4th place with 445 points, but it’s not enough to break a chain of 47 years of scarcity. The country’s last coronation dates back to 1977 with Marie Myriam and The bird and the child.

Slimane tried to make a difference with a proposal that was out of the ordinary. During his performance, the singer stepped away from his microphone to sing a cappella and deploy all his vocal abilities. A few clues could suggest a good score for the France. During his European tour to present the title which would represent France, Slimane always amazed his audience by singing a cappellabut it was not enough.

Controversy against the backdrop of the war in Gaza

In recent years, Eurovision has been marred by controversy. This time, no middle finger of disapproval or suspicion of taking drugs directly. Although an “apolitical” event, the war waged Israel in the band of Gaza invited herself onto the competition stage. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has called on Israel to review the lyrics of your song performed by Eden Golan for the competition, because she made too strong references to the October 7 attack carried out by Hamas and which left 1,200 dead.

Many voices were raised against Israel’s presence at Eurovision, starting with the audience who booed Eden Golan during her live performance. In Malmö, host city of the competition, a large pro-Palestinian demonstration took place on May 9, bringing together more than 12,000 people.

Several participating countries have also shown their disapproval such as Spain, Ireland, Finland and Norway. But France and Germany have slammed protests against Israel’s participation. Others pointed out the hypocrisy of the EBU, which maintained Israel’s participation in the competition despite the war on Gaza, while the organization had excluded Russia on the grounds of the war in Ukraine.

A unit that is shattered

Other controversies broke out on the sidelines of the competition. The representative of the Netherlands was excluded from Eurovision for having had hostile behavior towards a photographer. Nicknamed “the Witch”, the Irish artist Bambie Thug maintained its presence at the final of the competition despite the call for a boycott launched by more than 400 Irish personalities. Faced with criticism, she recalled that she supported the Palestinian cause.

Despite the turmoil, the EBU tried to put on a good show this year. But if the Eurovision slogan “United by music” was hammered throughout the competition, the unity sought was shattered.