Switzerland has taken out Eurovision 2024 with singer Nemo and their song The Code.
Nemo was handed the winner’s trophy from last year’s winner Loreen.
While Loreen is one of the few people to win Eurovision twice, Nemo will take their place in the history books as the first person who publicly identifies as non-binary to win Eurovision.
As voting in the grand final began it was quickly evident that Switzerland’s entry was the clear favourite.
First came in the jury votes, decided by industry experts in each county, they make up half the final vote alongside votes from the public.
As each country called in, 12 points for Switzerland was a common answer from the juries. Also popular in the competition were the entries from Croatia and Ireland. Impressively 22 or the 36 countries gave their top score of 12 points to Switzerland.
When the votes from the public were added into the mix, Switzerland was the clear winner coming out 44 votes ahead of Croatia.
It is the third time Switzerland has won Eurovision.
Their previous success came with the very first outing of the competition in 1956 when Lys Assia won with the song Refrain. Their second win came in 1998 with the song Ne partez pas sans moi which was sing by Celine Dion.
This year’s competition has been filled with controversies.
Foremost the inclusion of Israel in the competition has been questioned given the humanitarian concerns in Gaza. Large protests have taken place outside the venue in Malmo and security has been tight.
Officials have also been on the hunt for performers adding symbols of support for Gaza to their costumes, and while many have been chastised, a few slipped through and made it to the broadcasts.
The competition also lost one of the crowd favourites tipped to be a potential winner. Joost from The Netherlands was disqualified ahead of the grand finale, reportedly over an interaction with a Eurovision staffer backstage.
Australia’s Eurovision journey ended quickly this year when our entry from Electric Fields was eliminated during the first semi-final.
The winning song is an anthem for being non-binary
Even before Eurovision began Nemo’s song was getting a lot of attention thanks to its captivating video set on a train which saw Nemo changing outfits.
In the auditorium the operatic song was performed on a giant rotating disc which Nemo slid and spun around on.
“Somewhere between the ‘0s’ and ‘1s’ that’s where I found my kingdom come” Nemo sings during the song.
Speaking at a media conference after the win Nemo said they were proud to be providing representation.
They shared that the feet proud not only for themselves, but the community of people who are nonbinary or gender fluid. They hope there will be more empathy and understanding of each other.
““We need to talk with each other and I hope tonight can be a way of remembering that.” Nemo said.
