Laurence Dollimore
Switzerland has been crowned the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2024.
Nemo clinched the title after their song ‘The Code’ proved a hit with the jury vote, giving them an impressive 365 points before the public vote was even counted.
France and Croatia were trailing behind on 218 and 210 respectively, meaning they faced a difficult task to knock Switzerland off the top spot.
While Croatia’s Baby Lasagna won the most amount of votes from the public, giving them a total score of 547, they were pipped to the post by Switzerland, who received a final tally of 591.
Meanwhile the UK’s Olly Alexander finished in 18th place after receiving 46 points from the jury and zero from the public.
Spain fared worse, with Nebulossa’s ‘Zorra’ finishing in 22nd position and a total points tally of just 30.
The top five were Switzerland (591), Croatia (547), Ukraine (453), France (445) and Israel (375).
Switzerland’s victory followed one of the most dramatic Eurovision Song Contest’s in recent memory.
READ MORE: WATCH: Moment Israel is booed by crowd after Eurovision performance
During the programme, Spain’s second deputy prime minister accused Israel of genocide while blasting a national broadcaster for screening the final.
Yolanda Diaz took to X to express her fury towards RTVE, saying her left-wing coalition government would be ‘studying actions’ to be taken.
The Sumar party leader, who is the second deputy PM of Spain (out of four), said: “Our public television cannot allow a competition that defends peace and diversity be converted into an act of propoganda in the middle of a genocide.
“We will look at necessary measures so that RTVE cannot return to support Eurovision under these conditions.”
It came after parts of the crowd erupted into boos at the end of Israel’s performance.
Footage shared online showed the frosty reception after Eden Golan finished singing her song Hurricane.
Moments after Israel’s performance, Spain sent the stadium in Malmo, Sweden into a frenzy.
Nebulossa blew the roof off following her performance of fan favourite ‘Zorra’ – although it failed to translate into many votes.
The atmosphere in the run up to the final was said to be ‘tense’ due to the controversial inclusion of Israel, as it faces accusations of human rights absues over its military campaign in Gaza.
READ MORE: When and where can I watch Eurovision in Spain?
It came after the Netherlands’ entrant Joost Klein was disqualified over an ‘incident’ involving a female member of production.
The said ‘incident’ involving Klein is being kept under wraps, but according to reports, the Swedish police are investigating.
A member of the production team is said to have filed a complaint after the artist’s performance in the semi-final on Thursday.
“While the legal process continues, it would not be appropriate for them to continue in the competition,” the EBU added in a statement.
The organisation insisted the decision was unrelated to rumours of a fight between the Dutch interpreter and the Israeli team.
“We would like to make it clear that, contrary to some media reports and social media speculation, no other artists or members of any other delegation were involved in this incident,” it said.
Meanwhile, the delegation of the Netherlands said the decision adopted by the EBU was “disproportionate.” The statement also warned that “they will return to this matter later.”
It came after a group of protesters in neighbouring Finland stormed the facilities of the Finnish public television network Yle, demanding that the final be boycotted due to Israel’s involvement.
Activists sat on the floor and unfurled banners reading ‘Boycott Eurovision’ and to ‘stop the genocide.’
Protesters argue that Israel is using the event to improve its image and have urged Yle to defend its values by withdrawing from the event.
There were also fears of another drop out after it emerged Ireland’s entry had not performed during the dress rehearsal.
The artist, Bambie Thug, explained via Instagram: “Dear Coven, There was a situation while we were waiting to go to stage for the flag parade rehearsal which I felt needed urgent attention from the EBU – the EBU have taken this matter seriously and we have been in a discussion about what action needs to be taken.
“This means I have missed my dress rehearsal – I am really sorry to the fans that have come to see me… I hope to see you on the stage tonight!”
The EBU said it was looking into the matter.
