Defying the odds, Switzerland won the 68th Eurovision Song Contest with Nemo's “The Code” on Saturday (May 11) at Sweden's Malmö Arena. It's the perfect bookend as Switzerland won the first competition in 1956 with Lys Assia's “Refrain”. This is the European country's third win and the first since Celine Dion won with “Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi” in 1988.
Croatia was set to take the 2024 crown and in the end, it came down to the two countries vying for the top spot. Switzerland took the lead with the jury vote, which is always announced first. Adding public votes at the end usually provides a dramatic ending, and it could have gone either way, but Switzerland collected enough points from the public to maintain their lead. It would be Croatia's first win in 29 attempts. it is the country's best result to date, after three top-five finishes — in 1996, 1998 and 1999.
Nemo, who identifies as non-binary, received the microphone-shaped glass trophy from Loreen, who won Eurovision 2023 for Sweden with “Tattoo”. Nemo has been releasing music in Switzerland since 2015. They competed in its Swiss version The masked singer in 2021-22 and revealed as Panda in fifth place.
It was a Eurovision Song Contest with more drama than in recent memory. Joost Klein of the Netherlands was disqualified after the semi-finals due to an alleged backstage incident. Alanna Mele, appointed to be the representative to give points to the Norwegian jury on air, withdrew on the day of the final with a statement ending with “Free Palestine”. France's Slimane unexpectedly interrupted his performance during Saturday (May 11) afternoon rehearsal for a message of love and peace. Ireland's Bambie Thug complained to the European Broadcasting Union about the Israeli commentator's remarks and missed one of her rehearsals.
One of the biggest questions of the night was whether ABBA would perform, 50 years after giving Sweden its first Eurovision win with 'Waterloo'. While the four members did not appear in person in Malmö, they were represented by their avatars in London, where the virtual show Sea trip has been playing for two years. While most of their dialogue about their Eurovision win was straight from the show, they added comments wishing everyone well in Malmö.
Nemo's win means Switzerland will host Eurovision in 2025. Cities in that nation can compete to host. Switzerland has previously hosted Eurovision in Lugano and Lausanne.
The top 10 countries for Eurovision 2024 and their combined scores from the jury and public votes are:
- Switzerland, 591
- Croatia, 547
- Ukraine, 453
- France, 445
- Israel, 375
- Ireland, 278
- Italy, 268
- Armenia, 183
- Sweden, 174
- Portugal, 152
Norway finished last with 16 points. UK entry 'Dizzy' by Ollie Alexander, did not fare well with the jury, receiving 46 points, but failed miserably with the public as it was the only country to receive zero points from viewers who voted via phone, website, SMS and the Eurovision app. .
