Eurovision 2024 Grand Final results: Switzerland wins song competition marred by protests and disqualification

Performers have been taunted by activisits, artists and fans have performed protests and an entrant was even kicked out as politics infiltrated the 2024 edition of the campy extravaganza.

Swiss rapper Nemo Mettler has won Eurovision while the Israel contestant Eden Golan has been given a huge public vote to finish fifth overall.

Israel was in 12th place after the jury vote, but ratcheted up the leader board once the public vote of 323 points was calculated.

Ms Golan was booed and jeered throughout her performance with members of the audience chanting “Palestine”. She was seen in tears immediately after her performance.

The audience was also highly critical of the European Broadcasting Union representatives for allowing Israel to participate.

The country which received the highest number of public votes - 453 - was Ukraine, which meant their singer finished third overall. Croatia finished in second place overall.

Nemo won the event because of a high poll in the jury result. “This is for peace,’’ the singer said after accepting the winner’s trophy.

Eurovision’s public vote - which forms only half of the final score - is considered a barometer of geo-politics and this edition held in Sweden was highly charged with protests, arrests, withdrawals and crowd hostility.

The big public support swinging behind both Ukraine and Israel indicates the two countries currently embroiled in separate conflicts, enjoy public support at a higher level than what may have been expected.

Australia had failed to make the final 26 acts. The Australian jury top marks were given to Ireland.

Swiss singer Nemo Mettler, also known as Nemo, has won the 2024 Eurovision competition.

Eurovision 2024 deviated from the usual glitzy, campy extravaganza, with various forms of anti-Israel protests marring the annual song contest and turning it into an unusually bad-tempered edition.

All week Israeli contestant Ms Golan has been protected by Israeli intelligence, including the head of Shin Bet who flew in from Tel Aviv to personally oversee the Israeli delegation security.

Ms Golan’s performance in the final was received with whistles and loud noise. Footage taken from inside the venue showed there was very loud booing when she switched to singing in Hebrew, and chants of “Palestine” – but this was not picked up by the official broadcast.

Climate activist and keffiyah wearing Greta Thunberg, who claimed the inclusion of Israel in the competition was ‘artwashing’ Eurovision, was one of hundreds of people removed from outside the venue in Malmo, Sweden just before the 68th running of the event was due to start at 9pm Sunday evening local time.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators against Israel's participation at Hyllie outside the Malmo Arena venue.

The pro-Palestinian protesters surrounded the venue, waving flags and signs and heckled sequined ticket holders queuing to enter. Local police used pepper spray and made several arrests when the mob tried to storm inside.

The European Broadcasting Union organisers had tried to make the occasion non-political, banning any signs of protest, Palestinian flags or symbols but various acts had tried to skirt around the rules.

Before the final Ireland’s non-binary entrant Bambie Thug claimed to have been distraught because Ms Golan had made it through to the final.

“It’s overshadowed everything,” Thug said, after having been warned for facial painting with “free Palestine” and “ceasefire”.

“It goes against everything that Eurovision is meant to be.’’ Thug then complained when the Israeli commentators said the singer had been speaking negatively about Israel, adding “prepare your curses.”

🇮🇱 דומעת מהתרגשות: נציגת ישראל, עדן גולן, יורדת מהבמה אחרי הביצוע ל-״Hurricane” בגמר אירוויזיון 2024. גאים בך! 💪🏼🤩🌪️#Eurovision2024 | #UnitedByMusic | #Israel pic.twitter.com/difCK7LWv9

— Malmö Calling 🇸🇪 | חדשות האירוויזיון (@malmo2024) May 11, 2024

During an earlier press conference several singers felt the need to make a political point.

Sitting alongside Ms Golan, Dutch singer Joost Klein hid under a red T-shirt when she spoke while the Greek singer Marina Satti yawned and pretended to fall asleep.

Klein was later disqualified from the 26 performers final, not because of his anti-Israel views, but because of alleged behaviour towards a female photographer, which has been subject to a police investigation.

Another entrant that received a caution was French entrant Slimane who stopped his dress rehearsal with a speech: “Everybody, I just need to say something. Every artist here wants to sing about love and sing about peace. We need to be united by music, yes, but with love for peace. Thank you so much. Thank you, Europe.”

Croatian singer Marko Purisic, aka Baby Lasagna, finished second.

Nemo secured the 2024 title with his balance-defying performance of The Code, finishing ahead of Croatia’s Baby Lasagna.

Other popular performances included France’s Slimane with his emotional power ballad Mon Amour and Ireland’s punk witch curse Doomsday Blue.

While Australia’s Electric Fields did not make the grand final, impressive 17-year-old Sydneysider Silia Kapsis won over a lot of fans representing Cyprus this year.

SBS announced Danny Estrin, the frontman of synth metal band Voyager who wowed Eurovision last year in Liverpool, would be Australia’s “spokesperson”, the celebrity to announce our “douze points”.

Sydneysider Silia Kapsis performs for Cyprus.

That is the maximum of 12 points awarded by a country’s jury to one of the acts.

The charismatic frontman’s return to television after his cancer diagnosis last September is “therapy” as he continues his treatment.

“I’m caffeinated to the hilt watching the semis. It’s been an absolute blast. My cancer? Yeah working on that. Turns out it’s a pretty nasty disease … but I’m ok,” he said.

“My amazing oncologist Dr Tim Clay told me Eurovision complements chemotherapy perfectly.”