Switzerland’s Nemo is first nonbinary singer to win Eurovision Song Contest

In ‎Malmö, Sweden on Saturday, the top spot in the Eurovision Song Contest was awarded to a nonbinary performer for the first time.

Swiss singer Nemo overwhelmed the competition with the most votes in the finale for their performance of The Code, which saw the athletic 24-year-old spinning on a vertiginous turntable, clad in tights and a cheerleader’s skirt topped with a feathery confection in pink and red.

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Ireland’s Bambie Thug wowed audiences with their witchy Tuesday night performance.

“This story is my truth,” Nemo sang out, as the audience joined in unison for the track’s catchy hook: “Whoa-ooh-oh-oh!”

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The win was a rare moment of unity at the 68th edition of the popular pan-European singing competition, which has been mired in controversy since the contest’s organizer, the European Broadcast Union, declined to exclude Israel in this year’s show over objections from participants and fans opposed to the ongoing war in Gaza following Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7 last year.

Another nonbinary entrant, Bambie Thug of Ireland, lobbied to include pro-Palestine messages as part of their staging and was rebuffed. Thug was forced to remove a face tattoo that read “ceasefire” in the ancient Celtic language of Ogham.

“F*ck the EBU, I don’t even care anymore,” they told reporters after Nemo’s win.

“Fuck the EBU, I don’t even care anymore” – Bambie Thug

❤️ pic.twitter.com/lKP5ukaNpc

— adam (@aaddxm_) May 12, 2024

Boos filled the stadium when Israeli entrant Eden Galen took the stage, and during the show’s voting segment whenever Israel was mentioned.

Other fans called the Jewish homeland’s inclusion in the contest “artwashing”.

Welcome back! Tonight, the first semifinal of the #EurovisionSongContest is taking place, but I won’t be watching. Instead, I’m fundraising for Palestine 🇵🇸

Instead of voting during #Eurovision, I urge everyone to spend their money on a worthy cause: a thread https://t.co/IBeUTe2tMU pic.twitter.com/vNHkKRslBj

— Meehall ⸆⸉🌙 (@saoasflores) May 9, 2024

Despite the poor reception, Israel placed 5th among 36 countries in the final.

The 37th country to qualify, the Netherlands was expelled after their entrant was found by Swedish police to have made violent threats against a female camera operator.

Hours before the finale began, Joost Klein, a favorite to win the contest, was disqualified following an alleged verbal altercation that almost turned violent. According to witnesses, Klein declined to be filmed following his semi-final performance on Thursday and reacted when the operator continued shooting over his objections.

The Dutch disqualification earned more boos from the audience during the finale whenever the EBU’s top producer appeared on camera with a vote tally.

More controversy attended Nemo’s appearance in the “green room” segments of the show where they gleefully waved the nonbinary flag after contestants were told it and other “political” displays were banned.

After Nemo’s win, however, the EBU seemed to embrace the “politics” of the singer’s violation with a rhyming Insta tribute.

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A post shared by Eurovision Song Contest (@eurovision)

As if all the other cracks in the show’s 2024 theme “United Through Music” weren’t enough, Nemo’s trophy broke moments after it was handed to them. The singer didn’t waste a good analogy.

“The trophy can be fixed – maybe Eurovision needs fixing a little bit too, every now and then,” they said to cheers from the audience.

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