Published by Mason Oldridge, 21 May 2024
CONTAINS SPOILERS!
An Irish witch, Norwegian twins representing Sweden and a denim-clad nude Finnish man were just a few of the delights we were treated to at this year’s Eurovision, though the contest was ultimately cast in controversy.
It is no doubt Malmö 2024 will be remembered for the EBU’s controversial decision to allow the inclusion of Israel amid the Israel-Hamas war, sparking several protests outside the arena with police on hand and hostility towards the Israeli representative, with allegations of anti-booing technology being used. The decision was felt to be hypocritical by some as Russia was excluded in 2022 following the Russian invasion of Ukraine; it is unclear whether this is because Ukraine is an EBU member whereas Palestine is not. Despite this, Israel was very popular at home, placing 2nd in the televote and 5th overall with Eden Golan’s ballad Hurricane. Furthermore, there was uproar when the Netherlands were disqualified despite qualifying for the grand final following claims of the Dutch representative threatening a member of the production team. However, despite the controversies this year, this didn’t stop Sweden putting on another great show.
The contest was held in Malmö following Sweden’s win last year with Tattoo by Loreen. Hosting duties went to Eurovision veteran Petra Mede, having hosted the 2013 and 2016 editions, and Hollywood actress Malin Åkerman. Unfortunately, there was no appearance from modern Eurovision legend Måns Zelmerlöw, though the female duo did a great job.
Switzerland won the contest, represented by Nemo with his rap cum operatic pop song The Code, detailing his non-binary identity. Going into it as one of the favourites, it is catchy from the first listen, features impressive operatic vocals and maintains innovative staging. The performance saw Nemo perform on a rotating and seesawing disc. The ability to sing opera with such vocal range while balancing on a spinning platform demonstrates incredible talent and made for a truly sensational spectacle! Unfortunately, Nemo appeared to use the platform to promote his non-binary support rather than represent his country, covering his national flag with a non-binary flag in the flag parade despite it being banned in the arena and calling for the recognition of non-binary as a third gender. Despite this, it was a worthy winner and, as Switzerland quickly started racking up 12 points from most countries, it became apparent it was near impossible for any other entry to catch up.
Croatia came a close second and won the televote, represented by Baby Lasagna with heavy techno anthem Rim Tim Tagi Dim (the song was in English, the title is merely onomatopoeia, not Croatian). It appeared there were a few entries attempting to recreate the success of Finland’s Käärijä from last year but Croatia did so the best. An addictive hook, a singalong chorus, colourful staging and an energetic performance from Baby Lasagna himself on the night boosted the entry to popularity with the audience, having already been one of the favourites.
Ireland sent a truly unique act with Bambie Thug and her electro-metal song Doomsday Blue. Along with a witchcraft-based performance, the song balances eerie verses and a loud pre-chorus with a dreamy chorus before erupting into a screamo outro set to a heavy beat. The vocal range is impressive and the performance is spellbinding (no pun intended). Another favourite, the entry saw Ireland qualify for the final for the first time since 2018 and achieve 6th in the final. The performance ended by displaying the phrase 'crown the witch', leading to a sweet moment in which Bambie gave Nemo the crown when he was announced as the winner, which he wore during the winner’s performance. However, like Nemo, Bambie also seemed to use the opportunity to promote transgender support, wearing the colours of the flag in her performance. Regardless, it was refreshing to see such a different act take to the stage and do well.
Luxembourg returned to the contest 31 years after their last participation. It was pointed out that as the representative Tali was only 23 years of age, she wasn’t born the last time her country participated and therefore has never seen her country in Eurovision. Therefore, it was a particularly sweet moment to see Luxembourg qualify for the final and how much it meant to her. Her song Fighter, which features both the English and French language, ultimately placed 13th.
EDM played a fair part in the contest this year. Twins Marcus & Martinus represented Sweden with their electro pop song Unforgettable, featuring a dance beat reminiscent of Faithless’ Salva Mea, Silvester Belt represented Lithuania with his light dance song Luktelk and Kaleen represented Austria with her 90s-inspired Eurodance track We Will Rave.
Many countries incorporated traditional music of different cultures into their songs. Angelina Mango represented Italy with her song La noia which features elements of Latin American music, Marina Satti represented Greece with her song Zari that includes traditional Greek music, Ladaniva represented Armenia with their world music song Jako, while 5miinust and Puuluup collaborated to represent Estonia with their song that mixes hip hop and folk music.
Novelty acts weren’t missed either. Joost Klein represented the Netherlands with his Eurodance song Europapa, a tribute to his father who told him the world has no borders. The song garnered popularity and became another one of the favourites before its eventual disqualification. However, it appeared Finland attempted to recreate its success of the year before with another novelty act, yet failed in doing so. Windows95man represented the country with his Eurodance song No Rules! The performance saw him emerge from a giant egg before performing seemingly naked with clever angles and obstacles obscuring his nudity. The fun and energetic act wasn’t too well received though and ultimately placed 19th.
I think it was a massive shame that ABBA didn’t perform as the contest being in Sweden coincided with the 50th anniversary of their win, though the ABBA Voyage feature was the next best thing to celebrate it.
Overall, despite all the controversy, Sweden put on a good show - after all, they now have the joint most wins - and the contest featured many brilliant entries and concluded with a worthy winner. Let’s see what the Swiss bring us in 2025!