Eurovision 2024: Swiss winner Nemo attacks organizers for their “double standards”

Swiss band Nemo have hit out at Eurovision organizers moments after winning the annual song contest.

Nemo impressed the jury and the audience with his performance of “The Code” at the 2024 ceremony which took place in Malmö, Sweden.

This year’s contest was one of the most controversial in Eurovision history thanks to Israel’s involvement, which led to pro-Palestinian protests outside the arena, and the disqualification of Dutch actor Joost Klein a few hours before his performance.

The fact that members of the public were told they were not allowed to bring non-binary flags into the arena sparked criticism from Nemo during a press conference following his victory.

Nemo, who became the competition’s first-ever non-binary winner, was asked about it by Eurovoix journalist Daniel Stridh, and the artist called it “incredible.”

“I had to smuggle my flag in because Eurovision said no, but I did it anyway, so I hope some people did too,” they added. “But, I mean, come on, that’s definitely a double standard.”

The singer, who smashed his trophy after being crowned the winner, continued: “The trophy can be repaired – maybe Eurovision needs a little repair too, every now and then.”

Nemo received huge cheers and applause from the journalists in the room.

They also said that “their whole experience was really intense, and not just enjoyable all the way through,” telling reporters, “There were a lot of things that didn’t seem to be all about love and unity . And that made me really sad and at the same time… there was so much love there too.

Nemo called for “more compassion” and “empathy”, and said his victory was dedicated to “people who dare to be themselves and people who need to be heard and understood”.

The independent has contacted the European Broadcasting Union for comment.

Switzerland won Eurovision with 591 points, closely followed by Croatia with 547 points.

The top five is completed by Ukraine (453 points), France (445 points) and Israel, who received 12 points in the British public vote. The country’s group, Eden Golan, received 375 points in total but, as Graham Norton noted, were booed by the crowd.

British contestant Olly Alexander finished in 18th place, out of 25, and received only 46 points for his song “Dizzy”, none of which came from the public vote.