Swiss Nemo beat Croatian singer Baby Lasagna to the title by winning the most points from national juries and viewers around the world.
“I hope this competition can keep its promises and continue to defend peace and dignity for every person,” Nemo said after the results were announced. Nemo expressed his pride in accepting the trophy for “people who dare to be themselves and people who need to be heard and understood.”
Dutch song competition entrant Joost Klein has been excluded from Saturday night’s final following a formal complaint by a female member of the production team, the event organizer said on Saturday , the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), in a press release.
The decision follows an investigation by Swedish police into the woman’s complaint. Speculation that the investigation had something to do with the Israeli Golan was stoked after a tense exchange between the two artists at a press conference Thursday evening.
But the EBU said in its statement that “contrary to some media reports and speculation on social media, this incident did not involve any other artists or members of the delegation.”
Golan had already qualified for the final hours of Eurovision after thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered in the streets of Malmö to show their support for Gaza. After Golan was booed during dress rehearsals, there was again a mixture of cheers and boos during her subsequent appearances.
Marianne Gros contributed to the report.
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