End of the Eurovision Art Competition in Sweden; Switzerland Takes First Place, Israel's Representative Fifth

The 68th edition of the Eurovision competition concluded on Saturday night local time, coinciding with demonstrations by supporters of the Palestinians, with Nimo, the Swiss singer, and his song "Code" being announced as the winner in Malmö, Sweden. The song "Code" reflects the singer's personal journey in accepting his non-binary identity, allowing Nimo to outperform Croatia's Baby Lazania by receiving the highest points from national juries and viewers worldwide. Following the Croatian representative, singers from Ukraine, France, and Israel secured the third to fifth places. Eden Golan, the 20-year-old singer and representative of Israel, reached fifth place with the song "Storm," amidst significant controversy surrounding his participation in this year's Eurovision, as widespread street protests against Israel turned the music festival into a tense atmosphere due to the ongoing war in Gaza. A group of Palestinian supporters called for a boycott of the competition because of Israel's participation. The Swedish police reported that around 6,000 people protested against the presence of the Israeli representative during the final competition. Hours before the final, Dutch participant Joost Klein was expelled from the competition due to backstage altercations. The Eurovision final featured singers from 25 countries, with an estimated 180 million viewers worldwide. Malmö, Sweden's third-largest city, directly hosted around 100,000 attendees who closely watched the event for a week. Reports from the Eurovision 2024 art competition indicate that 37 countries are competing in Malmö, Sweden, amidst anti-war protests. The competition commenced under the heavy shadow of the Gaza war and with special security measures.