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The 2024 Eurovision Song Contest takes place in Malmo, Sweden this Saturday and the event is already making headlines for the music and the controversy surrounding the event.
This year's competition is taking place amid the devastating conflict between Palestine and Israel with the latter qualifying for the final amid protests outside the venue, which were attended by Greta Thunberg, and calls for boycotts.
Artists from Ireland and Sweden have been banned from making any pro-Palestine statements during their performances and fans have been told not to bring Palestinian flags to the show with organisers, the European Broadcasting Union, insisting that they want to make it 'non-political,' despite banning Russia from competing for the illegal invasion of Ukraine.
In further drama the Netherlands entry, singer Joost Klein has been disqualified from the competition following a backstage incident on Friday. Elsewhere several nations including Ireland reportedly missed the dress rehearsal but are still likely to perform during the live final.
Away from the controversy, the main thing most people across Europe will be tuning in for is the music and as always with Eurovision, there will be plenty of dancefloor bangers, soppy ballads and weirdness for purists to dig their teeth into.
Join us for our live blog which will keep you updated for all things Eurovision related.
If you want more Eurovision fun...
Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP
Then why not take a look at our ranking of all of this year's Eurovision entries from best to worst, and listen to some good music while you're at it.
That concludes our live coverage for this evening, but the controversy over this year's Eurovision - from Israel's participation in the contest to the Netherland's disqualification - continues.
Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter and join our WhatsApp channel to keep up to date with the latest developments.
UK televote receives mixed reaction from British fans
News that the UK public have awarded the highest possible marks to Israel in this year's Eurovision Song Contest has divided social media, at the end of the week which has protests and boycotts take place over the country's involvement in the competition amid the war in Gaza.
"I'm so done with this country," wrote one.
Another commented: "Everyone who voted Israel in the UK should be ashamed [of] yourself!"
However, Tory MP Robert Largan tweeted: "I'm so proud of our national sense of fairness, good taste and good humour."
UK public awards 12 points to Israel
Martin Sylvest Andersen/Getty ImagesGraham Norton has revealed how the UK public voted when it came to casting their televotes, with the United Kingdom awarding top marks to Israel and the track "Hurricane" by Eden Golan.
The rest of the votes are:
- Ireland - 10 points
- Lithuania - 8 points
- Croatia - 7 points
- Ukraine - 6 points
- Switzerland - 5 points
- Latvia - 4 points
- Finland - 3 points
- France - 2 points
- Greece - 1 point
Switzerland crowned winners while the UK finishes 18th
Martin Sylvest Andersen/Getty ImagesIt's a country long associated with being neutral, but Europe was pretty dead set on giving Switzerland's Nemo the Eurovision trophy for their track "The Code".
The UK's entry, "Dizzy" by Olly Alexander, scored just 46 points, finishing on the second half of the table and in 18th place out of 25 songs.
Switzerland, France or Croatia will win...
Croatia lead, but we're waiting on Switzerland's points.
UK gets nil points from the public vote
Martin Sylvest Andersen/Getty ImagesOlly Alexander's "Dizzy" remains on 46 points, and is currently on the second column.
The UK won't be finishing last...
We're waiting on our public votes, but with the United Kingdom currently on 46 points and Norway getting single figure points from viewers, they finish on just 16.
Switzerland leads after the jury votes
Martin Sylvest Andersen/Getty Images
After the jury votes, Switzerland's Nemo and their track "The Code" are up top with more than 360 points.
France is next with some 218 points, and then it's Croatia, Italy and Ukraine.
The UK currently stands in the first column, with 46 points.
But UK commentator Graham Norton has pointed out this can all change when we get the public votes.
No nil points this evening...
The country in last place after 26/37 countries is Estonia, but they still have four points.
Larry the Cat wades in...
The Downing Street resident (no, not that one) has spoken.
More than half of the way through the jury votes...
And Switzerland are in the lead with more than 180 points, followed by France, Italy, Ireland and Croatia in the top five.
Only two countries' juries have given us points so far...
We got four from Australia, and two from Spain.
There's still 19 jury votes still to be declared, though.
Labour MP jokingly calls for 'electoral reform' as UK jury gives top marks to Portugal
Labour and Co-operative MP Stella Creasy, the MP for Walthamstow, has joined many other UK viewers in disbelief that the country's jury awarded 12 points to Portugal's Iolanda, who performed her track "Grito".
"Really UK? 12 points to Portugal," queried one.
Another commented: "12 points from the UK to Portugal was as random as our entry."
It's 12 points to Portugal from the UK jury!
They're currently second.
We're into the jury votes now...
Public votes coming later, but we're working through the votes from industry professionals at the moment.
2/37 countries done, and nothing for the UK yet.
Loreen's taking to the stage..
And The Sunreports she may refuse to present the trophy to Israel if they win this evening, despite being legally contracted to both perform and hand over the award to the new champion.
The outlet quotes a source who said: "There is a plan in place for Loreen to step on stage, leave the trophy on a plinth and depart before the presenters welcome Israel to the stage, should they win the coveted title."
A quick reminder of the jury spokesperson role...
And we've been reminded of the jury spokesperson position just now, with a look back at previous memorable moments - such as Ukrainian artist Verka Serduchka, and Icelandic actor Óli Ágústsson demanding the hosts "play 'Jaja Ding Dong'" during the 2021 contest - a reference to the Netflix film about the event.
The spokesperson for the UK this year is actor Joanna Lumley.
No sign of ABBA... yet
We've just had a performance of "Waterloo" starring icon Conchita Wurst, and a clip from the ABBA Voyage arena in London (featuring the digital 'Abbatars'), but we're yet to see the quartet in the flesh...
And Eurovision fans are pretty disappointed.
Croatia's Baby Lasagna branded 'Rammstein at home' for rock entry
Croatia's Baby Lasagna is being compared to the German rock group after the singer's performance of "Rim Tim Tagi Dim" this evening - a song which is favourite to potentially win this year's contest.
All 25 songs have performed...
And the vote is still open for people to call in to support their favourites.
The disqualification of the Netherlands means the '06' number is skipped, and instead, the jury votes will bump up to the next one - so the song ranked 8th gets promoted to 7th, for example.
Dutch viewers can still vote themselves, though...
Viewers are big fans of Baby Lasagna's 'legendary' performance for Croatia
The 24th performance this evening was Croatia with Baby Lasagna's "Rim Tim Tagi Dim", and Twitter is ablaze with love for this particular track.
"Croatia is taking it," wrote one, with another reporting the song got a "HUGE standing ovation from the audience".
Fans call on UK to 'bring back Sam Ryder' after Olly Alexander's performance
As we near the end of the performances, UK Eurovision fans are pleading for the return of 2022 entrant Sam Ryder as the representative for the country, following Olly Alexander taking to the stage with his track "Dizzy".
"Sam Ryder set the standard. Last year was poor and Olly Alexander has also shown how not to do Eurovision," wrote one.
Another commented: "How did we got [sic] from Sam Ryder to this?"
It's not all negative, though, as LBC presenter Lewis Goodall said the performance was "the best UK entry in years" along with the "Spaceman" singer.
People think they already know who's voting for Cyprus...
Eurovision viewers are predicting Cyprus will get 12 points from Greece, as the neighbouring country has been known to award high points to the nearby state.
Former GB News presenter Simon McCoy tweeted: "Greece. Twelve points. Why waste time? #Eurovision #Cyprus"
Bart Simpson memes circulate online as Finland's entry flirts with nudity
We told you Finland's entry was quite something...
Eurovision's Windows95Man says adults need to be less serious and embrace nudity
TOBIAS SCHWARZ/AFP via Getty Images
We've just seen Finland's Windows95Man - yes, that's his name - take to the stage with his track "No Rules".
True to its name, we've just witnessed carefully framed camera shots, fireworks, and a man climbing out of an egg.
We're still not sure what to make of it.
'Right Said Fred' trends online as viewers compare Latvia singer to duo
The memes are coming in fast, and Twitter/X users have compared Latvia's contestant to the "I'm Too Sexy" duo, Right Said Fred.
Dons represents the country this year with his track "Hollow".
Right-wingers really don't like Ireland's Eurovision entry
We've just had Ireland's Bambie Thug take to the stage with their track "Doomsday Blue", and they've already received quite a far bit of attention online for their brand of "Ouija Pop" - which right-wingers have fumed is "satanic".
Arena footage confirms audience booing Israel's performance
Video footage captured from the Malmö Arena has confirmed Israel's entry received boos from the audience as Eden Golan performed her track "Hurricane".
This is while viewers at home heard applause and cheers played over the audience, like it was during their semi-final performance earlier this week.
Count Binface jokes he won't vote for Germany over one staging decision
Fresh from beating Britain First in the London mayoral election this year, Count Binface has now turned his attention to Eurovision, and joked he won't be voting for Germany's entry due to their decision to set a bin on fire on stage.
"Germany are NOT getting my vote," he wrote on Twitter/X.
The country is represented by ISAAK with his track "Always On The Run".
Switzerland's Nemo praised for waving non-binary flag on stage
Nemo Mettler, Switzerland's entry for Eurovision, is receiving widespread praise online after they took to the stage carrying a non-binary flag.
The musician - who are, themselves, non-binary - take to the stage later with their track "The Code".
Fans are in shock that Sweden has thrown in an unusual bonus prize
Fans watching this year's Eurovision have reacted to hosts Malin Akerman and Petra Mede joking that this year's winner will not only win the coveted glass microphone trophy, but also a DVD of the third series of Gilmore Girls.
Sure...
Lines open ahead of first contestant taking to the stage
It's not a case of waiting until all 25 contestants have performed before you can cast your vote, as the lines have just opened before Sweden's entrants Marcus and Martinus take to the stage with their track, "Elektrisk".
Sweden are, of course, the host country following Loreen's win in Liverpool with "Tattoo" last year.
NikkieTutorials announces she will no longer present the Netherlands' results
Dutch YouTuber Nikkie de Jager - known online as NikkieTutorials - has confirmed she will be joining Finland's Käärijä and Norway's Alessandra in refusing to announce their country's results this evening.
On Instagram, she wrote: "Presenting the Eurovision points results on behalf of the Netherlands would be a dream come true.However, this moment can't be a distraction from the goal: announcing the points. Whatever I decide to do tonight, showing up, making a statement, not showing up, not saying anything, I don't think I'll be able to choose the right thing to do.
"Therefore I've chosen, together with [broadcast] AVROTROS, to not present the Dutch points on live television. I am grateful to have full support and freedom to make this decision. Like many others, I expected tonight to be something completely different. Let's hope in the future music will actually unite us all.
The Netherlands' entry this year - Joost Klein with his track "Europapa" - was disqualified from the contest on Saturday."
This isn't the first time Eurovision has faced protests over Palestine
As protests and boycotts continue this evening over Israel's participation in this year's Eurovision, it's not the first time that the contest has seen contestants speaking up about Palestine.
Back in 2019, metal band Hatari - representing Iceland - held up flags of the Middle Eastern country as scores were being announced, in a move which saw the country fined as a result.
Bambie Thug says they have made 'multiple complaints' over Israeli broadcaster
Ireland's contestant for this year's Eurovision, Bambie Thug, has issued a statement on Instagram this evening in which they claim they have made "multiple complaints" to organisers the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) over KAN, the Israeli public service broadcaster.
They wrote: "Over the last few days I have raised multuple complaints to the EBU regarding instances I have experienced this week. Earlier today they confirmed to my delegation in front of others that KAN's commentator had broken the rules of conduct during the Eurovision Semi-Final 1.
"I have been patiently waiting to hear what action is set to be taken by the EBU following this rule break. I have since seen a statement by EBU Director General which contradicts this earlier confirmation.
"I am still waiting for an official update from the EBU."
Käärijä pulls out as Finnish spokesperson
Shirlaine Forrest/Getty Images for The National Lottery
"Cha Cha Cha" singer Käärijä, who was last year's runner-up in the Eurovision Song Contest, has announced that he will no longer announce who Finland will award its 12 points to as his country's spokesperson later this evening.
In a post to his Instagram Story, the musician - real name Jere Mikael Pöyhönen - wrote: "I have decided not to participate as the spokesperson for the Finnish jury in tonight's Eurovision finale. Giving out the points tonight does not feel right."
Ireland's singer Bambie Thug explains why they missed the dress rehearsal
Ireland’s Eurovision Song Contest entry Bambie Thug said they missed their dress rehearsal following a “situation” which required “urgent attention” from the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).
On their Instagram story, they wrote: “Dear Coven, There was a situation while we were waiting to go to stage for the flag parade rehearsal which I felt needed urgent attention from the EBU – the EBU have taken this matter seriously and we have been in a discussion about what action needs to be taken.
“This means I have missed my dress rehearsal – I am really sorry to the fans that have come to see me.
“I hope to see you on the stage tonight.”
Statement released on disqualification of the Netherlands
The official page of the Netherlands’ Songfestival, which sends acts to Eurovision Song Contest, said the incident which led to Dutch act Joost Klein being disqualified followed the performer being filmed when he had “repeatedly indicated” that he did not want to be.
“An incident occurred after last Thursday’s performance. Against clearly made agreements, Joost was filmed when he had just gotten off stage and had to rush to the greenroom. At that moment, Joost repeatedly indicated that he did not want to be filmed. This wasn’t respected,” the statement said.
“This led to a threatening movement from Joost towards the camera. Joost did not touch the camera woman.
“This incident was reported, followed by an investigation by the EBU (European Broadcasting Union) and police.
“Yesterday and today we consulted extensively with the EBU and proposed several solutions. Nevertheless, the EBU has still decided to disqualify Joost Klein.”
All this year's songs ranked
If you are keen to hear the songs beforehand and fancy hearing what us novices and not the judges then why not read our ranking of every song that was entered into this year's competition, including the ones that didn't qualify for the final.
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