XX Wins Eurovision Song Contest, Amid Anti-Israel Protests

Switzerland has won the 68th Eurovision Song Contest which took place in Malmo, Sweden, on Saturday evening.

Switzerland’s Nemo won with 591 points for his song The Code, coming ahead of Croatia in second place and Ukraine in third.

This year’s wooden spoon for last place in the Contest went to Norway, with 16 points.

Israel, whose entry has been the subject of continuing controversy, came fifth. While the country’s entry Eden Golan was received with some boos in the arena when she performed her song Hurricane, she also got the benefit of cheers. She received 52 points from the national juries, and then earned a huge 323 points from the popular vote across Europe.

Ukraine also won an impressive 307 points from the popular vote.

Equally controversial was Portugal’s singer Lolanda, who ended her performance with “Peace will prevail” while viewers noted her nails were painted with the Palestinian Keffiyeh.

This year’s Contest has been mired in controversy, most recently this morning when the Netherlands’ entry Joost Klein was disqualified and sent home, after allegations of intimidation against a production crew member were made and Swedish police continued to investigate.

On the evening, the Netherlands’ jury didn’t appear on screen to read out their national jury’s results, which left the EBU’s Martin Osterdahl having to give out the numbers instead.

And protests which had begun earlier this week continued into the evening in Malmo, with thousands of people protesting outside the venue at Israel’s participation in the Contest, against the background of Israel’s actions in Gaza.