EUROVISION fans were left devastated tonight as Olly Alexander failed to make enough of an impact – and received zero points in the public vote.
The UK act in this year’s competition, which takes place at the Malmo Arena in Sweden on Saturday, scored just 46 points after being voted on by the jury and audience, while Swiss group Nemo topped the charts.
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Olly Alexander ended up not getting any public votes which was a huge blow. Credits: AP
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Olly Alexander represented Great Britain with the song DizzyCredit: EPA
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Nemo from Switzerland who performed the song The Code were delighted with their voices Credit: AP
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Baby Lasagna from Croatia was the favorite to win this year and took second placeCredit: Getty
Tonight’s controversial show featured 25 countries after a week of tension over Israel’s involvement in the Gaza war.
Years and Years frontman Olly was the UK’s most high-profile Eurovision act in more than a decade – and there were high hopes.
It secured its place in the finals at the Malmo Arena as one of the ‘big five countries’ of the show.
But despite a huge fan base in the UK, Olly’s performance was met with criticism, with some claiming there were problems with the sound.
Olly has previously defended his vocals after the semi-final, but some felt it wasn’t much better this time – and he finished in 18th place.
Nemo ended up winning the 68th Eurovision Song Contest with The Code, an operatic ode to the singer’s journey towards accepting his non-gender identity.
Nemo beat Croatian Baby Lasagna to the title by winning the most points in a combination of national juries and viewers around the world.
As they accepted their award, they said: “I want to thank you very much – I hope this competition can live up to its promise and continue to stand for peace and dignity for every person in this world.”
Eurovision fans are fearing for Olly Alexander after a series of ‘sound problems’ during his performance
The competition was mired in controversy over the participation of Israeli Eden Golan, and a large group of protesters were outside the Malmo Arena as they performed.
Police also detained and led away several protesters, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg.
Earlier on the same day, Eurovision organizers disqualified Dutch performer Joost Klein after an incident between the singer and the cameraman.
Sweden’s Marcus & Martinus opened the competition, before Ukraine’s Alyona Alyona and Jerry Heil sang their religious theme Teresa & Maria before Germany’s Isaak gave an emotional performance of Always On The Run.
Several contestants appeared to mention conflicts around the world, with Lithuania’s Silvester Belt telling the audience to “spread love around the world”, while Bambie declared that “love will always conquer hate”.
The feeling was muted
By Howell Davies
The drama is usually on stage, but this year it was the action outside the songs that got the heart racing, for all the wrong reasons.
In previous contests, the atmosphere in the home arena has been absolutely electrifying, but last night it felt subdued and confusing.
The mischief of the 48 hours before the final – with the Netherlands withdrawing and the rehearsal being refused – led to uncertainty over whether anyone would even take to the stage.
Despite Britain’s high hopes for Olly Alexander’s victory, the magic of a night celebrating the joy of music and unity has largely faded.
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Olly took zero points from the crowd very well
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Nemo was celebrating his victory
Applications for the Eurovision Song Contest 2024
Here are all the performers participating in the Eurovision Song Contest.
Finalists:
Out:
Disqualified:
Netherlands: Joost Klein – Europapa
At the end of the Portuguese Iolanda who sang the Grito, she told the crowd: “Peace will prevail.”
Slimane, who performed his song Mon Amour, posted another message saying that people should be “united by music for love and peace”.
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Final results for tonight
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Nemo screamed with joy as they beat Croatia
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Alyona Alyona and Jerry Heil from Ukraine received a great public rating Credit: Getty
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