Nemo, a 24-year-old Swiss artist, performed “The Code” at this year's Eurovision contest. Between rap, rock and opera, the theme explores the artist's process of discovery as a non-binary person.
Upon receiving the trophy on stage, Nemo left a plea: “I hope this pageant fulfills its promise and continues to represent peace and dignity for all people in this world.”
A video of the final was posted more than an hour later
During the final, many artists left messages of peace and appeals. This is the case of Portuguese actress Yolanda, who came in tenth place with the song “Gritto.”
During her performance, Yolanda took the stage with Palestinian colors and decorations drawn on her nails. In the end, the artist left a message calling for peace: “Peace will prevail” (“Peace will prevail”).
The video of the Portuguese performance ended up not being published immediately after the performance on the official website. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the festival's organiser, She chose to publish the semi-final video, in which the Portuguese singer appeared with only white nails, without the symbols of Palestine.
RTP questioned the European Broadcasting Union about the omission and ended up publishing the video more than an hour after the Portuguese performance.
Even before that, at the beginning of the ceremony, the Portuguese actress appeared on stage wearing a dress from a brand by a designer of Palestinian origin, in the style of the keffiyeh scarf, which is a scarf linked to the Palestinian cause.
“On the right side of history”
“For me, it makes perfect sense to make my platform the one that can talk about important issues in our history. I want to stay on the right side of history, so I made sure to bring the message of peace and justice to this competition.She answered when asked about the Palestinian motifs drawn on her nails.
The Portuguese singer explained the message she wanted to leave at the end of her performance on Saturday: “There will be peace amidst so much confusion, so much death, and so much pain.”
“The truth always comes out and the things we experience here last a lifetime,” the singer added.
Despite her position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Yolanda said she had no problem organizing the European festival. “We are sure that what we did was from the heart and that we really wanted to do it. We are very happy.”
In the weeks leading up to Eurovision, several artists and personalities called on the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organizes the festival, to veto the country's participation due to the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.
The Eurovision Song Contest is also marked by the expulsion of Dutch representative Joost Klein, which was announced hours before the final on Saturday. According to the European Broadcasting Union, the artist is under investigation by the Swedish police after a complaint was filed by a woman from the production team following an “incident” that occurred in the semi-finals of the competition.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organizes the Eurovision competition, announced in a statement that “Swedish police are investigating a complaint filed by a woman from the production team due to an incident that occurred after her performance in the semi-finals on Thursday evening.”
Dutch broadcaster Avrotros considered Joost Klein's expulsion “disproportionate.” The radio said in a statement that it was “shocked” by the European Broadcasting Union's decision, which it “deeply regrets.”
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